Austen Chat Jane Austen Society of North America

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 sigh. In this episode, music maven Ruth Mudge joins us to discuss the soundtracks of four screen adaptations we know and love. A cellist, faculty member at the String Academy of Chicago, and assistant principal in the Elmhurst Symphony, Mudge also has her own podcast, World of Soundtracks, where she offers in-depth explorations of famous movie and TV soundtracks.

For a transcript, show notes, and guest bio:  https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep11
Visit our website:  www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Email: podcast@jasna.org

Music clips included in this episode:
"Pride and Prejudice"—Pride and Prejudice by Carl Davis, 1995"Dawn"—Pride and Prejudice (Music from the Motion Picture), music by Dario Marianelli and performed by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, 2005"Mrs. Darcy"—Pride and Prejudice (Music from the Motion Picture), music by Dario Marianelli and performed by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, 2005"Emma Woodhouse"—Emma (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), music by Isobel Waller-Bridge & David Schweitzer, 2020"Celery Root"—Emma: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture, music by Rachel Portman, 1996"Main Titles"—Emma: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture, music by Rachel Portman, 1996

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 this episode we sit down with art historian and museum curator Kristen Miller Zohn to discuss gender and the decorative arts in general, and how Austen’s references to consumer goods in her novels—from furniture and wallpaper to breakfast sets, muslin gowns, and toothpick cases—reveal important information about her characters. 

Read the transcript, show notes, and guest bio:  https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep10
Visit our website:  www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Email: podcast@jasna.org

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 teenage writings, and take a stroll down memory lane with Juliet as we chat about the early days of JASNA and how it's evolved over the past 45 years. 

Read the transcript, show notes, and guest bio:  https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep9
Visit our website:  www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Email: podcast@jasna.org

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 guide us on a gastronomical journey through Austen's world. She provides glimpses into the daily life of our favorite author you won’t want to miss. Julienne has spoken and written on Jane Austen and food for more than a decade. Her most recent book brings the historic Martha Lloyd’s Household Book out from Jane’s kitchen and into our hands as an annotated facsimile version.

Read the transcript, show notes, and guest bio:  https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep8
Visit our website:  www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Email: podcast@jasna.org

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 household of William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and Lord Chief Justice of the Court of the King's Bench. Until recently, she was lost to history.  Renata also shares her thoughts on Dido Belle as the inspiration for Jane Austen’s character Miss Lambe in Sanditon.

Transcript and show notes:  https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep7
Visit our website:  www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Email: podcast@jasna.org

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 play Being Mr. Wickham, and his thoughts on everyone’s favorite Austen rogue!

Transcript and show notes:  https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep6
Visit our website:  www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Email: podcast@jasna.org