The Thing About Austen

Ep64: The Thing About the Bertram Sisters' Puzzle

3/26/2023

How do you solve a puzzle like Fanny? This episode we survey the Bertram sisters' map puzzle and discuss the social cartography of Mansfield Park.

Selected Sources

Cammack, Zan. “Fanny Price’s Social Cartography in Mansfield Park.” Nineteenth Century Studies 29, no. 1 (January 1, 2016): 37–52. https://doi.org/10.5325/ninecentstud.29.2015-16.0037.
Norcia, Megan A. “Puzzling Empire: Early Puzzles and Dissected Maps as Imperial Heuristics.” Children’s Literature 37, no. 1 (2009): 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1353/chl.0.0807.
Shefrin, Jill. “‘Make It a Pleasure and Not a Task’: Educational Games for Children in Georgian England.” The Princeton University Library Chronicle 60, no. 2 (1999): 251. https://doi.org/10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.60.2.0251.
Wenner, Barbara Britton. Prospect and Refuge in the Landscape of Jane Austen. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006.

Ep63: The Thing About Polluting the Shades of Pemberley

3/11/2023

Lady Catherine has stopped by Longbourn for a little chat, and she clearly needs to read an article or two on appropriate guest etiquette. This episode we break down Lady Catherine's famous insult to Elizabeth and get into its many layers and possible meanings.

Selected Sources:

Curry, Mary Jane. “‘Not a Day Went by without a Solitary Walk’: Elizabeth’s Pastoral World.” Persuasions 22 (2000).
Ellington, H. Elisabeth. “‘A Correct Taste in Landscape’: Pemberley as Fetish and Commodity.” In Jane Austen in Hollywood, edited by Linda Troost and Sayre N. Greenfield, 90–110. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
Gill, Richard, and Susan Gregory. Mastering the Novels of Jane Austen. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Ep62: The Thing About Lucy's Filigree

2/28/2023

Lucy and Elinor are about to have a tense, coded conversation, and a bit of filigree work is the perfect accompaniment. This episode we're talking about the art of filigree, and the role that it plays in Lucy and Elinor's companionable confrontation.

Selected Sources:

Battisson, Clair. “‘Natural Born Quillers’ - Conservation of Paper Quills on the Sarah Siddons Plaque Frames.” Victoria and Albert Museum’s Conservation Journal, April 1998. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/issue-27/natural-born-quillers-conservation-of-paper-quills-on-the-sarah-siddons-plaque-frames/.
Bethe, Monika. “Submerged Symbols in Jane Austen.” Kobe College Studies 24, no. 2 (December 1977): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.18878/00000682.
Heydt-Stevenson, Jillian. “Bejeweling the Clandestine Body/Bawdy: The Miniature Spaces of Sense and Sensibility.” In Austen’s Unbecoming Conjunctions: Subversive Laughter, Embodied History, 29–67. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Austen_s_Unbecoming_Conjunctions/F_8YDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.
The New Lady’s Magazine: Or, Polite and Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex: Entirely Devoted to Their Use and Amusement. Vol. 1. London: Alex Hogg, 1786. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Lady_s_Magazine/RHlPAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=filigree&pg=PA529&printsec=frontcover.

Ep61: The Thing About Speculation with guest Dr. Regulus Allen

2/19/2023

This week we're dealing out an episode on the game of Speculation with our guest Dr. Regulus Allen. We discuss the rules of play and the ways in which the game serves the narrative in Mansfield Park. Dr. Allen also provides us with some fun speculation (see what we did there?) as to what Jane Austen's own favorite card game might have been.

Thank you so much to Regulus for joining us for this episode! You can learn more about her and her work at https://english.calpoly.edu/faculty/allen.

For an explanation of the rule for Speculation, see "How to Win at Speculation" from JaneAusten.co.uk

Ep60: The Thing About Frank's Haircut

1/29/2023

Our scissors are sharpened, and we're ready for a stylish new 'do. Lucky for us, Frank has just returned from London and can fill us in on all the latest trends. This episode we take a look at popular hairstyles for Regency gentlemen and delve into some of the reasons why these looks became fashionable.

