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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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Pictures of Fanny
Those of us who first encountered Jane Austen on the page of a book without illustrations -- rather than on a movie screen -- probably...
Deborah Yaffe
Feb 2, 2017
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
Setting Mansfield Park to music
The ordinary happiness and quiet heartbreak of Jane Austen's novels hardly seem to fit the melodramatic template of so many grand operas,...
Deborah Yaffe
Mar 16, 2016
Getting it wrong, again
It’s time again for one of my favorite pastimes: Making Fun of the Internet – Jane Austen Edition. Today’s episode includes two entries: ...
Deborah Yaffe
Mar 7, 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
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
Fun! Inspirational! But not Jane Austen!
Those of you who’ve been reading this blog for awhile may stop here. You’ve heard what I’m going to say: They’re misquoting Jane Austen...
Deborah Yaffe
Oct 4, 2015
Miss Price goes to Washington
Jane Austen has been a semi-regular presence in the New York Times Book Review’s weekly “By the Book” feature, in which noted authors...
Deborah Yaffe
Aug 9, 2015
Gobble, gobble
As I contemplated my holiday cooking earlier this week, I found myself wondering whether Jane Austen ever mentions The Bird – our...
Deborah Yaffe
Nov 27, 2014
Must stop can't stop
I really should stop. Don’t torture myself, right? Just surrender my Jane Austen Critical Faculties license, turn in my Janeite Purist...
Deborah Yaffe
Oct 19, 2014
Editing for Austen geeks
When you’re an Austen geek, you’re an Austen geek. One of my favorite breakout sessions from the just-concluded Jane Austen Society of...
Deborah Yaffe
Oct 15, 2014
Montreal ahoy!
By the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to Montreal, for this year’s JASNA AGM. Although I’ve attended the last five AGMs (plus two...
Deborah Yaffe
Oct 8, 2014
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