Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Jayda Justus: Before Ginger Rogers, there was Adele Astaire. This historical biographical novel explores the extraordinary life and loves of Adele from 1920s New York City through wartime London intertwined with the story of a young dancer, Violet, who isn’t letting her dire circumstances keep her from her dreams. BOOK DESCRIPTION... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Since watching the 1943 movie, So Proudly We Hail, I have always been interested in the story of military nurses in the Pacific during WWII. There are so many movies and books based on the Battle of the Philippines (1941-1942) from the male perspective that I was thrilled... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Tracy Hickman:Â I have been fascinated with history since I was a child. Learning about people and events from the past has helped me better understand my own life and the world around me. While there can be a temptation to look back at a period of history and think that... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: There is something about royalty that is so fascinating to me. What would it be like to be born into a world of privilege and power? How do they live? Who are their friends? What are their secrets? The British royal family is my favorite, so I jumped... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Fans of the bestselling World War II historical fiction novels such as The Nightingale, The Women in the Castle, and Lilac Girls have been eagerly waiting for The Socialite, by J'nell Ciesielski. Loosely based on the real-life Mitford sisters, this wartime novel is set in Paris, France, a city conquered... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: A year and a half ago I had the privilege of reading an early manuscript of The Jane Austen Society by debut novelist Natalie Jenner. It only took two chapters for me to be totally hooked. By the end of the book, I was weeping with joy. I just... 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:Â Set in an English country village at the onset of WWII, The Chilbury Ladies Choir is told through letters and journal and diary entries by four female characters who are faced with keeping the home fires burning while their menfolk are off fighting Nazis. The first-person format intrigued... Continue Reading →
A book review of LOST ROSES, bestselling author Martha Hall Kelly, second historical fiction novel set in Paris, New York and St. Petersburg during WWI and the Russian Revolution.
From the desk of Christina Boyd: Author Mary Lydon Simonsen is making quite a name for herself as a writer who successfully uses Jane Austen’s characters and themes in other historical times and settings. Her latest Pride and Prejudice re-imagining is set in WWII England with the Bennet girls conscripted into the workforce to support... Continue Reading →
Could Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice have been based on the courtship of Elizabeth Garrison and William Lacey, a Regency-era couple who appear to be the doppelgangers of the legendary Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy? The possibility is intriguing to Maggie Joyce, a 22-year old American working in England after WWII who hears... Continue Reading →