Selected Sources

Burns, Robert. “On Mr Pit’s Hair-Powder Tax,” 1795. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/on_mr_pits_hair_powder_tax/.
Evans, Chris, and Alun Withey. “At the Edge of Reason: Shaving and Razors in 18th-Century Britain.” HistoryExtra. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/at-the-edge-of-reason-shaving-and-razors-in-18th-century-britain/.
Higginbotham, Adam. “Scot Free.” The Observer, September 7, 2003, sec. Film. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/sep/07/features.magazine.
Issawi, Danya. “Thinking Hard About Their Hair.” The New York Times, November 11, 2021, sec. Style. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/style/tiktok-hair-boys-men.html.
Markiewicz, Emma. “Hair, Wigs and Wig Wearing in Eighteenth-Century England.” Doctoral Thesis, University of Warwick, 2014. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/66909/1/WRAP_THESIS_Markiewicz_2014.pdf.
Philips, R. The Book of Trades, or Library of the Useful Arts. London: R. Phillips, 1815. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_book_of_trades_or_Library_of_the_use/dfPNhd6vIRgC?hl=en&gbpv=0.
Rifelj, Carol de Dobay. Coiffures: Hair in Nineteenth-Century French Literature and Culture. University of Delaware Press, 2010.
Samuel Marknäs. “‘Casting Off Powder:’ The Death of the Powdered Wig and Birth of British Sartorial Modernity, 1795–1812.” Master’s Thesis, Uppsala University, 2021. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1560395/ATTACHMENT01.pdf.
Stewart, Alexander. The Art of Hair Dressing, Or, the Gentleman’s Director, Etc. London, 1788. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Art_of_Hair_Dressing_Or_the_Gentlema/4KA4YmUgpi4C?hl=en&gbpv=0.
Xin, Wendy Veronica. “The Importance of Being Frank.” Novel 52, no. 1 (May 1, 2019): 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1215/00295132-7330074.

Ep59: The Thing about the Bath Assembly Rooms

1/21/2023

Catherine Morland has arrived in Bath, and she is ready to be introduced to a man with a keen knowledge of muslin. This episode we explore both the Upper and Lower Assembly Rooms, including breaking down the role of the Master of Ceremonies, aka Bath's best matchmaker.

Selected Sources

Berg, Maxine. Luxury and Pleasure in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Byrne, Paula. “‘The Unmeaning Luxuries of Bath’: Urban Pleasures in Jane Austen’s World.” Persuasions 26 (2004): 13–26.
Chambers, Ephraim. Cyclopedia: Or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Vol. 1. London, 1728.
Kingsbury, Pamela D. “Assembly Rooms.” In Oxford Art Online, by Pamela D. Kingsbury. Oxford University Press, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T004633.
Lane, Maggie. A Charming Place: Bath in the Life and Times of Jane Austen. Bath: Millstream Books, 1988.
New Bath Guide or Useful Pocket Companion for All Persons Residing at or Resorting to This Ancient City. Bath: R. Cruttwell, 1791. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Bath_Guide_Or_Useful_Pocket_Comp/y65ayAEACAAJ?hl=en.
Stabler, Jane. “Cities.” In Jane Austen in Context, edited by Janet Todd, 204–14. Cambridge University Press, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316036525.020.
Thompson, Allison. “The Rules of the Assembly: Dancing at Bath and Other Spas in the Eighteenth Century.” Persuasions On-Line 31, no. 1 (2010). https://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol31no1/thompson.html.

Ep58: The Thing About Sir John's Club

1/18/2023

Boodle's and Brooks's and White's, oh my! Gentlemen's clubs were a large part of the elite social landscape in Austen's time, and we're here to give you a look inside these exclusive gatherings.
If you have ever wanted to be in the room where it happens, this episode is for you.

