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Journalist and author
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
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A letter to Anna
Six years ago, the singer Kelly Clarkson was forced to part with a charming little piece of jewelry she had just picked up at auction in...
Deborah Yaffe
Jun 24, 2019
On this day in 1808. . .
Forty-fifth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters It’s hardly news to dedicated Janeites that the Jane Austen we...
Deborah Yaffe
Jun 20, 2019
On this day in 1817. . .
Forty-fourth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. In May of 1817, the gravely ill Jane Austen left her home...
Deborah Yaffe
May 27, 2019
On this day in 1805. . .
Forty-third in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. "It is a period, indeed!” Captain Wentworth exclaims to Anne...
Deborah Yaffe
Apr 11, 2019
On this day in 1817. . .
Forty-second in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Those of us who feel strongly about books sometimes subject...
Deborah Yaffe
Mar 25, 2019
Life imitates Northanger Abbey
The bitterest pill that Janeites must swallow is the knowledge that Cassandra Austen kept dozens – nay, perhaps hundreds! – of her sister...
Deborah Yaffe
Mar 14, 2019
On this day in 1817. . .
Forty-first in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Only hindsight makes anything remarkable out of the letter...
Deborah Yaffe
Jan 24, 2019
On this day in 1816. . .
Fortieth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. It’s not always easy to tell when Jane Austen, master of irony,...
Deborah Yaffe
Dec 17, 2018
On this day in 1812. . .
Thirty-ninth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Talk about burying the lead. The letter that Jane Austen...
Deborah Yaffe
Nov 29, 2018
On this day in 1813. . .
Thirty-eighth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Some writers fill their letters with detailed responses to...
Deborah Yaffe
Oct 11, 2018
On this day in 1813. . .
Thirty-seventh in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Jane Austen never lived alone. From her earliest days,...
Deborah Yaffe
Sep 24, 2018
On this day in 1796. . .
Thirty-sixth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. The young Jane Austen was a voracious reader. We know this...
Deborah Yaffe
Aug 23, 2018
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