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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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On this day in 1801. . .
Thirteenth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen’s letters. Finding biographical resonances in Jane Austen’s writing is a...
Deborah Yaffe
May 25, 2016
Finishing the already finished
Excited as I am to see Love and Friendship, Whit Stillman’s new film adaptation of Lady Susan, I’ve been more than a little skeptical of...
Deborah Yaffe
May 11, 2016
On this day in 1811. . .
Twelfth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen’s letters. In the spring of 1811, Jane Austen stood on the cusp of great...
Deborah Yaffe
Apr 24, 2016
Emma as imaginist
Emma marked its publication bicentennial in December, and celebrations are still underway across the Janeite world. I’m happy to announce...
Deborah Yaffe
Mar 10, 2016
On this day in 1814. . .
Eleventh in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen’s letters Henry Austen, the fourth-oldest of Jane Austen’s seven siblings,...
Deborah Yaffe
Mar 3, 2016
Charlotte's bargain
In preparation for an upcoming discussion with my local chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America, I just reread Pride and...
Deborah Yaffe
Feb 18, 2016
On this day in 1813. . .
Tenth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen’s letters. Today our world is awash in writers talking about their Intentions,...
Deborah Yaffe
Feb 4, 2016
Five, six -- who's counting?
So I’m reading along in my book of the moment -- Sisters in Law, Linda Hirshman’s interesting joint biography of Sandra Day O’Connor and...
Deborah Yaffe
Jan 21, 2016
The multi-faceted Mr. Woodhouse
Amid the flood of tributes, appraisals and critiques unleashed by last week’s bicentennial of Emma, I’ve been intrigued to note the...
Deborah Yaffe
Dec 28, 2015
The worst Christmas ever?
Despite the New York Times’ efforts to persuade us otherwise, Jane Austen is not a Christmassy writer. It’s true that the word...
Deborah Yaffe
Dec 24, 2015
Happy birthday to Emma
This Wednesday – the bicentennial of the publication of Emma – also marks the kickoff of “Emma in the Snow,” a blog series hosted by...
Deborah Yaffe
Dec 21, 2015
Pass the potatoes
For last year’s Thanksgiving Day blog, I amused myself by searching out Austen references to turkey. (As it happens, there are two – one...
Deborah Yaffe
Nov 26, 2015
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