From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:Â Just when I thought I had more editions of Pride and Prejudice than I should ever own up to, I will freely admit to just one more. After all, what Janeite could resist this tempting package? An unabridged first edition text, annotations by an Austen scholar, color illustrations,... Continue Reading →
Murder on the Bride’s Side, by Tracy Kiely – A Review
An old Richmond, Virginia plantation, a festive wedding, and family disputes set the stage for murder in Tracy Kiely’s novel Murder on the Bride’s Side, the second novel in the Elizabeth Parker mystery series inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novels. A year ago, Kiely wowed me with her debut novel Murder at Longbourn loosely based... Continue Reading →
The Cookbook Collector, by Allegra Goodman – A Review
As a Janeite, it is impossible ignore the siren call when an author announces to the book buying world that her new novel The Cookbook Collector is “a Sense and Sensibility for the digital age.” Whoa! My first reaction was “this is literary suicide.” Why would anyone want to equate themselves to a beacon of... Continue Reading →
Austen Book Sleuth: New Books in the Queue for August 2010
The Jane Austen book sleuth is happy to inform Janeites that many Austen inspired books are heading our way in August, so keep your eyes open for these new titles. Audio The Convenient Marriage, by Georgette Heyer, read by Richard Armitage In honor of historical romance novelist Georgette Heyer’s birthday this month, I am sure... Continue Reading →
Sunday Smile (a day early): Jane Austen Fight Club
Jane Austen Fight Club "No corsets, not hatpins, no crying." OK. This gave a us a roaring case of the giggles and could not wait until Sunday. Enjoy!
Help put Jane Austen on new UK commemorative coin
The UK Royal Mint is asking for the public’s help in determining who will be the next Great Briton? Yes gentle readers, they really care. Cast your vote to see whose face will don a commemorative coin being issued later this year. Among the nominees is our own lovely Jane Austen who must vie for... Continue Reading →
Reflections upon Jane Austen’s death, July 18, 1817: “her talents, her virtues, and her engaging manners”
Much has been written on the cause of Jane Austen’s lingering illness and untimely death in Winchester on 18 July 1817. I have a stack of biographies that I perused in search of a poignant passage that would express the tenor of this solemn day. Her great biographers Claire Tomalin, David Nokes and Elizabeth Jenkins... Continue Reading →
Pride and Prejudice: Elizabeth & Darcy, the Iconic Romantic Couple
From the desk of Jane Odiwe: Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are perhaps Jane Austen’s most beloved characters. Pride and Prejudice was written more than two hundred years ago, yet these characters remain as fresh and irresistibly fascinating to us as they were for the first generations that read their tale, and remain the standard... Continue Reading →
Pride and Prejudice: Group Read – Chapters 57-61: Summary, Musing & Discussion
“But, Lizzy, you look as if you did not enjoy it. You are not going to be missish, I hope, and pretend to be affronted at an idle report. For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?” Mr. Bennet, Chapter 57 QUICK SYNOPOSIS Elizabeth... Continue Reading →
Which Edition of Pride and Prejudice Should You Read?
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Jane Austen Thus began one of the most beloved novels ever written. The popularity of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, 200 years after its publication,... Continue Reading →
Pride and Prejudice: Group Read Chapters 50 – 56: Summary, Musings & Discussion
How Wickham and Lydia were to be supported in tolerable independence, she could not imagine. But how little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue. The Narrator, Chapter 50 QUICK SYNOPSIS Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic over Lydia and Wickham’s marriage, but... Continue Reading →
Pride and Prejudice: Group Read – Chapters 43-49: Summary, Musings & Discussion: Day 15 Giveaway
Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were all of them warm in their admiration; and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something! The Narrator, Chapter... Continue Reading →