“There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chooses, and that is his duty." —Mr. Knightley We believe Jane Austen is for everyone, but it’s no secret that her modern fanbase is predominantly female. But why is that, and what might men be missing? Brett McKay joins us in this episode to share how he first discovered Austen’s work and why more men should read her books. Along the way, we touch on Austen's Aristotelian ideas of virtue, the qualities that make a good man, the importa...
Jul 02, 2025•35 min•Ep. 25
"'The course of true love never did run smooth' — A Hartfield edition of Shakespeare would have a long note on that passage.” — Emma Shakespeare's influence on Jane Austen can be seen throughout her novels and letters. She quotes him, mimics him, and echoes him in fascinating ways. In this episode, Professor Mary Floyd-Wilson helps us unpack and examine the many parallels between these two pillars of English literature. Mary Floyd-Wilson is the Mann Distinguished Professor of English and Compara...
Jun 05, 2025•40 min•Ep. 24
Jane Austen has had devoted American admirers since her works were first published. In fact, several Americans played a crucial role in preserving and promoting her legacy. Joining us to explore Austen’s reputation and reception in America is Professor Juliette Wells, a leading expert on the subject, who will also share the story of avid Austen collector Alberta H. Burke and preview some of the Austen treasures set to be displayed at the Morgan Library’s upcoming exhibit A Lively Mind: Jane Aust...
May 01, 2025•42 min•Ep. 23
" I have made up my mind to like no novels really but Miss Edgeworth's, yours, and my own." — Jane Austen to her niece, Anna Lefroy, 1814 Jane Austen’s novels and letters are strewn with references to the female authors she admired—writers like Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and Charlotte Lennox. But these novelists, despite their wide popularity in their own time, have largely disappeared from our bookshelves. In this episode, rare book dealer Rebecca Romney shares some of their stories, exami...
Apr 03, 2025•42 min•Ep. 22
"I do not think I can live without something of a musical society. . . . without music, life would be a blank to me." — Emma Though these words are spoken by the shallow and pretentious Mrs. Elton, the sentiment is one that Jane Austen herself likely shared. Austen played the pianoforte throughout her life and often incorporated music into her novels. In this episode, we chat with pianist Laura Klein about the music Austen and her family knew and loved and discuss how she used it in her writing ...
Mar 06, 2025•44 min•Ep. 21
"To work in his garden was one of his most respectable pleasures." — Pride and Prejudice The garden may be where Charlotte sends Mr. Collins when she tires of him, but for many of Jane Austen's heroines, it's a place of repose and reflection. Nature is an important and recurring theme in Austen's novels and a meaningful part of her own life. In this episode, author Kim Wilson takes us on a tour of the many types of Regency-era gardens and greenery that inspired Austen and her work. This episode ...
Feb 07, 2025•42 min•Ep. 20
Happy 2025! This year marks Jane Austen's 250th birthday, and we are delighted to kick off the celebration with professor and author John Mullan as our guest. This month we delve into passages from the four novels published during Austen's lifetime and discuss what the details reveal about her genius as a writer. Join us for this fascinating and insightful episode (and get a sneak peek at one of our plenary speakers for JASNA's 2025 AGM in Baltimore)! John Mullan is Lord Northcliffe Chair of Mod...
Jan 09, 2025•56 min•Ep. 19
In this episode we chat with the man who gave us the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice —for many, the definitive Austen adaptation. A prolific author and screenwriter, Andrew Davies is also responsible for the 1996 ITV adaptation of Emma , Northanger Abbey (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008), and the recent dramatization of Sanditon— not to mention adaptations of a host of other classic novels. Join us as we discuss Andrew's thoughts on adapting Austen's novels to film and, of course, ...
