Deborah YaffeNov 11, 2019Riding highBy now, Jane Austen has made so many top-novel lists that it’s hard to come up with anything new to say when she makes yet another one....
Deborah YaffeNov 7, 2019The sound of (Austen) musicMusic plays intermittent cameo roles in Jane Austen’s novels: think of Mary Bennet delighting us long enough in Pride and Prejudice, or...
Deborah YaffeNov 4, 2019Strange bedfellowsBy now, we’ve gotten used to seeing Jane Austen in rather. . . um . . . interesting company. She’s been paired with zombies and sea...
Deborah YaffeOct 9, 2019Liar, liarIn David Lodge’s classic 1975 academic novel Changing Places, the English-professor characters discuss a game of intellectual chicken...
Deborah YaffeOct 6, 2019Yet more on-screen AustenI recognize that not everyone craves another Jane Austen-themed screen drama. Some may have balked at the all! sex! all! the! time! hype...
Deborah YaffeSep 15, 2019Pictures at an exhibitionIs Michelle Obama a Janeite? As far as I’m aware, no documentation exists to settle the question either way. But circumstantial evidence...
Deborah YaffeAug 7, 2019Popping the questionAccording to my parents, one of the most important promises they made to each other upon their marriage was this one: no surprise...
Deborah YaffeAug 4, 2019Water, water everywhereIt’s been a wet week for Janeites. Last Monday, we were treated to the first trailer for Sanditon, the forthcoming ITV-PBS adaptation of...
Deborah YaffeJul 31, 2019Greatest Hits, Part IIAs I have pointed out rather often, most recently earlier this week, the Internet is filled with quotes from filmed adaptations of Jane...
Deborah YaffeJul 28, 2019Greatest Hits, Part IThe Emmy nominations were announced recently, and all the brouhaha over Game of Thrones et al. has left me hankering to award some prizes...
Deborah YaffeJul 7, 2019Oh, those clothes. . The success of the screen adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels has been attributed to many factors: romantic plots, attractive stars,...
Deborah YaffeJun 9, 2019Influences“Can a book change the course of your life?” asks the cover headline on the latest issue of my college alumni magazine. Inside, seventeen...