The first blog post I ever wrote about Jane Austen appeared here on February 4, 2013 , nearly thirteen years ago. Today’s post is my 1,354 th —and my last.   I’m not wrapping up the blog because Jane Austen no longer makes waves. On the contrary: This next year is already shaping up to deliver the usual onslaught of Austen-related news: * Three new Austen-themed adaptations will hit screens large and small: The BBC’s ten-part series The Other Bennet Sister , based on a Pride

Jane Austen’s momentous 250 th  birthday—spoiler alert: it’s tomorrow!--can be celebrated anywhere, of course, but it must be extra special to celebrate it in a place steeped in authentic Regency history. In other words: Oh, to be in England this week, for events like these:   * Bath: The Jane Austen Festival’s Yuletide Jane Austen Birthday Ball was surely one of the most coveted tickets of the year, and no wonder: The ball was held in the storied Pump Room , a prime gatheri

How famous is Jane Austen? Let us assess the evidence: the screen adaptations, the TikTok mentions, the T-shirts and fridge magnets and tote bags.   Or we could take a trip to the Grolier Club in New York City, a private club dedicated to books and the book arts, where a free exhibit titled “ Paper Jane: 250 Years of Austen ” is opening today.   The exhibit, which runs through Valentine’s Day, includes “a kaleidoscopic mix of 110 objects, including rare first editions, manusc

In life, Jane Austen’s royal connections were minimal. As Janeites will remember, the Prince Regent, later George IV, was a fan of her work. In 1815, a chance encounter scored Austen a private tour of the PR’s London residence, hosted by his librarian, and along the way, she received offer-you-can’t-refuse “permission” to dedicate Emma  to the royal personage. She complied. And that was the sum total of her close encounters with crowned heads.   Posthumously, however, Austen

Jane Austen’s views on the international tragedies of her time are mostly unknown, except when they are brutally unsentimental. “How...

Amid all the concerts, exhibits, tea parties, balls, walking tours, screen adaptations, and souvenir merch celebrating the 250 th ...

Autumn is a lovely season in England—cue the Keats : “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”--and for Janeites, this fall offers some...

As we approach the last third of this Austen 250 year, the torrent of anniversary-related events shows no sign of abating—especially in...

Those of us who live within striking distance of New York City have another five weeks in which to catch the Morgan Library & Museum’s...

Back in 2008, the Jane Austen Society of North America’s Louisville chapter launched a Jane Austen Festival, held over a July weekend at...

Hard as we Americans try, there are some things we just can’t do as well as the British.   Last month, as blog readers will recall ,...

Fifty years ago, the ardent Janeite collector Alberta Burke--whose husband, Henry, would go on to co-found the Jane Austen Society of...