Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Syrie James: Amy Elizabeth Smith, an English professor at a private California university, uses her development leave to test a theory: how do Jane Austen’s novels resonate with readers in Latin America? Do people identify with her characters and storylines? In other words, does Austen translate across time, distance, and language?... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Jeffrey Ward: Is it a truth universally acknowledged that a woman of forty, with nothing left to lose, could commit random acts of desperation against her normal sensibilities? Meet Kate, the heroine of Kim Izzo’s debut novel, who is considering marriage for money and is charged to write a feature magazine... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Jeffrey Ward: Many readers may think a contemporary retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility the ‘lazy way’ to a debut novel. Just hang everything on the framework of the classic original since Jane Austen did all the work. Easy? Not! Can you imagine the adjustment difficulties in making the two-century... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder: Gossip. It has the power to create larger than life reputations, but also has the ability to destroy said reputations. Within Jane Austen’s novels we’ve seen just what gossip can do; Mr. Darcy’s reputation and person are vilified by Wickham, John Thorpe gossips about the true size of Catherine... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Aia A. Hussein: While many of us can certainly understand Cassandra Austen’s desire to protect the privacy and personal life of her younger sister by destroying much of their correspondence, it is nevertheless a point of frustration for Jane Austen scholars and enthusiasts. Not only did all that letter-burning deprive us... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Shelley DeWees: It’s a sequel! To Shades of Milk and Honey! Are you excited? After the resounding success of Mary Robinette Kowal’s first book, you probably should be. But beware as you peruse this, gentle readers, for I have written it under the assumption that you’ve read and enjoyed the lovely... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Jeffrey Ward: Following A Weekend with Mr. Darcy and Dreaming of Mr. Darcy comes the caboose in Victoria Connelly’s “Austen Addicts” trilogy: Mr. Darcy Forever. Every niche of this contemporary romance is lavishly replete with enough references from Jane Austen’s six novels to sate even the worst addict. This charmer, set... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Christina Boyd: Debut author Cynthia Ingram Hensley presents Echoes of Pemberley, a contemporary Pride and Prejudice spin-off for young adults. The modern day residents of Pemberley estate are the descendants of Jane Austen’s very own Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. A fatal plane crash eight years previous orphaned Catherine Elizabeth Darcy... Continue Reading →
Review by Jeffrey Ward From Jack Caldwell, the author who brought us Pemberley Ranch, comes a 3-alarm war-time romance: The Three Colonels, Jane Austen’s Fighting Men. An amalgamation of two separate novels is often labeled a “mish-mash” but Mr. Caldwell’s unique melding of the principals from Pride and Prejudice with those from Sense and Sensibility... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Lucy Warriner: Imagine the Bennet family’s worst fears—the death of Mr. Bennet and the loss of his entailed estate to his cousin Mr. Collins—had come true in Pride and Prejudice. How would Mrs. Bennet and her five almost dowerless daughters survive? Would the unconventional Miss Elizabeth Bennet abandon her resolution to... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Lucy Warriner: If your lost love returned with no recollection of the dispute that separated you, how would you react? If you had a second chance at happiness with him, would you divulge your tumultuous past? Anne Elliot faces these questions in Captain Wentworth Home from the Sea, Mary Lydon Simonsen’s... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder: I’ve often wondered what modern day psychiatric medicine would say about some of my favorite literary characters. Are they bi-polar? Do they suffer from ADHD, depression, or a form of autism? Author Nina Benneton explores what a modern day Darcy would be like, suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder in... Continue Reading →
