As an avid gardener and Jane Austen enthusiast, I have been waiting patiently for this...a rose named after one of my favorite novels, Pride and Prejudice! It was inevitable that some rose breeder would cash in on the Pride and Prejudice bicentenary. I am just surprised it took them so long to name a rose... Continue Reading →
The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things, by Paula Byrne – A Review
From the desk of Br. Paul Byrd, OP “This book is something different and more experimental. Rather than rehearsing all the known facts, this biography focuses on a variety of key moments, scenes and objects in both the life and work of Jane Austen…In addition, this biography follows the lead of Frank Austen rather than... Continue Reading →
Jane Austen First Editions: How Much is Yours Worth?
Just in case you were interested to know how much your first editions of Jane Austen's works were worth, this video featuring Adam Douglas, Senior Specialist in Early Literature at Peter Harrington, a rare book dealer in London, introduces a selection of Jane Austen’s first editions and explains how bindings affect value. We just love... Continue Reading →
A Closer Look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: Finale: Episodes 90-100
From the desk of Virginia Claire Tharrington This week I am wrapping up my look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed watching these videos. They are light, bright and sparkling, just as Jane Austen describes Pride and Prejudice, yet they also have serious modern themes that are... Continue Reading →
A Closer Look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: Episodes 85-89 and Domino Videos
From the desk of Virginia Claire Tharrington This week on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries I will be looking at episodes 85-89 and Gigi’s Domino videos. There was just too much to get through with the Lydia storyline to add in Jane and Bing, so I will save that for next week. These are emotionally packed... Continue Reading →
A Closer Look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: Episodes 77-84
From the desk of Virginia Claire Tharrington There are only 8 videos this week of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but they are packed full of important information and plot developments. Here are some of the highlights and my take on them from these episodes. Meeting Gigi Darcy: Gigi Darcy, played by Allison Paige, is a... Continue Reading →
What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved, by John Mullan – A Review
From the desk of Sarah Emsley “The closer you look, the more you see,” writes John Mullan in What Matters in Jane Austen? Elizabeth Bennet learns this lesson in Pride and Prejudice when she reads and rereads Mr. Darcy’s letter “with the closest attention” to understand why he separated Bingley from Jane and why he... Continue Reading →
A Closer Look at The Lydia Bennet Videos Episodes 1-29
From the desk of Virginia Claire Tharrington We have been taking a closer look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries over the past few weeks. Lizzie has two sisters in this adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice: Jane and Lydia. While Lizzie is the main character of the novel, and this new series, her... Continue Reading →
A Closer Look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: Episodes 67-76
From the desk of Virginia Claire Tharrington: This week on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Lizzie comes home from Collins & Collins and celebrates the holidays. Episodes 67-76 don’t introduce any new characters (though we do see Mary from Lydia’s videos in Lizzie’s videos for the first time), but there is significant character development of Lizzie,... Continue Reading →
Return to Longbourn: The Next Chapter in the Continuing Story of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, by Shannon Winslow – A Review
From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder: Ever since Shannon Winslow debuted with The Darcys of Pemberley (DoP) in 2011, she’s been an Austen fan-fiction author that I’ve kept on my radar. In the two years since she published DoP I’ve not only read everything else she’s written, For Myself Alone (2012) and Mr. Collins’s Last... Continue Reading →
A Closer Look at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: Episodes 51-66
From the desk of Virginia Claire Tharrington This week I will be looking at episodes 51-66 of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries starting with Lizzie’s life while she is visiting Collins and Collins. We get to meet several knew characters and get to see some of the most beloved ones in a new setting. Did I... Continue Reading →
Pemberley or Pride and Prejudice Continued, by Emma Tennant – A Review
This is my third selection for The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013, our year-long event honoring Jane Austen’s second published novel. Please follow the link above to read all the details of this reading and viewing challenge. Sign up’s are open until July 1, 2013. If you can, take yourself back to 1993. Some... Continue Reading →