Deborah Yaffe6 days agoShort and sweetFellow novelists do not invariably appreciate Jane Austen—looking at you, Charlotte Brontë!—but it’s always a pleasure when they do. And...
Deborah YaffeJun 15Writer's writerVirginia Woolf famously remarked that “of all great writers [Jane Austen] is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness.”...
Deborah YaffeJun 1Death of an unabashed JaneiteMartin Amis’ death last month at the age of seventy-three didn’t hit me as hard as it did the legions of bookish lads who fell for his...
Deborah YaffeApr 24False advertising?Like many Janeites, I know scattered bits of Austen by heart. I can proclaim the first sentences of Pride and Prejudice and Emma, recite...
Deborah YaffeFeb 23Heavenly visionsFrom time to time, my Google alert brings me word of Janeites I’ll never get to meet--fellow travelers who have passed on, leaving behind...
Deborah YaffeJan 26Jane Austen, matchmakerThe characters that Teri Roberts and Rachel Walton portrayed in the faux-Regency world of the Austen-themed online role-playing game...
Deborah YaffeJan 5A Janeite's Janeite passes onEdith Lank, who died on New Year’s Day at the age of ninety-six, was a Janeite’s Janeite. She read and reread Austen’s novels; began...
Deborah YaffeDec 29, 2022Dinner timeA common Janeite fantasy goes like this: You meet Jane Austen. Naturally, she finds you interesting and delightful. You get her take on,...
Deborah YaffeDec 19, 2022SugarplumsAs Christmas approaches, the internet has been filling our Janeite stockings with tidbits of Austen-related news: --Ahoy, there: Last...
Deborah YaffeDec 1, 2022CryptoJane, Part IIJane Austen’s famous remark about the relative value of tangible and intangible assets–“tho’ I like praise as well as anybody, I like...
Deborah YaffeOct 13, 2022The pendulum swingsThe smashing success of Netflix’s Bridgerton has ushered in a new era of multiracial casting in Regency costume dramas. This is good...
Deborah YaffeOct 6, 2022Ahead of his timeJaneites first discover Jane Austen at different moments in their lives. I’ve talked with people who read her first in a high school or...