Ah, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens! Who among us hasn’t wished we could go back in time and visit this epicenter of entertainment in its heyday? Continuing my series on real-life places that appear in my books, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens is a prominent location in my upcoming novel A Favorable Impression. Previously, I featured the Royal Menagerie,…
Fitzwilliam Darcy’s proposal of marriage would save both Mary and her, for her sister had agreed to assist with the gentleman’s young daughter. But what of the man’s tale of having corresponded with her father and of Mr. Bennet having purported a marriage between this stranger and her? Elizabeth knew nothing of the arrangement nor…
Keep reading
Thank you to all who gave our first giveaway a try. We appreciate everyone who has gone on this journey with us. Remember . . . First up, is our Gianna Thomas. Ms. Thomas’s winners will have his/her choice of an one of three collections. (If the winner is in the U.S, he/she will receive…
Keep reading
Good morrow, fair readers. Happy spring! When writing Mistaken Premise, I did my usual nerd thing of looking for sources to capture the prevailing thoughts of Scotland, its people and its history, in the early Regency period. Following the Jacobite Rebellions, English society viewed their northern compatriot as a land of barbarous savages, but several…
Keep reading
With many sources of water known to be unsanitary and thus unpotable in times of yore, one would have been safer choosing an alcoholic beverage such as wine, port, or mead during and after a meal. For the upper classes, wines were served throughout dinner, while middle and lower classes would substitute expensive wines for…
Keep reading
How did you fall in love with Jane Austen? Probably all of you reading this are in love with Austen or you wouldn’t be on this site. (Although there might be a few newbies!!) What was it that first drew you to her? Did you have a first encounter that, like Elizabeth and Darcy, you…
Keep reading
My newest release, a S&S-based mystery starring Mary Bennet and her friend, investigator Alexander Lyons, takes place in London. I loved writing about London for a variety of reasons, one of which is that it’s a fabulous city and I never have enough time when I’m there. The history, the landmarks, the sights, the culture……
Keep reading
Chat GPT (an AI writing software) and I team up to compose some stellar JAFF.
Keep reading
A Favorable Impression is the second book in my collection of standalone P & P variations, The Other Paths Series. Each book features a different “what if” scenario that brings Darcy and Elizabeth together via a slightly different path than the original novel.
Keep reading
Eleven months ago, my journey toward The Sailor’s Rest began with these words I found squirreled away in a file from April 18, 2022, right after the blog tour for The Grail ended. A gentleman’s greatcoat and beaver most assuredly were not foul weather gear of the type he was used to. Multiple capes did…
Keep reading
I am always concerned when I write about women’s issues. While I am a student of both Woolf and Coleridge and try to use my androgynous mind, I worry I am writing how a man would see empowered women, blinded by my Weltanschauung. I can only hope that my awareness of my inherently male point…
Keep reading
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
She is an established literary figure in English literature. Austen’s skillful use of mixing together the narrator’s telling the story with a character’s thoughts and emotions and dialogue was just catching on in the late 1700s and early 1800s, but it is a mainstay in modern fiction. She created literary realism.
People speak of the greatness of Shakespeare, but falter when asked to read or explain his works. Not so, with Jane Austen. Because her works have been so easily consumed for more than 200 years, some forget how groundbreaking the six novels of the daughter of a simple rector in rural Hampshire, England, can be. We on this blog have not forgotten.
