Blog Archives

Ep48: The Thing About the Meryton Assembly

8/30/2022

It's dancing time! This week we are covering the origins of public assemblies before taking a look at the Meryton assembly scene in Pride and Prejudice. If you have ever wished your bestie would just let you sit one out, this episode is for you.

Select Sources:

Castelow, Ellen. “Assembly Rooms.” Historic UK. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Assembly-Rooms/.
Chamber, Ephriam. Cyclopedia: Or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. London, 1728.
Girouard, Mark. The English Town: A History of Urban Life. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_English_Town/ny2HA2-ZHpEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=assemblies.
Kingsbury, Pamela D. “Assembly Rooms.” In Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T004633.
Ray, Joan Klingel. “Do Elizabeth and Darcy Really Improve ‘on Acquaintance’?” Persuasions 35 (2013): 34–49.
Richardson, Kristen. The Season: A Social History of the Debutante. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2020. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Season_A_Social_History_of_the_Debut/WPuKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.

Ep47: The Thing About Depictions of Roma in Emma with guest Amanda-Rae Prescott

8/18/2022

Writer and period drama expert Amanda-Rae Prescott joins us for this episode to discuss depictions of Roma in Emma, starting with the novel and then moving on to the various adaptations. In addition to Emma, Amanda-Rae also talks about the representation of Roma in some other recent period dramas.

Thank you so much to Amanda-Rae for joining us for this episode! You can find her website at www.amandaraeprescott.com and follow her on Twitter @amandarprescott.

Ep46: The Thing About Queen Mab

8/11/2022

They say you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but we're here to do just that. This episode we're investigating Willoughby's attempted equine offering, including a discussion of finances and the implied social significance of such a gift, as well as breaking down the meaning behind the name Queen Mab.

Selected Sources

Adkins, Roy, and Lesley Adkins. Jane Austen’s England: Daily Life in the Georgian and Regency Periods. New York: Penguin Books, 2014.
Doody, Margaret Anne. “Introduction.” In Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen, vii–xl. edited by James Kinsley, New ed. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Jones, Christine A. “On Fairy Tales, Their Sensitive Characters, and the Sensible Readers They Create.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 25, no. 1 (2006): 13–30.
Ottman, Jill. “‘A Woman Never Looks Better than on Horseback.’” Persuasions On-Line 36, no. 1 (2015). https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/vol36no1/ottman/.
Pool, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist; the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England. New York: Touchstone, 2007.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Edited by Barbara Mowat, Paul Westine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles. The Folger Shakespeare. Washington, DC: Folger Shakespeare Library. Accessed August 6, 2022. https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/romeo-and-juliet/.
Vickery, Amanda. The Gentleman’s Daughter: Women’s Lives in Georgian England. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 2003.
Wilwerding, Lauren. “Amatory Gifts in Sense and Sensibility.” Persuasions 37 (2015): 208–17.

Ep45: The Thing About Weymouth

8/5/2022

This week we're headed to Weymouth to check out the scene of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill's courtship. Join us as we first peruse the daily schedule of resort lifestyle activities and then examine the ways in which Austen uses Weymouth as a breadcrumb trail clue.

Selected Sources:

Brodie, Allan, Colin Ellis, and Gary Winter. Weymouth’s Seaside Heritage. Swindon: English Heritage, 2008.
Burney, Fanny. The Diary of Fanny Burney. Edited by Lewis Gibbs. London: Dent, 1972.
Crane, John. Cursory Observations on Sea-Bathing; the Use of Sea-Water Internally, and the Advantages of a Maritime Situation, as Conducing to Health and Longevity To Which Is Added, a Concise History of Weymouth. S. Margrie, 1795. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cursory_Observations_on_Sea_bathing_the/3OS4-hCxKUQC?hl=en&gbpv=1.
Lyme Regis Museum. “Enslaving People.” Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/related-article/enslaving-people/.
Love, John. A New Improved Weymouth Guide: Containing a Description of Weymouth, Portland, Lulworth Castle, and Every Place in the Neighbour Hood Worthy of the Observation of Strangers. Weymouth: Virtue, 1800. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_New_Improved_Weymouth_Guide_Containing/VbGnWsr7znAC?hl=en&gbpv=0.

Episodes

Ep48: The Thing About the Meryton Assembly

Ep47: The Thing About Depictions of Roma in Emma with guest Amanda-Rae Prescott

Ep46: The Thing About Queen Mab

Ep45: The Thing About Weymouth

Author

Archives

Categories