It's launch day for my brand new book. And when I woke up this morning, it was the #1 new release in Catholicism on Amazon! What an exciting way to start the day! Things seemed less auspicious after our cat eviscerated a bird she caught on the front porch, but I'm just going to ignore that and get back to celebrating the pub day of my little book. Here's some thing you should know … [Read more...]
‘Emma’ Film Review: A Delightful (but Slightly Flawed) Visual Banquet
The very short list of good things resulting from this pandemic are people making their own bread, more time to read, and the new adaptation of Emma being released to stream in your living room. Yes, dear reader, Universal has heard your cries for Jane Austen and if you didn’t see it the movie theatre before they closed, you don’t have to wait for this viral outbreak to be over to watch Emma. … [Read more...]
Andrew Davies, Stop Sexing Up Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s six novels have been adapted for film numerous times, but Janeites have been eagerly awaiting the airing of a series based on an unfinished work by Austen: Sanditon. Household name, Andrew Davies, is leading the charge as screenwriter with numerous beloved adaptations under his belt (including the 1995 Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth). I’m not the only … [Read more...]
Hey Penniless Jane Austen Heroines, Millennials Get You
Can't make rent, Elinor Dashwood? Trouble surviving on your adjunct pay from Highbury Community College, Jane Fairfax? Millennials get you. We understand a world in which the last generation really did a number on the economy while you get to pay the price. Keeping your ancestral manor house isn’t in the cards, sweetheart. And despite what Lady Catherine de Bourgh says, giving up a weekly avocado … [Read more...]
Some Jane Austen Love for Her Bicentennial!
It's been 200 years since Jane Austen left this earth, and yet her novels are still relevant, beloved, and widely read. Janeites aren't going anywhere anytime soon (just check out this guy and his amazing Regency apparel). To honor dear Miss Austen, I thought I'd link to a few of the pieces I've written here at Carrots about one of my favorite writers of all time. Why Do We Still Love Jane … [Read more...]
Which Jane Austen Novel Should I Read First?
“I’ve never read Jane Austen! Which one should I start with?” As an obsessed Janeite, this is definitely one of the most frequently asked questions I get. While I’m of the opinion that you really can’t go wrong choosing a first Austen because all six novels are splendid, I do think there’s an ideal order for most new readers to discover Austen’s novels. So at the risk of sounding terribly bossy … [Read more...]
Sorting Jane Austen Characters Into Hogwarts Houses: The Definitive Guide
images by Katherine Makowky You love Jane Austen. You love Harry Potter. So why not sort your favorite Austen characters into Hogwarts houses? I could not come up with a good reason not to. I'm the sort of person who wonders how Elinor and Marianne Dashwood's Myers-Briggs personality types made their sisterly relationship complicated. And I've spent a lot of time considering whether … [Read more...]
If I Could Cast Austen’s Mansfield Park…
I'm re-re-re-re-reading Mansfield Park right now. I've written before about how it's Austen's underrated novel and that we don't love Fanny Price as she deserves to be loved. What I find terribly disappointing that there isn't a decent film version of Mansfield Park. Granted, the 2007 Masterpiece Theatre version was tolerable, I suppose, but the casting was just not right. Haley Atwell as Mary … [Read more...]
Emma Woodhouse and the Cure for Selfishness
image: ©BBC In Mansfield Park the charming Mary Crawford claims, “Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope for a cure.” But she’s dead wrong. Jane Austen shows us in another novel, Emma, that there is indeed a cure for selfishness: love. And no I don’t mean just falling in love or romantic love, but the kind of love that transforms us. Emma gets a bad rap. I … [Read more...]
Want to Know Yourself Better? Jane Austen Is Here to Help.
image: Jennifer Ehle in ‘Pride and Prejudice’/Image © BBC Every time I re-read Miss Austen’s novels (ahem, every single year), I find something I hadn’t noticed before. I uncover another layer with each return to her works and this year what I’m most drawn to is the theme of self-knowledge. I’m not alone in considering Austen to be a philosopher and she follows in the footsteps of the ancients … [Read more...]
