Deborah YaffeMay 24, 2021Reboot, bootedBack in late 2019, when corona was just a neighborhood in Queens, the news broke that Hollywood was considering a television reboot of...
Deborah YaffeApr 22, 2021Costume dramaIt’s Oscar night on Sunday, and even though this year will inevitably lack the red-carpet glamor of pre-pandemic times, I will avidly...
Deborah YaffeApr 1, 2021On this day in 1816. . .Sixty-second in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen’s letters. From time to time, you will hear writers claim that they...
Deborah YaffeFeb 15, 2021The Emma TrapWhat is the nature of inspiration? How elastic is its definition? How large a distance can stretch between inspiration and inspiree...
Deborah YaffeDec 31, 2020Goodbye at last, 2020A year ago, I confidently predicted a 2020 filled with the usual array of Austen events: “Teas, balls, fairs, festivals, conferences,...
Deborah YaffeDec 24, 2020New Year's presentOn March 2, I reported the happy news that a theatrical adaptation of Emma – written by Kate Hamill, the actor/playwright whose madcap...
Deborah YaffeDec 17, 2020Eternal veritiesDespite the strangeness of this year, some eternal verities remain. Snowflakes. Evergreens. Misquoting Jane Austen. A few highlights of...
Deborah YaffeNov 26, 2020Sauce for the gooseLike many of us in the Age of COVID, I’ll be hosting an unusually small Thanksgiving party tonight – just the four members of my...
Deborah YaffeNov 23, 2020On this day in 1815. . .Fifty-eighth in an occasional series of excerpts from Jane Austen's letters. Although Jane Austen was a professional writer who spent six...
Deborah YaffeMay 10, 2020Color-codingBetter late than never: Although it appeared more than a month ago, I’ve only just stumbled across a cogent and fascinating analysis of...
Deborah YaffeMay 6, 2020On and offFor those of us who love our Jane Austen adaptations, the coronavirus quarantine has been the best of times and the worst of times. The...
Deborah YaffeMar 18, 2020Silver liningsThere’s an upside to everything, apparently – even a global pandemic that threatens to sicken and perhaps kill millions while tanking the...