Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
Welcome to Sanditon, an 1819 Regency seaside community in Sussex England—the fictional site of the new ITV/PBS television adaptation/continuation of Jane Austen’s final unfinished novel. For those who are watching the eight-part series currently airing in the US on PBS, The World of Sanditon, by Sara Sheridan will be catnip to heighten your addiction. A... Continue Reading →
I am happy to share a new Austenesque novel with you all today. It is inspired by one of our favorites of Jane Austen’s canon. Devoted readers of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are familiar with the story’s critical peaks and valleys—the emotional rise and fall of its narrative. One point that has always intrigued... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â 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 Pamela Mingle: When I was a young girl, I found a copy of Forever Amber on my aunt’s bookcase. I’d heard about its scandalous reputation and asked if I could borrow it. Written by Kathleen Winsor and published in 1944, the book became famous for its racy and bawdy storyline. It... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Debbie Brown: From 1928 to 1932, the British middle and upper class still experienced a bright time. The Roaring Twenties are dimming, yet the fun and frolic continue for those “Bright Young Things” who still have plenty of money. “They drink too much and they’re careless. They’re rich and young and... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Katie Patchell:  Three Women. Three Decades. Two Wars. In All the Ways We Said Goodbye, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, & Karen White take readers across two continents and through two World Wars to uncover spies and secrets. Each of the three heroines, Aurelie, Daisy, and Babs, fight to bring freedom of... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: A new Jane Austen adaptation/continuation written by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice 1995) debuted last night in the US on Masterpiece PBS. Inspired by an unfinished novel that Austen began shortly before her death in 1817, Sanditon, the original novel, the television series, and the novelization by Kate... Continue Reading →
Good things come in small packages! My regular readers will know that I adore a well-written short story and edited an anthology of them myself inspired by Jane Austen. Falling for Mr. Thornton is a new collection of “little gems” inspired by another classic author, Elizabeth Gaskell. Based on her Victorian-era novel North and South,... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Debbie Brown: This is one of those books that completely took me by surprise. I'm still gobsmacked by it. Do NOT be put off by the fact that the first part of the story — well, actually, the whole book — is centered squarely on George Wickham. Please trust me. It... Continue Reading →
Pride and Prejudice variations are the most popular Austenesque books in print. There are thousands of them now. I kid you not. While the genre can credit Abigail Reynolds as a pioneer in the Darcy and Elizabeth redux, there are always new authors with new stories breaking into the throng to add to the mix.... Continue Reading →
Happy New Year Janeites! I am starting off the new decade by introducing you to a fabulous forthcoming book in the Austenesque genre, Miss Austen, by Gill Hornby. I had the great pleasure of reading an early manuscript of Hornby's new novel Miss Austen last year. If like me, you have always been baffled by... 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 →
