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Austen Chat
Welcome to Austen Chat, the podcast of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). Join us each month as we interview scholars, authors, and subject experts on a wide range of topics related to Austen’s writings, her life and times, and more. There is always more to learn and enjoy about Jane!
Episodes
31 episodes
Jane Austen & Jane Bennet: A Visit with Susannah Harker
“Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful . . . .” —Mrs. Bennet, Pride and PrejudiceJane Bennet, the eldest of the five Bennet sister...
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Episode 30
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38:24
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Jane Austen & Her Manuscripts: A Visit with Kathryn Sutherland
Join us for a chat with noted Austen scholar Kathryn Sutherland about Jane Austen’s surviving manuscripts and what they reveal about her writing process and creative confidence. Kathryn also shares the story behind the ambitious digital project...
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Episode 29
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37:11
Jane Austen & the Oxford English Dictionary: A Visit with Charlotte Brewer
Bath bun. Bobbinet. Poor basket. Vanity-bait. These are just a few of the words the Oxford English Dictionary credits Jane Austen with using for the first time in print—and almost all are words related to domestic and everyday life. In...
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Episode 28
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48:45
Jane Austen & Her Teenage Writings: A Visit with Lesley Peterson
"She has many rare & charming qualities, but Sobriety is not one of them."—Jane Austen, Jack and AliceDrunken brawls. Cannibalism. Heroines behaving very badly. Such mayhem may seem worlds apart from the sedate draw...
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Episode 27
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37:30
Jane Austen & Her Wild Side: A Visit with Devoney Looser
Think you know Jane Austen? In this episode, we explore the wild side of Austen’s writings, life, and legacy with noted scholar Devoney Looser, who makes the case for Austen as a far more daring and unconventional figure than her prim Victorian...
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Episode 26
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32:52
Jane Austen & Gentlemen: A Visit with Brett McKay
“There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chooses, and that is his duty." —Mr. KnightleyWe believe Jane Austen is for everyone, but it’s no secret that her modern fanbase is predominantly female. But why is tha...
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Episode 25
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35:28
Jane Austen & Shakespeare: A Visit with Mary Floyd-Wilson
"'The course of true love never did run smooth'—A Hartfield edition of Shakespeare would have a long note on that passage.” —EmmaShakespeare's influence on Jane Austen can be seen throughout her novels and lett...
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Episode 24
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39:45
Jane Austen in America: A Visit with Juliette Wells
Jane Austen has had devoted American admirers since her works were first published. In fact, several Americans played a crucial role in preserving and promoting her legacy. Joining us to explore Austen’s reputation and reception in America is P...
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Episode 23
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42:04
The Women Writers Who Inspired Austen: A Visit with Rebecca Romney
"I have made up my mind to like no novels really but Miss Edgeworth's, yours, and my own." —Jane Austen to her niece, Anna Lefroy, 1814Jane Austen’s novels and letters are strewn with references to the female authors she a...
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Episode 22
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41:50
Jane Austen & Her Playlist: A Visit with Laura Klein
"I do not think I can live without something of a musical society. . . . without music, life would be a blank to me." —EmmaThough these words are spoken by the shallow and pretentious Mrs. Elton, the sentiment is one that ...
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Episode 21
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43:55
Jane Austen in the Garden: A Visit with Kim Wilson
"To work in his garden was one of his most respectable pleasures."—Pride and PrejudiceThe garden may be where Charlotte sends Mr. Collins when she tires of him, but for many of Jane Austen's heroines, it's a place of repose ...
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Episode 20
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41:36
A Close Look at Austen’s Genius: A Visit with John Mullan
Happy 2025! This year marks Jane Austen's 250th birthday, and we are delighted to kick off the celebration with professor and author John Mullan as our guest. This month we delve into passages from the four novels published during Austen's life...
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Episode 19
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55:53
Adapting Austen: A Visit with Andrew Davies
In this episode we chat with the man who gave us the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice—for many, the definitive Austen adaptation. A prolific author and screenwriter, Andrew Davies is also responsible for the 1996 ITV adaptati...
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Episode 18
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47:59
Jane Austen & Lord Byron: A Visit with Christine Kenyon Jones
Lord Byron is one of the most notorious bad boys of English literature. He had countless affairs, drank wine from a cup fashioned from a human skull, kept a pet bear at Cambridge, and fought for Greek independence against the Ottoman Empire.&nb...
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Episode 17
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43:27
Austen in Translation: A Visit with Keiko Parker and Maria Biajoli
Thanks to the tireless work of translators, readers around the world can enjoy Jane Austen's works in their native languages. But how does one even begin to translate her carefully crafted sentences? What unforeseen challenges and valuable insi...
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Episode 16
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37:46
Cassandra Austen & Her Drawings: A Visit with Janine Barchas
Cassandra Austen, beloved sister to Jane, was a talented artist in her own right. At age 19, she illustrated Jane's satirical History of England with thirteen delightful ink-and-watercolor portraits. She continued to draw and paint thr...
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Episode 15
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49:23
Jane Austen & Her Creative Process: A Visit with Collins Hemingway
Jane Austen pioneered and perfected quite a few literary techniques, and her novels mark a major turning point in modern English fiction. In this episode we chat with Collins Hemingway about Austen’s development as a writer and unpack the tools...
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Episode 14
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47:13
Jane Austen & A Reading Challenge: A Visit with the “Jane Austen July” Hosts
It's Austen Chat's one-year anniversary! Encouraging more people to read Jane Austen and gain a deeper understanding of her works and life is JASNA’s mission, and to celebrate our podcast birthday, we welcome not one but th...
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Episode 13
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45:16
Jane Austen & Her Bookshelf: A Visit with Susan Allen Ford
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." —Henry Tilney, Northanger AbbeyAs an avid reader and a novelist herself, Jane Austen of course loved to read novels. But w...
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Episode 12
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47:07
Jane Austen & Movie Music: A Visit with Ruth Mudge
The delicate tinkling of a pianoforte. The clash of cymbals. The soothing strains of a harp. Music in Austen film adaptations performs a variety of functions: it can set the scene, highlight a character’s personality, make us laugh, and make us...
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Episode 11
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46:31
Jane Austen & the Decorative Arts: A Visit with Kristen Miller Zohn
During the Georgian era, gender differences in domestic goods became increasingly common. For example, a gentleman's writing desk was a sturdy, substantial piece of furniture, while a lady’s desk was a small, delicate writing table. In th...
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Episode 10
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34:08
Jane Austen & Her Genius: A Visit with Juliet McMaster
Professor Juliet McMaster, grande dame of Austen scholarship and one of the founding members of JASNA, joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about the genius that is Jane Austen. We touch on all six of her published novels, dip our toes in her...
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Episode 9
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42:45
Jane Austen & Food: A Visit with Julienne Gehrer
From roast mutton to white soup, pickled melon to Bath buns, Jane Austen and her characters enjoyed a variety of fascinating foods. To learn more about Georgian-era cuisine and culinary practices, we invited food historian Julienne Gehrer to gu...
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Episode 8
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45:42
Jane Austen & Dido Belle: A Visit with Renata Dennis
JASNA member Renata Dennis joins us to discuss the fascinating story of Dido Belle, a woman of color caught between two identities. Dido was the daughter of an enslaved woman and a British naval officer but was raised as a gentlewoman in the ho...
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Episode 7
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34:29
Jane Austen & Mr. Wickham: A Visit with Adrian Lukis
In this episode, we welcome Adrian Lukis, the actor who made the role of George Wickham his own in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. We discuss his experience filming the beloved miniseries, his critically acclaimed one-man p...
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Episode 6
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44:00