Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Katie Patchell For all its stylistic elegance and its iron-backboned heroine, Mansfield Park is the black sheep of the Jane Austen canon. It’s the book most likely to be placed at the bottom of “Which is your favorite Austen novel?” polls. Public opinion hovers somewhere between “That’s a book by Jane... 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 →
Today is #JaneAustenDay, marking the online celebration of her birthday. Born on a stormy night in 1775, she was the seventh child of Rev. George Austen and his lady Cassandra of Steventon, Hampshire. Her modest beginning stands in strong contrast to her international fame today. In observance, I am participating in a blog tour organized... 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 →
Hey-ho-ho Jane Austen fans. How are your holiday festivities and shopping shaping up? My neighborhood has decked their houses with lights and a few Santa’s on the rooves. One even sports a giant green Grinch. Ouch! They could use a good dose of holiday cheer, like watching one of the billion Hallmark Holiday movies airing... 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 Tracy Hickman: Readers of Pride and Prejudice often compare Charlotte Lucas unfavorably with Elizabeth Bennet who bravely resists financial and familial pressure to accept a proposal from the comically inept Mr. Collins, the man who stands to inherit Longbourn upon her father’s death. While nothing but the deepest love will induce... Continue Reading →
The holiday season is upon us once again with all the joys of gift giving for loved ones and friends. To make it easy for you, here is a handy gift guide for the Jane Austen fan in your life. COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS OF JANE AUSTEN’S NOVELS The Jane Austen Collection from the Folio Society... Continue Reading →
Hey-ho Janeites! May I introduce you to a newly released Regency romance fantasy novel today? By Time Divided, by Elaine Jeremiah is a time-travel story that takes us back into Jane Austen’s England. Time-travel in fiction is a creative literary technique. It allows characters and readers to be transported to a different era. The Time... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose: One of the brilliant things about modern retellings is the amusement in discovering the similarities in the characters and scenes to the original while still getting a unique flavor to the story by seeing them in a new setting. Fiona Palmer's, Matters of the Heart, a modern retelling of... Continue Reading →
How many contemporary Austenesque books have you read? If you are like me, my bookshelves and Kindle are packed with stories set in the Regency era with just a few set in modern times. It is a challenge to transport Austen’s characters and plots into contemporary settings. Authors must tweak much of it to fit... Continue Reading →
