• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • EPISODES
  • CONTACT
The Thing About Austen

Episodes

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.​

Ep50: The Thing About Michaelmas

9/29/2022

 
Netherfield Park is let at last! Mrs. Bennet has heard that a single man in possession of a good fortune will be moving into the neighborhood by Michaelmas, and she is very excited. This episode we cover the significance of Michaelmas, both as a holiday and as a marker of time in Austen's world.

Selected Sources:
  • Baublyté Kaufmann, Ruta. “Changing Seasons: The Cyclical and the Linear.” In The Architecture of Space: Time in the Novels of Jane Austen, 19–79. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90011-7.
  • Johnson, Ben. “Michaelmas.” Historic UK. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Michaelmas/.
  • McGarry, Marion. “The Michaelmas Customs Associated with September 29th in Ireland.” RTÉ, August 17, 2021, https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0926/1078446-september-29th-michaelmas-ireland/.
  • “Michaelmas Day (Feast of St. Michael and All Angels).” In Salem Press Encyclopedia. Salem Press, November 1, 2018.​

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.

Ep42: The Thing About Lady Catherine's Chimney-piece

6/23/2022

 
Mr. Collins is here, and he is ready to enumerate the many fine qualities of all the furnishings at Rosings Park. No really, sit down. This could take awhile. This episode we're all about Lady Catherine's very fancy chimney-piece. If you have ever been given a dubious compliment involving a small summer breakfast parlour, this episode is for you.

Selected Sources:
  • Baker, Malcolm. “Public Images for Private Spaces? The Place of Sculpture in the Georgian Domestic Interior.” Journal of Design History 20, no. 4 (January 1, 2007): 309–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epm030.
  • Burton, Neil, and Lucy Porten. Georgian Chimneypieces. London: The Georgian Group, 2000.
  • Chambers, Sir William. “Of Chimney Pieces.” In A Treatise on the Decorative Part of Civil Architecture, 4th ed., vol. 2: 377–83. London: Priestley and Weale, 1825. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Treatise_on_the_Decorative_Part_of_Civ/WJ4aAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.
  • Gunnis, Rupert. Dictionary of British Sculptors: 1660-1851. London: Abbey Library, 1957.
  • “John Nost II (d. 1729) - Chimneypiece.” Accessed June 14, 2022. https://www.rct.uk/collection/1080/chimneypiece-0.
  • Laing, Alastair. “The Eighteenth-Century English Chimneypiece.” Studies in the History of Art 25 (1989): 241–54.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus. “The Architectural Setting of Jane Austen’s Novels.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 31, no. 1 (January 1, 1968): 404–22. https://doi.org/10.2307/750649.

Ep36: The Thing About Regency Theatre with Guest Lauren Wethers

4/28/2022

 
Raise the curtain! Guest Lauren Wethers is here this week to provide us with an introduction to attending the theatre in Austen's time. We also chat a bit about Bridgerton, so mild spoiler warnings for season one. If you have ever wanted to be on stage, this episode is for you.

​Thank you so much to Lauren for joining us for this episode! You can find her on Twitter @LaurenWethers. You can learn more about the Reclaiming Jane podcast at www.ReclaimingJanePod.com and follow them on Twitter and Instagram @ReclaimingJane.

Ep30: The Thing About Lydia's Trip to Brighton

3/3/2022

 
Why exactly was Lydia Bennet so eager to visit Brighton and why was Elizabeth so right to be concerned? Brighton was the playground of the wealthy and free-wheeling in Austen's time, and we're here to give you the tour. If you have ever wanted to vacation with royalty, this episode is for you.

​Selected episode sources
  • Cannon, John, and Robert Crowcroft. “Brighton.” In A Dictionary of British History. Oxford University Press. Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191758027.001.0001/acref-9780191758027-e-508.
  • Dinkel, J. “The Royal Pavilion.” Historic England. Accessed February 25, 2022. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1380680.
  • Imms, Adrian. “History of the Barracks That Came and Went.” The Argus, October 4, 2016. https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/14781207.history-of-the-barracks-that-came-and-went/.
  • Le Faye, Deirdre. Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002. 
  • Morrison, Robert. The Regency Years: During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Bryon Makes Love, and Britain Becomes Modern. New York: Norton, 2019.
  • Sakula, Alex. “Doctor Brighton: Richard Russell and the Sea Water Cure.” Journal of Medical Biography 3, no. 1 (February 1995): 30–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/096777209500300105.
  • Royal Pavilion. “Short History of the Pavilion.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/royalpavilion/history/short-history-of-the-royal-pavilion/.
  • Weis, Heather. “‘Brighton Possesses All the Requisites ... for Either Amusement or Dissipation’: Frivolity in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.” Pride and Prejudice: The Bicentennial, October 10, 2013. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/celia_pride/preconference/posters/5.

EP27: The Thing About Austen and Romance with guest Bea Hodges-Koch

2/13/2022

 
Valentine's Day is around the corner, so this week we're bringing you a special episode on Jane Austen and romance with our guest Bea Hodges-Koch of The Ripped Bodice bookstore. We cover everything from Austen's influence on historical romance to just why Pride and Prejudice makes us swoon, plus some trope talk in-between. Thank you so much to Bea for joining us for this episode! You can find her online @BeaHodgesKoch on Instagram and at www.TheRippedBodiceLA.com.

EP24: The Thing About Fordyce's Sermons

1/20/2022

 
Mr. Collins is preparing to read aloud to all of us, and the chosen volume is Fordyce's Sermons. We discuss the rise and fall of Fordyce's popularity, and take a look at how Austen's reference to Fordyce in Pride and Prejudice serves as both cultural commentary and comedy.

