Blog Posts

EP28: The Thing About Blaize Castle

2/18/2022

Wave goodbye to Henry and Eleanor Tilney because this week we're headed to Blaize [Blaise] Castle. Except not really, because John Thorpe is a big liar.

If you have ever gone on an ill-advised outing, this episode is for you.

Selected Sources

Alexander, Christine. “The Prospect of Blaise: Landscape and Perception in Northanger Abbey.” Persuasions 21 (1999): 17–31. https://jasna.org/assets/Persuasions/No-21/1e6d94a95c/alexander.pdf
“Blaise Castle - Bristol.” Parks & Gardens. Accessed February 11, 2022. https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/blaise-castle.
“Blaise Castle House Museum.” Bristol Museums. Accessed February 11, 2022. https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/blaise-castle-house-museum/.
“Blaise Castle.” Historic England. Accessed February 11, 2022. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1208115.
Lane, Maggie. “Blaise Castle.” Persuasions 7 (1985): 78–81. https://www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number7/lane.html
Wenner, Barbara Britton. Prospect and Refuge in the Landscape of Jane Austen. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006.

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

2/13/2022

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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.

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EP26: The Thing About Fanny's Stargazing

2/3/2022

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Pack your telescope and grab your star charts! This episode we're headed to a very specific location at Mansfield Park to examine Fanny's foray into celestial poetry.

If you have ever wished upon a star, this episode is for you.

Bonus Nerdery: If you are at all interested in looking at star charts for the times, dates, and locations that we discuss in the episode, here are a few resources.

Sunrise and Sunset calculator for England: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=136&month=8&year=1811&obj=sun&afl=-13&day=1
Horizon Views of Stars for any date and time: http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/#Horizon

Selected Episode Sources

“Boötes | April 1-7.” Star Gazers. South Florida PBS, March 27, 2019. https://www.stargazersonline.org/episodes/.
Cammack, Susanne S. “Fanny Price’s Social Cartography in Mansfield Park.” Nineteenth Century Studies 29 (2016): 37–52.
Jane Austen Centre. “A Visit to Stoneleigh Abbey.” Accessed February 3, 2022. https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/landscape-and-property/a-visit-to-stoneleigh-abbey.
Lane, Maggie. “Star-Gazing with Fanny Price.” Persuasions 28 (2006): 150–65.
Roberts, Ken. “Jane Austen and Stargazing.” Logic, Astronomy, Science, and Ideas Too (blog), January 30, 2014. https://lasi2.wordpress.com/2014/01/30/jane-austen-and-stargazing/.
Zook, Alma C. “Star-Gazing at Mansfield Park.” Persuasion 8 (1986): 29–33.

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EP25: The Thing About Anne's Newspapers with guest Katherine Cowley

1/28/2022

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How did one keep tabs on a crush or former romance in a time before social media? In the case of Anne Elliot, you turn to newspapers and navy lists for the word on Wentworth. This week we're all about the role of naval news in Persuasion, with the help of our guest Katherine Cowley. If you have ever pined for a lost love through scrapbooking, this episode is for you.

Thank you so much to Katherine for joining us for this episode! You can find her online at www.KatherineCowley.com.

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EP24: The Thing About Fordyce's Sermons

1/20/2022

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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.

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EP23: The Thing About Circulating Libraries

1/20/2022

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This episode we cover the history of circulating libraries in the UK with a little help from our Northanger Abbey friends. We also discuss the reputation of novels in Austen's time and offer up at least one excellent hiding place for your most scandalous books. If you have ever hidden your novel behind a decoy dust jacket, this episode is for you.

Selected episode sources

Austen, Jane. Jane Austen’s Letters. Edited by Deirdre Le Faye. 4th ed. Oxford [England] ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Byrne, Paula. The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things. New York: Harper Perennial, 2014.
Erickson, Lee. “The Economy of Novel Reading: Jane Austen and the Circulating Library.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 30, no. 4 (1990): 573. https://doi.org/10.2307/450560.
Jacobs, Edward. “Circulating Libraries.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature. Oxford University Press, 2006. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195169218.001.0001/acref-9780195169218-e-0102.
Nettleton, George Henry. “The Books of Lydia Languish’s Circulating Library.” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 5, no. 4 (1905): 492–500.

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EP22: The Thing About Regency Birthdays

1/20/2022

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Happy birthday, Jane! It's Jane Austen's birthday, and we're marking the occasion with an episode on Regency birthday celebrations. If you have ever had countless fans celebrate your 246th birthday, this episode is especially for you.

Selected episode sources

Austen, Jane. Jane Austen’s Letters. Edited by Deirdre Le Faye. 4th ed. Oxford [England] ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Burns, Maggie. “Jane Austen and Birthdays.” Persuasions 28 (2006): 233–37.
Pinsker, Joe. “The Strange Origins of American Birthday Celebrations.” The Atlantic, November 2, 2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/history-birthday-celebrations/620585/.
Stice, Joel. “The Real Reason We Put Candles On A Birthday Cake.” Mashed.com, August 19, 2019. https://www.mashed.com/162731/the-real-reason-we-put-candles-on-a-birthday-cake/.
Jane Austen Centre. “The Breeching Ceremony of a Young Boy and His Rite of Passage.” Accessed January 28, 2022. https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/fashion-for-children/breeching-ceremony-young-boy-rite-passage.
Tieken-Boon Van Ostade, Ingrid. “Birthday Letters from Jane Austen.” OUP (blog), December 16, 2015. https://blog.oup.com/2015/12/birthday-letters-jane-austen/.

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EP21 - The Thing About Christmas at Pemberley

12/15/2021

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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.

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EP20 - The Thing About Brandon's Flannel Waistcoat

12/15/2021

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Is Brandon into grunge? Going through a lumberjack phase? Embracing Santa chic? We're here to uncover just exactly what Colonel Brandon has on under his coat. If you have ever advocated for dressing in layers, this episode is for you.

Selected episode sources

Davidson, Hilary. Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion. New Haven ; London: Yale University Press, 2019.
Ray, Joan Klingel. “‘The Amiable Prejudices of a Young [Writer’s] Mind’: The Problems of Sense and Sensibility.” Persuasions On-Line 26, no. 1 (2005). https://jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol26no1/ray.htm.
Styles, John. The Dress of the People: Everyday Fashion in Eighteenth-Century England. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
Sutherland, Eileen. “That Infamous Flannel Waistcoat.” Persuasions 19 (1995): 58.
“Waistcoat.” In OED Online. Oxford Univeristy Press. Accessed November 18, 2021. www.oed.com/view/Entry/225127.

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EP19-The Thing About London Air with guest Dr. Rena Jones

11/20/2021

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Take a deep breath, everyone! This episode we're discussing Mr. Woodhouse's concerns about the air in London with epidemiologist, Dr. Rena Jones. If you have ever played a game of dueling apothecaries, this episode is for you. Thank you so much to Rena for joining us for this episode! You can find her on Twitter @Epi_Rena.

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Episodes

EP28: The Thing About Blaize Castle

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

EP26: The Thing About Fanny's Stargazing

EP25: The Thing About Anne's Newspapers with guest Katherine Cowley

EP24: The Thing About Fordyce's Sermons

EP23: The Thing About Circulating Libraries

EP22: The Thing About Regency Birthdays

EP21 - The Thing About Christmas at Pemberley

EP20 - The Thing About Brandon's Flannel Waistcoat

EP19-The Thing About London Air with guest Dr. Rena Jones

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