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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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What would Jane Austen say?
“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance,” I texted my husband. I was not providing dampening commentary on our nearly...
Deborah Yaffe
Dec 12, 2019
Lydia the leopard
I really should cease being surprised by how indiscriminately purveyors of goods and services slap the name “Jane Austen” onto items with...
Deborah Yaffe
Oct 30, 2019
Color-coordinated Austen
It’s been clear for a while now that Jane Austen has evolved from revered writer into lifestyle brand: FamousJane, bringing you Classy...
Deborah Yaffe
Aug 25, 2019
Travelin' on
Two years ago, Dutch journalist Karin Quint ran an admirably efficient Kickstarter campaign that ultimately raised more than $17,000 to...
Deborah Yaffe
Jun 12, 2019
Pop v. popular
Jane Austen is popular, but is she pop? This pressing question presented itself irresistibly when, just in time for Valentine’s Day, I...
Deborah Yaffe
Feb 11, 2019
Printer error
Few expressions of Janeite commitment are as permanent -- not to mention as painful -- as the Jane Austen tattoo. Therefore, I’d have...
Deborah Yaffe
Jan 21, 2019
P&P on the block
Once again, it’s time to play “If I Were a Rich Janeite.” (Cue klezmer music.) The British auctioneer Bonhams has announced that, later...
Deborah Yaffe
Aug 29, 2018
Washing up
Do Jane Austen’s characters keep bars of soap handy for washing? This is one of the many details of Regency life that Austen does not...
Deborah Yaffe
Mar 1, 2018
Minting money from the Austen tenner
The Jane Austen £10 note has been circulating for only four months, but already its most collectible iterations are fetching inflated...
Deborah Yaffe
Jan 18, 2018
Serial-number currency
When is $13 worth $9,410? When it’s embodied in a low-serial-number Jane Austen banknote, apparently. Last week, the Bank of England...
Deborah Yaffe
Oct 8, 2017
Haute couture juvenilia
Collecting copies of Jane Austen’s books is a popular Janeite pastime. The wealthy seek out rare and valuable first editions. The...
Deborah Yaffe
Sep 3, 2017
Book covers
Jane Austen and sex: By now, you’ve heard all the arguments. 1. She’s a sex-free zone, where female modesty and male decorum are prized...
Deborah Yaffe
May 7, 2017
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