February - 2021

Journalist and author

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Jane Austen in the age of Zoom

Feb 25

Jane Austen in the age of Zoom

A year ago, I was looking forward to my upcoming appearance at Jane Austen Day, a biannual event sponsored by the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America. The talk was planned for Philadelphia in early April. Needless to say, it didn’t happen, but organizers decided to reschedule for spring 2021. Because surely by then we’d be able to meet in person, right? Well, no. But rather than again pushing its event into the uncertain future, the Philly

Three weeks, three books (or is it four?)

Feb 22

Three weeks, three books (or is it four?)

Jane Austen sightings are like buses: Sometimes, you don’t get one for ages, and sometimes, they come in bunches. These last few weeks have been a bunchy time, which is always fun for Janeites. Even more fun, the sightings have encompassed a good percentage of Austen’s oeuvre: * Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, February 16: Last week, Boston magazine highlighted the luxury renovation of a five-thousand-square-foot Arts-and-Crafts-style house in Concord, Massachusetts, a tow

Staying safe

Feb 18

Staying safe

Four years ago, I blogged about a rather unusual type of Austen-themed merchandise. Who needs fridge magnets or tote bags when you can have Mr. Darcy condoms? (Crucial accoutrements for those who wish to avoid any need for Jane Austen cloth diapers.) At the time, I assumed the book-themed condoms were merely novelty items – jokes, rather than literary criticism. But now an online platform called Dazed Beauty, spun off from the British style magazine Dazed, has shone a light i

The Emma Trap

Feb 15

The Emma Trap

What is the nature of inspiration? How elastic is its definition? How large a distance can stretch between inspiration and inspiree before the entire concept snaps? I found myself pondering these deep philosophical questions as I watched Hallmark’s latest Jane Austen-themed movie, Playing Cupid, which aired Saturday night and is available to view online until Wednesday. According to the announcement preceding the broadcast, the movie was “inspired by the classic novel Emma,”

On this day in 1801. . .

Feb 11

On this day in 1801. . .

Sixty-first in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Jane Austen communicated nothing particularly remarkable in the letter she wrote to her sister, Cassandra, exactly 220 years ago today (#34 in Deirdre Le Faye’s standard edition of Austen’s correspondence): news about their sailor brothers, Frank and Charles; an account of her ongoing visit with the Bigg sisters; a jokey reference to Cassandra’s recent trip to see a famous London menagerie during her

Among the greats

Feb 8

Among the greats

For college professors, accustomed to lecturing to captive audiences of sometimes disengaged undergraduates, it’s a badge of honor to make the roster of The Great Courses, a company that offers lifelong learners the chance to voluntarily (!) access audio and video lecture programs on a range of subjects. Devoney Looser, the Jane-Austen-scholar-cum-roller-derby-whiz who makes an appearance in Among the Janeites, has now reached that exalted pantheon with a Great Course on – we

Hear this

Feb 4

Hear this

If you want a dulcet-toned Brit to read aloud to you from the works of Jane Austen, your options are many. The audiobook giant Audible offers dozens of versions of all the novels, including more than thirty recordings of Persuasion, read by the likes of Greta Scacchi, Juliet Stevenson, and Olivia Williams, to name only those who have acted in screen adaptations of Emma. But perhaps you’ve always wanted to get your Austen from the place that supplies you with your Beyoncé, Tay

The perfect happiness of the union

Feb 1

The perfect happiness of the union

"You have some news to hear, now you are come back, that will rather surprise you." "Have I?" said he quietly, and looking at her; "of what nature?" "Oh! the best nature in the world -- a wedding." --Emma, ch. 49 Who can’t use some good news these days? And so I was delighted to read this past weekend about a recent marriage made in Janeite heaven – or, at least, a marriage involving a Janeite who met her future husband at a Star Wars gathering. (Close enough.) The bride in q