Letters

The Line of Thought

. . . to dream over books and loiter at street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream.

--Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

On this day in 1808. . .

One hundred and fourth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Jane Austen, it seems, took a rather jaundiced...

Deborah Yaffe

Oct 2

In Jane Austen's handwriting

Physical copies of Jane Austen’s letters are rare commodities. Of the 160 letters whose text we have, seven are known only from copies...

Deborah Yaffe

Sep 25

On this day in 1796. . .

One hundred and third in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Every family has its private jokes:...

Deborah Yaffe

Sep 15

Who's counting?

It’s fair to say that Jane Austen was a prolific letter-writer. Deirdre Le Faye, who edited the standard edition of Austen’s...

Deborah Yaffe

Sep 1

On this day in 1816. . .

One hundred and second in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. The letter Jane Austen wrote to her 23-year-old...

Deborah Yaffe

Jun 23

On this day in 1801. . .

One hundred and first in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. How improper were Jane Austen’s letters? By...

Deborah Yaffe

May 5

On this day in 1816. . .

One hundredth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. As we Janeites never tire of pointing out, Jane Austen...

Deborah Yaffe

Apr 21

A wrecking ball for Ashe Park House

The material traces of Jane Austen’s life are so scarce that devoted Janeites—or people seeking to profit off Janeite devotion--tend to...

Deborah Yaffe

Apr 10

Delayed snark

Some five years ago, my local chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America sponsored a discussion of Jane Austen at Home , the...

Deborah Yaffe

Mar 17

Branding exercise

A few weeks ago, I ran across a 2011 article in which the wonderful Scottish novelist Ali Smith explained why she seldom grants...

Deborah Yaffe

Feb 3

On this day in 1799. . .

Ninety-ninth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Exactly 226 years ago today, the 23-year-old Jane Austen...

Deborah Yaffe

Jan 9

On this day in 1798. . .

Ninety-eighth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Mary Lloyd was a friend of Jane and Cassandra Austen...

Deborah Yaffe

Dec 2, 2024