Dec 05, 2024•48 min•Ep. 18
Lord Byron is one of the most notorious bad boys of English literature. He had countless affairs, drank wine from a cup fashioned from a human skull, kept a pet bear at Cambridge, and fought for Greek independence against the Ottoman Empire. What could this Regency-era demigod of “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” possibly have to do with spinster Jane, a country parson's daughter? More than you'd think, according to our guest, Christine Kenyon Jones. In this episode we discuss the parallels betwee...
Nov 07, 2024•43 min•Ep. 17
Thanks to the tireless work of translators, readers around the world can enjoy Jane Austen's works in their native languages. But how does one even begin to translate her carefully crafted sentences? What unforeseen challenges and valuable insights arise in the process? In this episode, we ask Austen translators Keiko Parker and Maria Biajoli about their experiences—the good, the bad, and the je ne sais quoi. Keiko Parker has been a JASNA member since 1981 and coordinated the 2007 Annual General...
Oct 03, 2024•38 min•Ep. 16
Cassandra Austen, beloved sister to Jane, was a talented artist in her own right. At age 19, she illustrated Jane's satirical History of England with thirteen delightful ink-and-watercolor portraits. She continued to draw and paint throughout her life, most often copying from popular newspaper and magazine prints of the day. In this episode, Austen scholar Janine Barchas discusses her recent discovery of previously unidentified works by Cassandra and the underappreciated "art of copying," a tale...
Sep 06, 2024•49 min•Ep. 15
Jane Austen pioneered and perfected quite a few literary techniques, and her novels mark a major turning point in modern English fiction. In this episode we chat with Collins Hemingway about Austen’s development as a writer and unpack the tools in her literary toolbox. Drawing on insights from his book Jane Austen and the Creation of Modern Fiction: Six Novels in “a Style Entirely New , ” Collins shares his thoughts on her creative process, what she learned from novel to novel, and her mastery o...
Aug 08, 2024•47 min•Ep. 14
It's Austen Chat 's one-year anniversary! Encouraging more people to read Jane Austen and gain a deeper understanding of her works and life is JASNA’s mission, and to celebrate our podcast birthday, we welcome not one but three guests to talk about reading Austen and the online event they organize each year: Jane Austen July. BookTubers Katie Lumsden, host of the YouTube channel Books and Things , Marissa Schwartz, host of Blatantly Bookish , and Claudia Falcone, host of Spinster’s Library , are...
Jul 02, 2024•45 min•Ep. 13
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." —Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey As an avid reader and a novelist herself, Jane Austen of course loved to read novels. But what else did she read, and what influence did it have on her writing? What books did she place in the hands of her characters, and what do their reading habits and choices say about them? Drawing from her forthcoming book, What Jane Austen's Characters Read (and Why) , Pr...
Jun 06, 2024•47 min•Ep. 12
The delicate tinkling of a pianoforte. The clash of cymbals. The soothing strains of a harp. Music in Austen film adaptations performs a variety of functions: it can set the scene, highlight a character’s personality, make us laugh, and make us sigh. In this episode, music maven Ruth Mudge joins us to discuss the soundtracks of four screen adaptations we know and love. A cellist, faculty member at the String Academy of Chicago, and assistant principal in the Elmhurst Symphony, Mudge also has her...
May 02, 2024•47 min•Ep. 11
During the Georgian era, gender differences in domestic goods became increasingly common. For example, a gentleman's writing desk was a sturdy, substantial piece of furniture, while a lady’s desk was a small, delicate writing table. In this episode we sit down with art historian and museum curator Kristen Miller Zohn to discuss gender and the decorative arts in general, and how Austen’s references to consumer goods in her novels—from furniture and wallpaper to breakfast sets, muslin gowns, and t...
Apr 04, 2024•34 min•Ep. 10
Professor Juliet McMaster, grande dame of Austen scholarship and one of the founding members of JASNA, joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about the genius that is Jane Austen. We touch on all six of her published novels, dip our toes in her teenage writings, and take a stroll down memory lane with Juliet as we chat about the early days of JASNA and how it's evolved over the past 45 years. Read the transcript, show notes, and guest bio: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep9 Visit our website: ...
