'Chit-chat, and Quarterly Reviews'

Today I'm guest-blogging on the fabulous Austen Variations website, courtesy of Jane Odiwe, whose new book Mr Darcy's Christmas Calendar is out now. Austen Variations, a website for writers and readers, focuses on 'Austen-related fiction, the Regency Period and Romance'. My guest post 'Chit-chat and Quarterly Reviews' looks at reading habits in Jane Austen's day. There was a huge proliferation of popular magazines such as the Lady's Magazine, the long-established Gentleman's Magazine, and Ackermann's Repository. 
You can enter a competition to win a free copy of my new book A Visitor's Guide To Jane Austen's England, so do visit Austen Variations to leave a comment with your favourite Austen quote! The winner will be announced on the Austen Variations Facebook page on 15 November.

 
Illustrations:
Full dress for September 1798, Lady's Monthly Museum.
The critic William Gifford, Gentleman's Magazine, February 1827.

Austen's Novels Revamped

News just in!
Following the recent report that Austen's Emma will be re-worked by Alexander McCall Smith, the BBC News website has just reported that all of Jane Austen's published novels will be rewritten by six modern authors and translated into a modern-day setting. Joanna Trollope's version of Sense and Sensibility will be launched imminently.

I'm not sure I approve - how do you rewrite a classic? I think Austen's novels have stood the test of time - they are still immensely popular in their own right.

Many authors, including the lovely Jane Odiwe, have created fresh novels and sequels from Austen's original novels and characters, and I personally welcome anything which popularizes Austen and her works.

But will readers think that the Austen Project is a step too far? Should Austen's novels be - do they need to be - updated for modern readers? I'd love to know what do you think?


Update 24 October: You can read views by two experts, Professor Kathryn Sutherland from the University of Oxford, and Professor Emma Clery from the University of Southampton, on the Austen rewrites here.


Image: 'Will you do me the honour of reading that letter?' Mr Darcy gives Elizabeth Bennet a letter in the park.  Illustration by C.E. Brock for Pride and Prejudice (Cassell’s Book of Knowledge Vol. VIII, (Waverley Book Co., c.1920)).