Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Today is the official start of the Christmas Season. While we have been seeing retailers advertising seasonal gifts and decorations since July, I am a traditionalist. When I was a child growing up in the US, the season did not start until the day after Thanksgiving. I am... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Do you believe in serendipity — that fun word that means finding luck or good fortune? It was created in 1754 by eighteenth-century author Horace Walpole after he read The Three Princes of Serendip, a Persian fairy tale. Serendipity is exactly what happened to author Clara McKenna in... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Happy autumn equinox dear readers. It’s time for all the fall feels—pumpkin lattes, fall leaves, and cozy-up reading. In celebration, I present the best historical novels of the new season; a curated list of my favorites for fall 2024. As always, I scoured the publisher’s sales catalogues and... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: We are heading into the busiest book publishing months of the year in preparation for the holidays. Adding to my growing list of Jane Austen-inspired novels is, In Want of a Suspect, the first book in a new young adult duology releasing on November 12th by bestselling author... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: G’day dear readers. I am opening with a greeting in the Australian vernacular, even though I am a Yank who should know better than to try to be clever. It’s all due to the book that I want to introduce to you today—The Milliner of Bendigo, by bestselling... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: In between shopping, baking, gift wrapping, and holiday parties be sure to make time for reading. There are some fabulous new holiday themed books this year. I have plowed through publishers' catalogues and kept an eye out on indie authors’ newsletters and social media to curate this special... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Lace hankies at the ready, Janeites. Releasing on October 24th is the fifteenth and concluding novel in the critically acclaimed Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Jane and the Final Mystery. Author Stephanie Barron has written a poignant, compelling, and uplifting story for the last book in a... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Char Jones: When a wealthy bachelor drops dead at a ball, a young lady takes on the decidedly improper role of detective in this action-packed Regency debut comedy of manners and murder. BOOK DESCRIPTION Feisty, passionate Beatrice Steele has never fit the definition of a true lady, according to the strict... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Char Jones: A high society amateur detective in Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an ‘old maid’ to protect other women in a new fiercely feminist histfic mystery series. BOOK DESCRIPTION Lady Augusta Colebrook, “Gus,” is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Char Jones: The suspenseful sequel to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, which sees Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney reunited and with another mystery to solve: the dreadful poisoning of the scoundrel Willoughby's new wife. BOOK DESCRIPTION Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey are not entirely pleased to be sending their eligible young... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose: Napoleon is meeting his Waterloo. Meanwhile in London, a British spy with a roving eye is being fished out of the Thames. Sebastian’s friends are implicated in his death… and the deaths to follow. BOOK DESCRIPTION June 1815. The people of London wait, breathlessly, for news as Napoleon and... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: After a bleak and snowy winter season at Blue Willow Cottage, I am all anticipation of warmer weather and the fabulous new historical fiction books releasing in March, April, and May. I pawed through many new releases to narrow my list down, so if you are in... Continue Reading →
