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This beautiful oil portrait circa 1800 of a lady (Mrs. Walter Learmouth?) is attributed to Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A. (Scottish, 1756-1823). He is one of my favorite artists of the Georgian and Regency era, producing powerful, stark and realistic paintings of his subjects. This portrait of Mrs. Learmouth in a white dress against a dramatic... Continue Reading →
Newsweek magazine has evaluated all the book lists being bantered about and arrived at their own Meta-list of Top 100 Books of All Time. Declaring the best book ever written is tricky business. Who's to say what the best is? We went one step further: we crunched the numbers from 10 top books lists (Modern Library,... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:  Jane Austen was very proud of her heroine Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. In a letter to her sister Cassandra, shortly after publication, she shares her confidence in her creation.  "I must confess that I think her as delightful a character as ever appeared in print,... Continue Reading →
Mr. Bennet's expectations were fully answered. His cousin was as absurd as he had hoped, and he listened to him with the keenest enjoyment, maintaining at the same time the most resolute composure of countenance, and, except in an occasional glance at Elizabeth, requiring no partner in his pleasure.  By tea-time, however, the dose had... Continue Reading →
If zombies, time portals, aliens and sequels have recently overwhelmed your genteel sensibilities, here's a quick Austen fix to bring you back to our roots. Pride and Prejudice in one minute or less, by Jane Austen It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be want... Continue Reading →
Jane Austen's letters offer a rich repository of her life and Regency times. Austen at Large reporter Virginia Claire shares her thoughts on Jane Austen's reading of Pride and Prejudice to her neighbor Miss Benn.
An analysis and poll to vote for your favorite bachelor of the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
From the desk of Virginia Claire: As many people who read this blog each week may know, Elizabeth Bennet is my favorite heroine. She is witty, caring, intelligent, honest, and bold. All characteristics which though I myself may not possess, I respect them in characters, as well as in people. In Elizabeth Bennet I do... Continue Reading →
This week, as I began to reread Pride and Prejudice with my Jane Austen class, I have discovered some prejudices that I have. In reading a book that I know and love so well, I have almost found it hard to understand some people's opinions of it. I will say that most girls in my... Continue Reading →
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." And so Gentle Readers begins the altered famous line from Jane Austen's classic novel now renamed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem and rewrtten by Seth Grahame-Smith... Continue Reading →
When coffee was over Colonel Fitzwilliam reminded Elizabeth of having promised to play to him; and she sat down directly to the instrument. He drew a chair near her. Lady Catherine listened to half a song, and then talked, as before, to her other nephew; till the latter walked away from her, and moving with... Continue Reading →
Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation. He had been remarkably handsome in his youth; and, at fifty-four, was still a very fine man. Few women could think more of their personal appearance than he did; nor could the valet of any new made... Continue Reading →
