Category: literature
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Emma vs. The Grand Sophy
Last month I talked about Austen’s Sense & Sensibility vs. Georgette Heyer’s A Civil Contract, and I’m back at it! Let’s look at Emma next to Heyer’s The Grand Sophy, one of my absolute favorites. Now, right off the bat, even though I love these two authors, I’ll be the first to admit that Heyer…
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Quiet Love vs. Romantic Dreams: Comparing Sense & Sensibility and A Civil Contract
When it comes to Regency romances, we love instant chemistry, passionate declarations, and dramatic obstacles overcome. Yet, some of the more realistic love stories involve quiet, steady partnerships built on respect and liking rather than overwhelming passion. In Austen’s Sense & Sensibility, we get this with Colonel Brandon and Marianne Dashwood. I used to be…
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Giving Thanks with Austen
With Thanksgiving just past–and passed with family–I revisit the holiday and examine the extent of the formal giving of thanks in Jane Austen’s work. The November U.S. holiday has spread to most of the Americas. The English have a more general harvest-related tradition of providing bread and other food to the poor, often through the…
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A Night at the Theatre
Hello, hello, hello! I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend and I am so pleased to help you start your week. This weekend was a whirlwind for me as I had three overlapping events (one that I just had to skip completely in order to make it through the others) and homework that was due…
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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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North and South at Times Wanders Off Course
Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South is often described as an “industrial” Pride and Prejudice. Written a half-century after Jane Austen’s novel, Gaskell’s book features an intelligent, independent woman and a self-made man so confident he makes Darcy look indecisive. The protagonists clash every time they meet but are also attracted to the intellect and spirit…
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What Do You Like About Pride & Prejudice Variations?
When I was thinking about my post for today, I went back to a topic that I’ve questioned in my mind for a while. There are a lot of variations of Jane Austen’s classic that go in different directions. Even though they still have the usual cast of characters, there are numerous ways to change…
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An Audience with Mr. Bennet Part II
First of all, I must thank Vesper and Glynis for the great comments last month. I was in the midst of a Critical Approaches to Literature class and used our conversations on one of my assignments regarding the Reader-Response Theory. Now, I won’t make you wait any longer for the next installment. For those of…
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What to Read After Austen?
Other than Jane Austen fan fiction… In the Meadow, Claude Monet 1876 It’s summer, which for me means sitting down outside with a good book. I’ve been exploring other, primarily female, British authors and if you’ve been asking the question, “Who has a similar style to Austen?” I may have an answer for you. If…