Category: Persuasion
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How Much Did Jane Austen Earn From Her Books?
Publishing options in Austen’s day and how much she earned on her books
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Romance Tropes Enduring Through the Ages
What’s your favorite romantic book trope? Romance tropes are the subject of much debate, but whether you love or hate them, they are a staple of modern romance books. Have you ever stopped to think about where they first appeared?
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Holiday Musings
Though the posting cycle shoots me past Austen’s birthday and Christmas, it is still a time of holiday reflections. Let us begin with the seemingly Grinch-like rejection of the following “Pride and Prejudice” holiday wishes, which we occasionally see on Austen-themed cards and knickknacks: “I sincerely hope your Christmas … may abound in the gaieties…
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A Match for Margaret Dashwood, part 6
Hello again! I’m back with the final section of my work-in-progress, an epistolary novella with characters from Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey! If you missed the first five parts (or need to refresh your memory about what’s going on), you can read the previous sections here. * * * * * * * * * * *…
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The Perfect Regency Heroine
Over the past few weeks I’ve been busy writing a new novel. I haven’t signed up for the official NaNoWriMo event this time, but I’m staying accountable in a small group with some friends. It’s been a great experience, since we’ve done some brainstorming as well as keeping up our word counts, and it’s a…
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Fresh Thoughts on the 2024 AGM
It is ever so difficult to characterize an annual general meeting (AGM) of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). There are so many different elements—local tours, specialty events, sometimes a major evening event, the plenary speeches open to all attendees. Multiple breakout sessions go simultaneously for two days so that no one person…
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Woolf’s Fascination with Austen
Virginia Woolf is famous for two remarks about Jane Austen. In The Common Reader, Woolf says that Austen’s juvenilia and unfinished works “offer the best criticism of the masterpieces. Here her difficulties are more apparent, and the method she took to overcome them less artfully concealed.” A lack of development in these works, she remarks,…
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A Match For Margaret Dashwood, Part 3
Hello again! I’m back with the next section of my work-in-progress, an epistolary novella with characters from Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey! If you missed the first two parts (or need to refresh your memory on what’s going on), you can read the previous sections here. * * * * * * *…
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Military Owes Jane; Janeites Owe Military
Last month, we explored the way the Napoleonic Wars affected Jane Austen’s family and how her novels were viewed by readers during the world wars of the twentieth century. This month, we’ll drill a little deeper and go a little wider. Austen’s novels might be said to have participated directly in World War II. Some…