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The Thing About Austen

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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.

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.​

EP32: The Thing About Jane's Irish Melodies

3/17/2022

 
Jane Fairfax has recently received a selection of music, and we're here to unpack the significance of that "new set of Irish melodies." Spoiler alert: Frank Churchill has some explaining to do. If you have ever received a mystery gift, this episode is for you.

Thank you to Salonnières for letting us share part of their gorgeous arrangement of "The Last Rose of Summer" as our outro music this week. You can learn more about Salonnières on their website, www.salonnieres.org and find their albums on iTunes.
Selected Sources:
  • Hunt, Una. “The Harper’s Legacy: National Airs and Pianoforte Music.” Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland 6 (2010): 3–53. https://doi.org/10.21427/D7MB3C.
  • Libin, Katheryn L. Shanks. “Music, Character, and Social Standing in Jane Austen’s Emma.” Persuasions 22 (2000): 15–30.
  • McCleave, Sarah. “The Genesis of Thomas Moore’s Irish Melodies, 1808–1834.” In Cheap Print and Popular Song in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Paul Watt, Derek Scott, and Patrick Spedding, 47–70. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316672037.004.
  • Montagne, Renee, and Miles Hoffman. “The ‘Irish Melodies’ Of Poet Thomas Moore.” Morning Edition. NPR, March 17, 2015. https://www.npr.org/2015/03/17/393530786/the-irish-melodies-of-poet-thomas-moore.
  • Moore, Thomas, and John Allen Stevenson. A Selection of Irish Melodies. Vol. 1. London and Dublin: James and William Power, 1808.
  • Piggott, Patrick. The Innocent Diversion: Music in the Life and Writings of Jane Austen. London: Cleverdon, 1979.

EP10: The Thing About Box Hill

10/3/2021

 
This episode we're all about Emma as we head out to Box Hill to take in the view. There's nothing like sublime landscape and awkward social tension to get your day off to a great start! If you have ever made it seem like you had a great time when the reality was a dumpster fire, this episode is for you.

Selected episode sources:
  • Bertelsen, Lars Kiel. “The Claude Glass: A Modern Metaphor Between Word and Image.” Word & Image 20, no. 3 (July 2004): 182–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/02666286.2004.10444015.
  • “Box Hill | National Trust.” Accessed September 07, 2021. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/box-hill.

EP03: The Thing About Regency Scrabble

10/3/2021

 
We could have just as easily called this episode The Thing About Frank's Blunder, as that is the moment in question. On this episode we provide some context for what we are calling Regency Scrabble before unpacking Frank's blunder with the help of Detective Knightley. Grab your deerstalker hat and join us as we attempt to solve the mystery of why Frank thinks any of this is a good idea.

Selected episode sources:
  • Jill Shefrin. “‘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.
  • R.R. Invited Alphabet, or, Address of A to B : Containing His Friendly Proposal for the Amusement and Instruction of Good Children, 1809. https://dpul.princeton.edu/cotsen/catalog/37720h064.​

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