Miss Bates has an optimistic outlook on life (“It is such a happiness when good people get together -- and they always do”) but not necessarily an accurate one. Alas, sometimes good people don’t get together.
But score one for Miss Bates! Remember that Kickstarter appeal I wrote about last month, the one aimed at funding an English translation of Dutch journalist and Janeite Karin Quint's guide to Jane Austen sites in England? Last week came word that the campaign succeeded in raising more than $17,000, enough to pay for the book.
The book won't be sold in stores, but those of us who ponied up our money on Kickstarter are assured of our own copies – the planned drop date is July, coinciding with the bicentenary of Austen’s death. And now comes word that Karin Quint has also taken pity on those of you good people who didn’t get your act together in time: for the next few months, you can get your own copy here.