New Book: Miss Jane Austen’s Lady Susan – Revived by Helen Baker

A Jane Austen First: Miss Jane Austen, as you recall, penned 'Lady Susan' at the tender age of nineteen. It was her first completed attempt at a novel - never submitted for publication. Yet the twenty-three thousand words sparkle with the genius to come. As the lady presented her novel in the form of letters, … Continue reading New Book: Miss Jane Austen’s Lady Susan – Revived by Helen Baker →

Reading about Northanger Abbey

The theme of JASNA’s 2010 AGM is “Jane Austen and The Abbey: Mystery, Mayhem, and Muslin in Portland.” JASNA member Janine Barchas’s groundbreaking essay is recommended reading in preparation for the AGM: “Mapping Northanger Abbey: or, Why Austen’s Bath of 1803 Resembles Joyce’s Dublin of 1904. The essay appeared last year in The Review of … Continue reading Reading about Northanger Abbey →

La Belle Assemblée Ball Dress

A beautiful Parisian ball dress was featured in the January 1807 issue of La Belle Assemblée. Highlighted with the antique dress is an elegant pearl necklace with matching earrings and bracelets. Pink satin shoes with silver trimmings and graceful white kid gloves complete the ensemble. Read full article.

Jane Austen Fashion by Penelope Byrde

Jane Austen's novels often mention the way people dressed. The clothes people wore, their attitude to dress, and what they said about it, are subtally used to convey their characters. Jane herself liked clothes, her letters mention shopping trips, visits to the dressmakers, and plans for altering dresses to keep up with the fashions, which … Continue reading Jane Austen Fashion by Penelope Byrde →