Dear Jane-Friends:
As I write this, I’m on a plane to see family for Thanksgiving, re-watching Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice (2005.) I’m enjoying it more than ever, from its iconic hand flex scene to the “excellent boiled potatoes” line. I admit it’s not my first-choice P&P adaptation. (That will probably always be the BBC 1995 version.) But my students helped me gain love for the 2005, and I did have a great time at its 20th anniversary party in Pasadena in May. (Check out this over-the-top ice sculpture from that night!)
My enjoyment in rewatching is also anticipatory. Next week I’ll be part of a pre-watch-party conversation about the film at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. That Dec. 2nd event has already sold out at 350 people. The global Jane-energy now is electric.
WILD FOR AUSTEN BOOK TOUR CONTINUES IN DECEMBER
It’s an honor to be a part of this celebration in these times, as one says. The Wild for Austen 2025 book tour—an incredible total of 18 cities and four countries—is barreling forward with four final December events in California (the aforementioned Huntington), JASNA New York City Metro’s day-long fest (6 December), Princeton Public Library (7 December), and Toronto Public Library (9 December). Maybe I’ll see you there? If that’s not in the cards, then rest assured that more Austen and Wild for Austen events are slated for 2026. I wrongly imagined things might peter out after the New Year, but the Jane-train is still a-rolling!
SIGNED COPIES OF WILD FOR AUSTEN
Several of you have asked how you might get signed copies of Wild for Austen for yourselves or to give as holiday gifts. I’m happy to be working with the Phoenix-based Changing Hands Bookstore to make that possible. (As of this writing, a few signed copies are also still available at Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale.) If you order the book by phone or through their websites, tell them you want a signed copy and they’ll work to ship it to you. Of course, there are lots of ways to get a regular copy!
The Austen books that have come out in the past year are terrific. Although I’m behind on my reading, I’ve dipped into many of them and can’t wait to devour more over the holidays. It’s an honor to be in such excellent company on the shelves. Please let me know if spot my book in a store? I’d love it if you snapped and shared a pic on your socials (tag me!). Or just send the pic to me directly, and I’ll spread the word.
SOME AUSTEN ADAPTATIONS YET TO COME
There’s so much yet to come for Austen on stage and screen, too. This list is not exhaustive. (Do share in the comments if you’ve noticed other Austen adaptations for stage and screen that deserve a shout-out?) Here are a few highlights:
Playwright Sarah Rose Kearns’s Manydown has an upcoming virtual performance.
Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility (1995) has been remastered for a 30th anniversary December 14, 16, & 17th theatrical re-release.
The 6-part Netflix Pride and Prejudice series, which started filming in July, continues to be advertised as readying for release in 2026.
A BBC series, The Other Miss Bennet, is in the works for 2026. Mary will get her chance to delight us long enough for ten whole episodes!
The new Sense and Sensibility with Daisy Edgar Jones as Elinor has announced a release date of September 11, 2026.
The short comic film Jane Austen’s Period Drama is under consideration for an Oscar nomination, having recently gotten a boost from Emma Thompson, as its “Executive Menstrual Adviser.” (I’m dying to see this. It’s streaming on Kanopy, if you have access and want to report back?) It has the most excellent poster!
SPEAKING OF EMMA THOMPSON, JANE AUSTEN, AND PRIVATE PARTS . . .
A couple of you have asked what I think of Emma Thompson’s recent comments on Kelly Clarkson’s show, about whether Jane Austen would have seen a male’s, er, member. Obviously, Thompson’s on to something very comically rich here, but the reality checker in me cannot help but add that Jane Austen not only had six brothers. She was also raised in what was, in effect, a boys’ school. Scholar Azar Hussein (whom I recently had the lucky chance to meet for the first time!) has found that Jane’s father privately taught at least 19 boys who lived in their home for an average of two to five years each. I’m just saying—what are the odds that Jane saw nothing of male private parts with that many hanging around?
