British screenwriter Andrew Davies turned eighty-nine last month, but he’s not slowing down. Quite the reverse.   Over the past six weeks, Davies—the author of four well-known TV adaptations of Austen novels, including the BBC’s iconic 1995 Pride and Prejudice -- has begun talking publicly about his next projects. Apparently, he’s working on three new Austen spinoffs—and hoo boy, they sound like doozies. Next to this stuff, Mr. Darcy’s wet shirt practically qualifies as abje

In life, Jane Austen’s royal connections were minimal. As Janeites will remember, the Prince Regent, later George IV, was a fan of her work. In 1815, a chance encounter scored Austen a private tour of the PR’s London residence, hosted by his librarian, and along the way, she received offer-you-can’t-refuse “permission” to dedicate Emma  to the royal personage. She complied. And that was the sum total of her close encounters with crowned heads.   Posthumously, however, Austen

Novelists haven’t been shy about updating Emma  to various walks of contemporary life: We’ve had queer teen Emma , hetero teen Emma ,...

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

Amid all the concerts, exhibits, tea parties, balls, walking tours, screen adaptations, and souvenir merch celebrating the 250 th ...

Although Jane Austen didn’t write for children, many Janeites discover Austen during their tween or teen years, around the age when...

Like periodical cicadas, Austen adaptations come around on a predictable schedule. Every ten or fifteen years, a newly hatched crew of...

When I’m asked which Jane Austen novel is my favorite—and if you write a book about Jane Austen fandom, you will be asked this question...

“To be quite honest, I do not think I can live without something of a musical society,” the newlywed Mrs. Elton reports telling her...

It’s always tempting to gorge on soon-to-be-forbidden foods in the days before starting a diet. Similarly, as New Year’s Resolution time...

Let me say up front that I understand that the death of a beloved pet—like the death of a newborn baby --is no laughing matter. And yet,...

One of the pleasures of life as a pedantic Janeite killjoy is the opportunity to call out minor--yet vexing!--Austen-related errors...