Tag Archives: Jane Austen

Book Review: An Elegant Madness

Posted on July 29, 2024 by nathanalbright

An Elegant Madness: High Society In Regency England, by Venetia Murray There is something striking about the way that the author frames the subject of this book. Taking a rather broad view of the Regency Era as extending from the … Continue reading →

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Poopism: A Continual State Of Inelegance

Posted on July 11, 2024 by nathanalbright

On September 18, 1796, while traveling in Southern England, Jane Austen wrote a letter to her beloved sister Cassandra and stated about the weather: “What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance.” At … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Genius Of Jane Austen

Posted on May 7, 2023 by nathanalbright

The Genius Of Jane Austen: Her Love Of Theatre And Why She Is A Hit In Hollywood, by Paula Byrne If the most famous connection between Jane Austen and the British theater is her complex use of Lover’s Vows within … Continue reading →

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On The Delicate Art Of Changing The Subject

Posted on May 4, 2023 by nathanalbright

It is little surprise that a master of the dramatic art of conversation such as Jane Austen would pay special attention to the art of changing a subject or refusing to change it, and its implications. In Pride & Prejudice, … Continue reading →

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What Was Forgotten

Posted on February 27, 2023 by nathanalbright

This afternoon, when I was driving to and from dinner, I was listening to the top 40 hits played this week from the year 1989. One of the things that struck me about the songs I was listening to were … Continue reading →

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Against Vulgarity, After Lionel Trilling

Posted on September 21, 2022 by nathanalbright

In his seminal essay on Mansfield Park, literary critic Lionel Trilling said the following: “It is beyond human ingenuity to define what we mean by vulgarity, but in Jane Austen’s novels vulgarity has these elements : smallness of mind, insufficiency … Continue reading →

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Willoughby And Ferrars: Two Peas In A Pod

Posted on September 17, 2022 by nathanalbright

One of the more interesting aspects of the way that Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility has been portrayed is the different feelings and judgments people make towards two of its male characters. When Marianne falls passionately in love with Willoughby, … Continue reading →

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A Failure Of Political Imagination

Posted on April 19, 2022 by nathanalbright

In watching the latest Fantastic Beasts movie, I was struck in particular by the failure of many reviewers, who themselves are part of that accursed tribe of contemporary journos, to recognize the subtlety of the portrayal of political matters and … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Jane Austen: The Parson’s Daughter

Posted on June 10, 2021 by nathanalbright

Jane Austen: The Parson’s Daughter, by Irene Collins One of the great ways to write what is new, or at least striking and rare, about someone is to take an approach that goes against the understanding of our contemporary age. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Real Jane Austen

Posted on June 10, 2021 by nathanalbright

The Real Jane Austen: A Life In Small Things, by Paula Byrne The title of this book can be taken in at least two ways, and in one of them the meaning of the book is made plain, and in … Continue reading →

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