Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
It is the fall of 1808 and Jane Austen and her family are in mourning after the sudden death of Elizabeth “Lizzy” Austen, the elegant and enchanting thirty-five-year-old wife of Jane’s elder brother Edward and mother of eleven children. To entertain the two eldest boys while they stay with her in Southampton, Jane takes them... Continue Reading →
In the winter of 1807, we find Jane Austen in the seaport of Southampton living in hired lodgings while her brother Francis Austen’s new residence is made ready for them at Castle Square. The Austen women (Jane, sister Cassandra, their widowed mother, and a dear family friend Martha Lloyd), will all be residing together under... Continue Reading →
Touring the Derbyshire countryside in the summer of 1806, Jane Austen, her mother, sister Cassandra, and cousin Rev. Edward Cooper are staying at the Rutland Arms in Bakewell, in the Peak District. While on a day excursion out into the country with Mr. Cooper and his friend Mr. Hemming, the gentleman enjoy angling along the... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Aia A. Hussein: The intriguing world of nineteenth century Victorian high society, with its ruffled skirts and disciplined social manners, is crossed with the historical suspense novel in And Only to Deceive, the first book in Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily Mysteries series. In fact, as author Martha O’Connor writes, “Had Jane... Continue Reading →
In the summer of 1805, we find Jane Austen visiting her wealthy brother Edward and his large family at their palatial country estate Godmersham Park in Kent, enjoying the comforts of living above “vulgar economy,” and the privileges of ease and splendor. Her father Rev. Austen had passed away the following January, displacing herself, her... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: I confess to being a silly, shallow creature when it comes to my partiality to fine art and the stage. Show me a beautiful Regency-era portrait by Thomas Lawrence or Richard Cosway, mention famous Drury Lane actors Sarah Siddons and her brothers Charles and John Kemble, and my... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Manners meet mayhem again in the second Being a Jane Austen Mystery, Jane and the Man of the Cloth. It is 1804 and Jane and her family are traveling by post chaise to Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast to escape the oppressive summer heat in Bath when... Continue Reading →
It is always a very special day when a new Pink Carnation novel is released. I had marked my calendar on January 20th with a big red X in anticipation. Lauren Willig is one the few authors that I just go nuts over. (How unprofessional to gush like a schoolgirl. I will be kind on... Continue Reading →
I was once told by an academic that Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey was the least read of her six major novels. Shocking. I can’t think why; or why we even need to rank masterpieces among masterpieces. I adore it. I will admit that it was the last of her major novels that I read, so... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Imagine being present when Jane Austen’s unknown personal journals are discovered in an outbuilding on an ancient Maryland estate, Dunready Manor. Your friends the Westmoreland’s are distantly related to the authoress, and after restoration, they place the manuscripts in your care before they are donated to a major... Continue Reading →
We love a good mystery – and when that mystery is combined with our favorite author Jane Austen – all is right in our reading world. Happily, since 1996 we have been spoiled beyond measure with author Stephanie Barron’s Being a Jane Austen Mystery series. About every year or so a new novel has appeared... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Lauren Willig, one of my favorite historical romance novelists, has just released The Mischief of the Mistletoe, her seventh novel in The Pink Carnation series. Set in Regency-era Bath she has elevated Reginald “Turnip” Fitzhugh, one of her very popular comedic characters from the series, and given him... Continue Reading →
