Ten years ago this weekend, I published my first blog post—the first of many, as it turned out. (Today’s entry is #1,049, if you’re keeping score at home.)
Appropriately enough, that first post also concerned an anniversary--the two hundredth anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice. And of course I seized the opportunity to plug my then-forthcoming book Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom. (If you bought a copy, many thanks.)
In the years since that first post, I’ve critiqued Jane Austen fanfiction and movie adaptations, spotlighted peculiar Austen-related merchandise, commented on pop culture sightings of Our Author, marveled at some of the people who claim to be reading her, and mocked the internet for its misquotations. I’ve written about rare-book auctions, museum exhibitions, cryptocurrency, and even the Kardashians (twice!)
Am I exhaustively exploring every corner of the Austen universe? Nah. I make no claim to cover every tidbit of news about Our Jane, much less to read every Austen-related piece of fanfiction or literary criticism. (As if! I do have a life, you know!)
Rather, this blog remains what it’s always been: a twice-weekly, entirely unscientific and idiosyncratic account of whatever Austeniana has lately taken my fancy. Thanks for coming along for the ride.