Category Archives: literature

Jane Austen and Babies, a Guest Post from Alexa Adams

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Regina Jeffers

This post originally appeared on Austen Authors on December 29, 2017. In it, Ms. Adams reflects on parenthood and children, as she has just delivered her second child two days prior to the post going live. Enjoy what she says … Continue reading →

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Goin’ Courtin’ Regency Style

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

One of my MOST favorite movies is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I always dearly loved Howard Keel, and Jane Powell was the perfect foil for his Alpha male persona in the film. There is one song sequence in which Jane … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, estates, family, film, George Wickham, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Jane Austen, kings and queens, literature, Living in the Regency, marriage, marriage customs, Pride and Prejudice, romance | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Setting and Social Status in Austen’s Novels

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

I am currently writing a JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction) Pride and Prejudice vagary novel that includes LOTS of references to Shakespeare, for in it, Mr. Bennet is a renown Shakespeare scholar. The relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth in this … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, Georgian England, historical fiction, Jane Austen, literature, Living in the Regency, marriage, political stance, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading, Regency era, Regency romance, romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Jane Austen and Libraries

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

My fellow Austen Author, Rebecca Jamison shared this post in March of 2016. I thought it worthy to resurrect here.  Last week, I came across a rather confusing line in Austen’s unfinished novel, Sanditon. In this part of the book, Charlotte … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Post, Jane Austen, literature, reading, reading habits, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Shetland Sword Dance

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

 Sir Walter Scott wrote in his diary of the Shetland Sword Dance on 7 August 1814. “At Scalloway my curiosity was gratified by an account of the sword-dance, now almost lost, but still practiced in the Island of Papa…. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Saxons, British history, drama, literature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Oxfordshire St. George Play

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

Closely related to the Morris and Sword Dancers, the Oxfordshire St. George Play is considered a kind of Mummers Play. As well as possessing close elements of kinship, the characters in all these plays are largely interchangeable. That being said, … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, drama, literature, medieval | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Gest of Robyn Hode, a Robin Hood Folk Ballad

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

In 1560, William Copeland printed the fragments of the various Robin Hood folk dramas. The “plays” were likely performed by mummers and strolling players for a century or more before Copeland printed them. A Gest of Robyn Hode A Gest … Continue reading →

Posted in ballads, British history, Canterbury tales, drama, literature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Significance of Books and of Reading in Jane Austen’s Novels, Guest Post from Lauren Gilbert

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

  The Significance of Books and Reading in Jane Austen’s Novels By Lauren Gilbert  Jane Austen was a reader.  She read widely.  We know she enjoyed novels; she was a subscriber to Fanny Burney’s third novel, Cecilia or Memoirs of … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, books, British history, family, George Wickham, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Guest Blog, Guest Post, Jane Austen, literature, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, reading | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

An English Mystery Play: Abraham and Isaac, the Brome Non-Cycle Play

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

The sacrifice of Isaac is the basis for six extant Miracle plays. There is also the Coventry cycle of plays, where Isaac submits to his fate. In the Towneley Plays, which are part of the York cycle, Isaac is made … Continue reading →

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Roger Ascham, Serving Four Monarchs

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

 Born in Kirby Wiske (a village in the North Riding), Yorkshire, in 1515, Roger Ascham was the third son of John and Margaret Ascham. Ascham was the steward to Baron Scrope of Bolton. Roger Ascham was a scholar and didactic … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, drama, Elizabethan drama, history, legacy, literature, Tudors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment