What if being dead, as in a door nail, wasn’t exactly the end? Suppose with me for a moment, that we do, in fact, carry on without our bodies in tow–all of our memories, ideas, wishes, dreams get to come with us after we pass into the undiscovered country. As ghosts, we float about and […]
While we may like to inundate ourselves in the new tales and spins on vampires, every now and then, to truly appreciate their enduring presence in fiction, we must look back to those stories that inspired the genre, and even further back to the ones that inspired them. You cannot mention vampires without at least […]
When I was younger and first getting into reading for pleasure, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was one of my favorite. I identified with Jo with her tomboy attitude and passion for writing. I even had a crush on Laurie and couldn’t for the life of me understand why Jo and he didn’t end up together. […]
A second chance to get love right was granted Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth eight years after their first failed attempt in Persuasion by Jane Austen. Anne had allowed herself to be guided by duty and the sense of those whose opinions she felt honor bound to respect. Captain Wentworth had sailed off with uncertain prospects. […]
This month’s selection is Bespelling Jane Austen, which is actually an anthology featuring four short stories inspired by Jane Austen with a paranormal twist. Almost Persuaded by Mary Balogh. Northanger Castle by Colleen Gleason Blood and Prejudice by Susan Krinard Little To Hex Her by Janet Mullany We decided to give ourselves more choices: read them all at once, pick the one […]
12 years ago, I first read Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Between my junior and senior years in college and while working at the J. Crew call center answering customers questions on bikinis that I would never wear myself or corduroy pants that felt like sandpaper–I first read Persuasion. This is the problem of being young and reading […]
Today we welcome Kimberly Truesdale to talk about her novel My Dear Sophy, which is the story of how Admiral and Mrs Croft came to be. Be sure to enter for a chance to win a copy for your Kindle. Giveaway open internationally. Thank you for having me, Dark Jane Austen Book Club! I hope you […]
One of my favorite aspects of being a Jane Austen fan is the number of prequels, sequels, and deviations her work has inspired. It means that no matter which of her novels I pick up there is sure to be another book to dive into should I wish to remain in the world of that […]
Before this month my favorite Austen novel was Sense and Sensibility with Pride and Prejudice being my second. Well, they have now both been shifted down a notch because Persuasion is now my Jane Austen number one. I love the fact that Anne Elliot is twenty-seven, making her the oldest of Austen’s heroines. It is her age and experience that lend her […]
When Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus the tale ended with the nameless creature disappearing into the darkness near the Arctic after his final speech in which he states, “I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly, and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will […]
We’re off to a serious start with a return to an Austen classic: Persuasion. Sarah and I have elected to break out our gorgeous annotated editions, the one edited by Robert Morrison. I do not anticipate this being a quick read as we will be discussing Jane Austen’s story and the additional information Morrison has included […]
