Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Promises are tricky things, are they not? As quick as a word, as light as a breath, yet as unyielding as an adamant stone. In Promised, Leah Garriott’s 2020 debut, we see promises kept and promises broken; vows to engage and vows to escape engagements; promises for true romance... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Cornwall + Gothic = scintillating reading! There has been a long tradition of Gothic novels set in Cornwall. The southern-most county of England has more miles of rocky coastline, windswept cliffs, mysterious manor houses, and menaced heroines than any other location in literary history. Author Daphne du Maurier... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Debbie Brown: Set in 1817 Regency England, Dangerous Alliance has a teen-aged heroine who is a devotee of Jane Austen’s first published novels. As her childhood playmate Tom Sherborne observes: “She was still very much like the girl he remembered who’d believed in fairy stories, except now she believed in the... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Happy Holidays Dear Readers. Today, I am so pleased to present an exclusive interview with bestselling and award-winning author Julie Klassen who has just released her latest historical romance mystery, The Belle to Bridge Island. Set in Regency-era London and an island on the River Thames, it is... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: It’s that time of year again when the holiday spirit takes hold and I am compelled to read Christmas stories in between shopping and baking. I especially appreciate short stories during this busy time. There are several historical anthologies to choose from along with novellas and novels to... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose: First, Julie Klassen pulled me into her writing with a haunting, gothic romantic suspense, The Secret of Pembrooke Park, and most recently delighted me with the world of a quaint English village and its occupants in her series, The Tales of Ivy Hill. In her latest release, Klassen wrote... Continue Reading →
Did you know that contemporary fiction outnumbers historical fiction by tenfold in the young adult genre? I have never understood this trend. I have been told that teens prefer to read about heroes and heroines their own age and set in their own time. When I was younger, I read many historical novels and adored... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell Recently, I discovered the joy that comes from not reading the description on the back of a book prior to opening page one. When I was asked to review The Work of Art, I heard “Regency” and “Laurel Ann recommends” and I was all for it. After downloading this... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Espionage. Matchmaking Mamas. Pretend Romances. Ladybugs! Who would have thought that these four things are closely related? Yet these tantalizing details (and much more!) can be found in April’s latest Regency novel involving spies and traitors to the English crown, conniving young heiresses, dashing rescues, and one very independent,... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Lisa Galek: Fantasy novels with a supernatural bent are all the rage right now. So, if you love a battle between the forces of good and evil… all set against the backdrop of the upper-crust society of 1812 London, then The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman should be on your... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell: Digital Cameras. Laptops. Word documents and Note Apps. In 2015, these and countless other electronic items are used to quickly capture memories and jot down thoughts. But in 1815, the primary means of recording moments and ideas was through paper, pen, and paintbrush. Novels, journals, and artwork show moderns... Continue Reading →
All good things must come to end. And so it seems must my favorite historical romance series, The Pink Carnation—offering us its twelfth and final installment, The Lure of the Moonflower. *deep sigh* For eleven novels author Lauren Willig has enchanted us with Napoleonic spies, romance and laughter. It has been an amazing ride while... Continue Reading →
