Happy spring! As I write this, we’re digging out from the most snow we’ve gotten all winter, so I’m all about this “rebirth and rejuvenation” theme! (Note: I originally wrote this post in early March. The end of March has actually been quite lovely here…except today it’s snowing again!) Because I had no idea what …
When We Were Young? Twenty-six years ago today, when I was a sophomore in college, I went on a date. It was…meh. Not a disaster; I mean, we had ice cream, and we laughed a little, so that’s good, right? But it wasn’t a miracle, you know? This was definitely not love at first date. …
Happy New Year! Also, my best wishes to you all for peace and dignity on this day celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For me, 2023 is already off to a lovely start. Case in point? I have the great privilege of sharing this interview with our own Lucy Marin as my first post of …
Happy day-after Boxing Day! Am I allowed to wish you a happy Boxing Day even if I’m an American living in America who has never in her life celebrated Boxing Day? It’s one of those holidays that I’m sure I’ve romanticized, so if you do celebrate Boxing Day, I’d love to hear what the day …
Happy November—and for those of you who celebrate the holiday, Happy American Thanksgiving! I am thankful to be part of a community that takes such pleasure in Jane Austen’s works. I’m also thankful for your patience! Over a month ago, I began a “vignette” called “Dispelling the Gloom,” based on October’s magic and malevolence theme. …
Happy end of October! Below you’ll find Part III of the story I began here and continued here, in honor of this month’s theme, Which Witch: Magic and Malevolence in Austen. Many years ago, when I was posting regularly on one of the fan boards, I claimed to be the Wickham of my own life—and …
Greetings, Austen Friends! I hope October has been as lovely for you as it’s been for me. You should see the trees around my house: flaming reds, sunset oranges, lemon yellows…I find myself wanting to spend all my time taking walks and staring up at trees. However, I do occasionally have to teach…and I get …
Happy October! When I saw this month’s theme—“Which Witch: Magic and Malevolence in Austen”—I was frightened, terribly frightened! While magic and malevolence are perfect concepts for the month of Halloween, I have never once attempted a fantastical Austenesque variation. Many authors—many here at Austen Variations—have written compelling Austenesque fantasies; indeed, they have taken some of …
Greetings! I return to posting with no little embarrassment. Indeed, I’m blushing like Charles Bingley in Lucy Marin’s fabulous short story, “The Travails of Charles Bingley.” Look at me, showing up in Meryton months and months after I departed without explanation! (But Jane, I have missed you—truly!) I can make no excuses. Nonetheless, I will …
Greetings, friends! Happy 2022! I’m sorry I disappeared from Austen Variations (and from the Internet more generally) these past few months. In late July, I was asked, unexpectedly, to teach high school English. What an adventure! Though I often feel as if I don’t know what I’m doing, I’ve had a great experience so far. …
Recent Comments