Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
Her neglect of her husband, her encouragement of other men, her extravagance and dissipation, were so gross and notorious that no one could be ignorant of them at the time, nor can now have forgotten them. Sir Reginald De Courcy (Letter 11) QUICK SYNOPSIS Sir Reginald De Courcy writes to his son alarmed by his... Continue Reading →
In 1805, Jane Austen transcribed a fair copy of an untitled manuscript that would later be named Lady Susan by her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh and published in 1871 in the second edition of his book A Memoir of Jane Austen. This was the first publication of an Austen early manuscript. The text however, was... Continue Reading →
We are now in a sad state; no house was ever more altered; the whole party are at war, and Manwaring scarcely dares speak to me. It is time for me to be gone. Lady Susan, (Letter 2) QUICK SYNOPSIS Lady Susan accepts her brother-in-law Charles Vernon’s invitation to Churchill. She will deposit her daughter... Continue Reading →
Welcome Over the next two weeks we shall be delving into Lady Susan, one of Jane Austen’s most surprisingly wicked novels. Often overlooked by scholars and readers, Lady Susan has lately become the bonus novel tacked on by publishers eager to entice buyers into purchasing yet another edition of Jane Austen’s Complete Novels, now beefed up... Continue Reading →
The group read of Lady Susan begins right here on Austenprose on September 1st with an introduction to Jane Austen's wicked funny novella and list of characters. To prime readers for the group read which starts the next day on Wednesday September 2nd, here is the group reading schedule and some great reading and listening... Continue Reading →
Gentle Readers: I will confess all right up front. Being a bibliophile, I have more than a passing fancy for Washington Post book critic Jonathan Yardley. Having followed his career and read his column for years, I do not think you could find any booklover more smitten. He is my Mr. Chips and Mr. Darcy... Continue Reading →
Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park really gets a bum rap from critics and readers. Sometimes I think that I am its only advocate, campaigning to an empty room. Granted, it is not as emotionally charged as Sense and Sensibility or as light, bright and sparkly as Pride and Prejudice, but it does have an admirable... Continue Reading →
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 →
“Beware of swoons, Dear Laura …  A frenzy fit is not one quarter so pernicious; it is an exercise to the Body and if not too violent, is, I dare say, conducive to Health in its consequences — Run mad as often as you chuse; but do not faint –” Letter 14, Laura to Marianne,... Continue Reading →