Select Sources

Capdeville, Valérie. “The Ambivalent Identity of Eighteenth-Century London Clubs as a Prelude to Victorian Clublife.” Cahiers Victoriens et Édouardiens, no. 81 Printemps (September 6, 2015). https://doi.org/10.4000/cve.1976.
Heath, Sidney. Exeter. London: Blackie and Son Limited, 1912. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24635/24635-h/24635-h.htm.
Marsh, Charles. The Clubs of London; With Anecdotes of Their Members, Sketches of Character, and Conversations. Vol. 1. London: Henry Colburn, 1828.
Milne-Smith, Amy. “Coffeehouses to Clubhouses: Understanding the Gentlemen’s Clubs of London.” In London Clubland, by Amy Milne-Smith, 17–34. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137002082_2 .
Morrison, Robert. The Regency Years: During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Bryon Makes Love, and Britain Becomes Modern. New York: Norton, 2019.
Murray, Venetia. An Elegant Madness: High Society in Regency England. New York: Viking, 1999.
Rendell, Jane. The Pursuit of Pleasure: Gender, Space & Architecture in Regency London. London: Athlone Press, 2002.
Tomalin, Claire. Jane Austen: A Life. London: Viking, 1997.

Ep57: The Thing About Mrs. Reynolds' House Tours

12/23/2022

We're headed back to Pemberley for this episode, where a gracious Mrs. Reynolds is ready to welcome us. We cover the history of country house tours and the role that someone like Mrs. Reynolds would play in facilitating such visits. If you have ever awkwardly run into your almost future fiancé at their house, this episode is for you.

Selected Sources:

Aslet, Clive. The Story of the Country House: A History of Places and People. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2021.
Girouard, Mark. Life in the English Country House: A Social and Architectural History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978.
Lupton, Christina. “Notes.” In Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, edited by James Kinsley. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
MacArthur, Rosie. “Gentlemen Tourists in the Early Eighteenth Century: The Travels of William Hanbury and John Scattergood.” In Travel and the British Country House: Cultures, Critiques and Consumption in the Long Eighteenth Century, edited by Jon Stobart. Manchester (GB): Manchester University Press, 2017.
Rothery, Mark. “Country House Visiting: Past, Present, and Future.” OUPblog, October 1, 2016. https://blog.oup.com/2016/10/country-house-visiting-jane-austen/.
Stobart, Jon. Travel and the British Country House: Cultures, Critiques and Consumption in the Long Eighteenth Century. Manchester (GB): Manchester University Press, 2017.

Ep56: The Thing About Robert Ferrars' Toothpick-case

12/10/2022

We're out running errands with Elinor Dashwood, which means we are headed to Gray’s in Sackville Street. There's a gentleman there inspecting all the toothpick-cases, and Elinor is not impressed. This episode we are taking a closer look at Robert Ferrars, Elinor's future brother-in-law and a man with exacting taste in dental hygiene accessories.

Selected Sources:

Adkins, Roy, and Lesley Adkins. Jane Austen’s England. New York: Viking, 2013.
Comyn, Sarah. “‘Bringing Her Business Forward’: Jane Austen and Political Economy.” In The Routledge Companion to Jane Austen, by Edited by Cheryl A. Wilson and Maria H. Frawley, 193–204, 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429398155-15-18.
Dadlez, E. M. “Form Affects Content: Reading Jane Austen.” Philosophy and Literature 32, no. 2 (2008): 315–29. https://doi.org/10.1353/phl.0.0024.
Graber, Maura J. What Have We Here?: The Etiquette and Essentials of Lives Onced Lived, from the Georgian Era through the Gilded Age and Beyond…, 2021.
Miller, D. A. Jane Austen, or, The Secret of Style. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2003.
White, Laura M. “From Jewelled Toothpick-Cases to Blue Nankin Boots: Austen, Consumerist Culture, and Narrative.” In The Routledge Companion to Jane Austen, edited by Cheryl A. Wilson and Maria H. Frawley, 180–92. New York, NY: Routledge, 2021.

Ep55: The Thing About Mrs. Croft at Sea with guest Maria Petrillo

11/21/2022

It's the Napoleonic Wars, and you're married to an admiral of the Royal Navy. This episode we're joined by guest Maria Petrillo of the Mystic Seaport Museum to discuss the intrepid Mrs. Croft and what it was like to be a woman living on board a naval ship in Austen's time.

Thank you so much to Maria for joining us for this episode! You can find her on Instagram @maria_anne18. You can learn more about the Mystic Seaport Museum by visiting www.MysticSeaport.org, and you can follow them on Instagram @mysticseaportmuseum.

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