Deborah YaffeApr 28Under the floorboardsWhen I was a little girl, my favorite toy was my dollhouse. I liked setting up tiny roomscapes filled with detailed, perfectly manageable...
Deborah YaffeNov 22, 2021Talking about "talking"In the social world of Jane Austen’s Regency, young people navigated a complex set of unwritten rules for managing friendship and...
Deborah YaffeNov 17, 2016Travels in translationJane Austen’s novels are filled with tourism: think Catherine Morland in Bath, Elizabeth Bennet in Derbyshire, the Dashwood sisters in...
Deborah YaffeAug 29, 2016Treasures of the BritsAnd here’s an interesting footnote to the tale of Jane Austen’s ring – bought at auction four years ago by American singer Kelly...
Deborah YaffeMay 11, 2015What's in a name?I love names – perhaps because I’m terrible at faces, perhaps just because I’m a verbal person in all respects. Whatever the reason, I...
Deborah YaffeNov 6, 2014One man's fandomA while ago, my husband wrote the word “Basement” in green marker on the November 4 square of our family calendar. He didn’t do it to...
Deborah YaffeAug 11, 2014Jane Austen and babies: not so perfect togetherJane Austen, I think it’s fair to say, was not one to coo sentimentally over babies. She did not wax eloquent about the radiance of...
Deborah YaffeMar 10, 2014Janeites and Disney fansJane Austen and Disney: it’s a nightmarish pairing. An adorably anthropomorphic Pug steals fabric from Mrs. Norris’ poor box to trim...
Deborah YaffeJan 2, 2014It's that time of year againNew Year’s Resolutions for Janeites 1. Adopt Mr. Woodhouse’s macrobiotic/vegan diet. “The wedding-cake. . .had been a great distress to...