WILD FOR AUSTEN ABROAD, PART 1 (OZ)
It now seems almost like a dream, these opportunities I’ve had to talk Austen at the National Library of Australia in Canberra at the Canberra Writers Festival and then at the State Library of New South Wales as part of the Sydney Writers Festival, followed by the Jane Austen Society of Australia’s weekend conference. Meeting Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypool, of the wonderful Secret Life of Books podcast, was a complete delight.
In Australia, I caught up with expat friends, then did the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb for the second time in my life. (I first did the climb in 2002.) I truly hope to make it there a third time, before I’m 75 years old. That’s the age at which they start requiring you to bring a doctor’s note. (The oldest person ever to climb the bridge, they said, was 99.)
The sights were incredible, but the people made it unforgettable. The indefatigable and visionary Susannah Fullerton (who has a new book out, Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them) ran an robust JASA weekend meeting. Along the way, I talked to hundreds of Janeites, each with their own fabulous stories of initiation and connection. I was especially moved by the mother, aunt, daughter, and daughter-in-law who came to the JASA conference as a foursome. I only ever saw them with beaming smiles on their faces.
WILD FOR AUSTEN ABROAD, PART 2 (UK)
Would you believe I went almost directly from Australia to the UK? It was more physically punishing than I anticipated but also more intellectually exhilarating. I got to appear twice at bookstores with Zoë McGee, author of the excellent new book, Courting Disaster, as well as to be in conversation with wonderful Emily Rohrbach in Durham. (I felt so moved returning to Durham, walking where the subjects of my 2022 biography, Sister Novelists, Jane and Anna Maria Porter, were partly raised.)
In London, the sold-out British Library “Wild About Austen” event, led by the incomparable Bee Rowlatt, put me on a stage alongside illustrator Kate Evans and actor Susannah Harker. This was a career highlight—to speak at the institution that launched me as an archival researcher in 1994. (I was then a newly minted PhD in England for the first time on a US government-funded seminar that transformed my life.) I’d never have imagined that thirty years later I’d be invited to speak there. Bee posed thoughtful questions, we laughed a lot, and Susannah Harker brought Austen’s words to life.
This whirlwind trip ended with a rainy yet beautiful day in conversation with my feminist literary critic idol, Janet Todd, speaking at Clare Hall, Cambridge. (Her latest book, Living with Jane Austen, is a must read.) Jan’s work is quite literally the reason I’ve been able to do mine.
COUNTDOWN: T-MINUS 20 DAYS
How are you spending Austen’s 250th birthday on December 16th? I’ve been polling those I’ve met. Many plan to reread a favorite novel or rewatch an adaptation. I’m leaning toward reading Lady Susan aloud, whether with my Jane-loving husband or in earshot of our unenthused sons. Then, as much as I’ve enjoyed the past three months of book touring, I think I’m ready for several days of sitting on the sofa and drinking as much wine as I like. I’m also excited to roll up my sleeves to complete my next book, The Stunning Gunnings.
I’ll be in touch again soon with more about Wild for Austen and Austen in the news. As always, please keep in touch with things you think I ought to notice about history’s strong women.
Your generally humble
and occasionally obedient servant,
Devoney
P. S. BOOKS AS GIFTS AND SIGNED BOOKPLATES. If you’re planning to purchase Wild for Austen as part of your holiday shopping, and if you’re based in the US, then I’d be happy to sign and snail mail a bookplate to you in mid-December, when I return from the last legs of the book tour. Just drop me an email with your details.
P. P. S. RATE AND REVIEW IT? If you’ve read and enjoyed the book, I’d be grateful if you took a moment to rate and review it. (Goodreads, they say, has the most impact.) I’ll leave you with a pic from a home-state Minnesota friend, Cathy, who captured this shot while reading my book on her vacation. So grateful for your support of this book and for this smart, generous, and fun global Janeite community.
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