Selected episode sources
  • Collins, Irene. Jane Austen and the Clergy. London: Hambledon Press, 2002.
  • Ford, Susan Allen. “Mr. Collins Interrupted: Reading Fordyce’s Sermons with Pride and Prejudice.” Persuasions On-Line34, no. 1 (2013). https://jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol34no1/ford.html.
  • Grundy, Isobel. “Jane Austen and Literary Traditions.” In The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, edited by Edward Copeland and Juliet McMaster, 2nd ed., 189–210. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
  • Harris, Muriel. “‘Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.’” In A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One, edited by Bennett A. Rafoth, 2nd ed., 24–34. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, 2005.
  • The British Library. “Sermons to Young Women.” Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/sermons-to-young-women.
  • Sprayberry, Marie A. “Fanny Price as Fordyce’s Ideal Woman? And Why?” Persuasions On-Line 35, no. 1 (2014). https://jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol35no1/sprayberry.html.
  • Vickery, Amanda. The Gentleman’s Daughter: Women’s Lives in Georgian England. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2003.
  • Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and A Vindication of the Rights of Men. Edited by Janet M. Todd. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008.
  • Worsley, Lucy. Jane Austen at Home. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2017.
  • Yeazell, Ruth Bernard. Fictions of Modesty: Women and Courtship in the English Novel. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.

EP21: The Thing About Christmas at Pemberley

12/15/2021

 
You have been cordially invited to Christmas at Pemberley! The Darcys have welcomed us to their home for the festive season, and we are here to walk you through the experience. If you have ever reached your hand into a flaming bowl of raisins, this episode is for you.

Selected episode sources
  • Brown, Ellen F. “A Brief History of the Holiday Card.” JSTOR Daily, December 20, 2015. https://daily.jstor.org/history-christmas-card-holiday-card/.
  • Davidson, Hilary. “A Jane Austen Christmas.” Yale University Press London Blog (blog), December 11, 2019. https://yalebooksblog.co.uk/2019/12/11/jane-austen-christmas/.
  • Gannon, John. “Fowl Play: Why A Christmas Carol Meant Our Goose Was Cooked.” The Conversation. Accessed January 28, 2022. http://theconversation.com/fowl-play-why-a-christmas-carol-meant-our-goose-was-cooked-35613.
  • Gaunt, Peter. “An Expert Explains… The Myth That Cromwell Abolished Christmas.” University of Chester, December 13, 2018. https://www1.chester.ac.uk/news/expert-explains%E2%80%A6-myth-cromwell-abolished-christmas.
  • Girouard, Mark. Life in the English Country House: A Social and Architectural History. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1994.
  • Mortimer, Ian. Time Traveller’s Guide to Regency Britain. London: Bodley Head, 2021.
  • Vogler, Pen. Dinner with Mr Darcy: Recipes Inspired by the Novels and Letters of Jane Austen. London: Cico Books, 2020.

EP15: The Thing About Austen Con with guest Sharmini Kumar

10/20/2021

 
We're so excited to be participating in this year's Austen Con, so we're breaking with our usual format to bring you this conversation with Sharmini Kumar, Artistic Director of 24 Carrot Productions, the organization behind Austen Con. We chat about the upcoming con, Bridgerton, adapting Austen, and even do a little Pride and Prejudice fan casting. Austen Con is Saturday the 6th of November 2021. Purchase your tickets at www.24carrotproductions.com. A virtual option is available! You can also follow Austen Con on Instagram @austencon. 
<<Previous

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021

    Categories

    All
    Accessories
    Animals
    Anne Elliot
    Architecture
    Art
    Austen Biography
    Bath (city)
    Captain Benwick
    Captain Wentworth
    Caroline Bingley
    Catherine Morland
    Church Of England
    Colonel Brandon
    Edmund Bertram
    Education
    Edward Ferrars
    Elinor Dashwood
    Elizabeth Bennet
    Emma (novel)
    Emma Woodhouse
    Empire
    Fanny Dashwood
    Fanny Price
    Fashion & Beauty
    Festivals
    Frank Churchill
    General Tilney
    Guest Episode
    Harriet Smith
    Health
    Henry Tilney
    Holidays & Celebrations
    Horses
    Ireland
    Isabella Knightley
    Isabella Thorpe
    Jane Fairfax
    Jewelry
    John Dashwood
    John Thorpe
    Lady Bertram
    Lady Catherine De Bourgh
    Landscape
    Legal
    Literary Allusions
    Location
    Louisa Musgrove
    Love Token
    Lucy Steele
    Lydia Bennet
    Mansfield Park (novel)
    Maria Bertram
    Marianne Dashwood
    Mary Crawford
    Military
    Mr. Collins
    Mr. Crawford
    Mr. Darcy
    Mr. Elton
    Mr. Knightley
    Mr. Rushworth
    Mrs. Bennet
    Mrs. Croft
    Mrs. Dashwood
    Mr. Woodhouse
    Music
    Navy
    Norland Park
    Northanger Abbey (novel)
    Parlour Games
    Pastimes
    Pemberley
    Periodicals
    Persuasion (novel)
    Pride And Prejudice (novel)
    Robert Ferrars
    Romanticism
    Sense And Sensibility (novel)
    Sir John Middleton
    Sir Walter Elliot
    Special Episode
    Textiles
    Theatre
    Travel
    Willoughby

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • EPISODES
  • CONTACT