.jpg)
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
23 episodes
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...
•
Episode 22
•
41:50
.jpg)
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 ...
•
Episode 21
•
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 ...
•
Episode 20
•
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...
•
Episode 19
•
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...
•
Episode 18
•
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...
•
Episode 17
•
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...
•
Episode 16
•
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...
•
Episode 15
•
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...
•
Episode 14
•
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...
•
Episode 13
•
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...
•
Episode 12
•
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...
•
Episode 11
•
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...
•
Episode 10
•
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...
•
Episode 9
•
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...
•
Episode 8
•
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...
•
Episode 7
•
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...
•
Episode 6
•
44:00
Jane Austen & Divorce: A Visit with James Nagle
Ending a Regency-era marriage was difficult and daunting! In this episode, attorney James Nagle helps us navigate the murky legal waters of dissolving marital ties, Regency-Style, in a variety of ways. We're talking scandal. We're talking Maria...
•
Episode 5
•
35:35
Jane Austen & Her Endings: A Visit with Inger Brodey
How "happy" are the endings of Jane Austen’s novels? In this episode we chat with Professor Inger Brodey about Austen’s endings: what she includes, what she leaves out, her unique mix of romance and satire, and her technique of “zooming out” th...
•
Episode 4
•
32:36
Jane Austen & Her Wardrobe: A Visit with Hilary Davidson
What did Jane Austen wear? Was she a stylish dresser? A dowdy spinster? In this episode, noted fashion and textile historian Hilary Davidson sets the record straight, revealing that Austen was much more fashion conscious and on-trend than many ...
•
Episode 3
•
39:05
Jane Austen & Goodness: A Visit with Brenda Cox
Though never preachy, Austen’s novels have a rich moral depth that was heavily influenced by her faith. In this episode, we chat with Brenda Cox, author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. Brenda spent many ...
•
Episode 2
•
35:35
Jane Austen & Her House: A Visit with Lizzie Dunford
In July 1809 Jane Austen and her mother and sister moved into a cottage in Chawton, England, known today as Jane Austen’s House. As the place where she wrote and revised all of her beloved novels, the house is truly "the most treasured Austen s...
•
Episode 1
•
44:07
.jpg)