Category: Joana Starnes

Spring Has Sprung – And Mr Darcy Needs Your Help

I read somewhere that daffodils symbolise new beginnings. I don’t know if it’s true. Perhaps the brave little snowdrops deserve this badge of honour more. But when daffodils start to flower and they enliven the dreary winter landscape with bright patches of colour, we know that spring is here at last, and sunny days are …

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Throw Back Thursday

As we dash about, caught in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we can rarely tell which ones of the little, seemingly inconsequential moments will stay with us forever and steer us along the way. When I first opened my mother’s tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice, with several pages almost detached from the …

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An Eventful Morning

So – Frenemies is this month’s theme. Let’s have some more fun with it. In the WIP I’m working on at the moment, I’m gearing towards a different kind of frenemy situation that Elizabeth is not going to find in the least amusing. But that’s still on the drawing board, so I’ve written a vignette …

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Deplorable Dates – Whatever possessed him?

I love this month’s theme! I think it’s a great way to celebrate an author whose best-loved novel hinges on a deplorable first date. Would Elizabeth have been quite so up in arms against Mr Darcy if he hadn’t insulted her on day one?   I’m probably biased here, but I can’t help thinking that …

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Jane in January: Daydreams and a Prologue

Where does our inspiration come from? Such an intriguing theme to start the New Year with! I loved the previous posts and I’m looking forward to the ones to follow. I hope you’ll enjoy them all and thanks for joining me today to chat about the things, big and small, that inspire me in my …

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Advent Calendar – Day 21 – 1812: The Darcys’ First Christmas and the Grinch

Thanks for stopping by to read my second post in the Advent Calendar. If you missed the first, you can find it here. I thought it would be nice if my two posts were about ‘before and after’: Mr Darcy’s Christmastide in the years before and after his marriage. My take on his 1811 Advent …

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Advent Calendar – Day 19 – 1811: Mr Darcy’s Advent Season

Good morning! Hope you’re having a wonderful Advent Season so far. I thought this might be a good time to think of Mr Darcy (isn’t it always? 😉 ) and imagine how he might have fared in the run-up to Christmas, once he had left temptation behind and had been oh-so-successful in persuading both his …

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Looking for Mr Darcy’s Cambridge

Earlier this month, Diana Birchall took us with her on a lovely visit to Jane Austen’s school, then Maria Grace gave us detailed and thought-provoking insights into Mr Darcy’s education (you can find the posts by following the links). It’s fascinating and extremely poignant to imagine Mr Darcy’s early school years, and I’d like to …

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A Ghost Story

It’s Halloween tomorrow, so I’m guessing you’ve already carved the pumpkins and stocked up for Trick or Treat. If you’re anything like me, that stash must be awfully tempting, so let me entice you to sneak away with a chocolate bar and think with some compassion of our Regency forebears, who had never tasted such …

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Interview with a Janeite: Special Guest Debbie Brown hosted by Joana Starnes

Welcome back to another round of tea! This month, we have avid Austenesque fan Debbie Brown on the blog! Her hostess this month is Austen Variations’ fabulous new Joana Starnes. Lift your cups and welcome these lovely ladies! -NC AV: Tell us a little about your background. Where are you from, and who are the special …

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