Mar 07, 2024•43 min•Ep. 9
From roast mutton to white soup, pickled melon to Bath buns, Jane Austen and her characters enjoyed a variety of fascinating foods. To learn more about Georgian-era cuisine and culinary practices, we invited food historian Julienne Gehrer to guide us on a gastronomical journey through Austen's world. She provides glimpses into the daily life of our favorite author you won’t want to miss. Julienne has spoken and written on Jane Austen and food for more than a decade. Her most recent book brings t...
Feb 01, 2024•46 min•Ep. 8
JASNA member Renata Dennis joins us to discuss the fascinating story of Dido Belle, a woman of color caught between two identities. Dido was the daughter of an enslaved woman and a British naval officer but was raised as a gentlewoman in the household of William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and Lord Chief Justice of the Court of the King's Bench. Until recently, she was lost to history. Renata also shares her thoughts on Dido Belle as the inspiration for Jane Austen’s character Miss Lambe in Sandit...
Jan 04, 2024•34 min•Ep. 7
In this episode, we welcome Adrian Lukis, the actor who made the role of George Wickham his own in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. We discuss his experience filming the beloved miniseries, his critically acclaimed one-man play Being Mr. Wickham , and his thoughts on everyone’s favorite Austen rogue! Transcript and show notes: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep6 Visit our website: www.jasna.org Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , and Twitter Email: podcast@jasna.org...
Dec 07, 2023•44 min•Ep. 6
Ending a Regency-era marriage was difficult and daunting! In this episode, attorney James Nagle helps us navigate the murky legal waters of dissolving marital ties, Regency-Style, in a variety of ways. We're talking scandal. We're talking Maria Rushworth running away with Henry Crawford. We're talking wives being sold at auction to the highest bidder. What?! Yes. Crazy, but true. Podcast Host: Breckyn Wood Transcript and show notes: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep5 Visit our website: www.jas...
Nov 10, 2023•36 min•Ep. 5
How "happy" are the endings of Jane Austen’s novels? In this episode we chat with Professor Inger Brodey about Austen’s endings: what she includes, what she leaves out, her unique mix of romance and satire, and her technique of “zooming out” that often leaves readers wanting more. Drawing from her forthcoming book, Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness , Inger also shares her thoughts on why Austen ended her novels as she did, her use of various forms of happiness, and how her endings differ fr...
Oct 05, 2023•33 min•Ep. 4
What did Jane Austen wear? Was she a stylish dresser? A dowdy spinster? In this episode, noted fashion and textile historian Hilary Davidson sets the record straight, revealing that Austen was much more fashion conscious and on-trend than many suppose. Join us as we discuss what would have been in Austen’s personal wardrobe, from headwear and gowns to everything in between, and Davidson shares fascinating insights gained while researching her new book, Jane Austen’s Wardrobe . Podcast Host: Brec...
Sep 07, 2023•39 min•Ep. 3
Though never preachy, Austen’s novels have a rich moral depth that was heavily influenced by her faith. In this episode, we chat with Brenda Cox, author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England . Brenda spent many years and several trips to England researching everything from Austen’s private daily devotions to the role churches played in the many social reforms of her time. We discuss all this, plus: Some crucial words in Austen’s novels that hold deeper religious meaning ...
Aug 03, 2023•36 min•Ep. 2
In July 1809 Jane Austen and her mother and sister moved into a cottage in Chawton, England, known today as Jane Austen’s House. As the place where she wrote and revised all of her beloved novels, the house is truly "the most treasured Austen site in the world.” In this episode, we visit with the museum’s director, Lizzie Dunford, to discuss the early history of the house, its influence on Austen's writing, some of the Austen treasures on display there, and much more. You’ll also learn how you c...
Jul 06, 2023•44 min•Ep. 1
Meet our podcast host and learn about Austen Chat and what you can expect in upcoming episodes.
Jun 05, 2023•3 min
