Reading Jane Austen

Finding new ways of looking at Jane Austen’s work from their close readng!!

This is the podcast where I make coffe, get comfortable, and listen carefully to every word. The care and intelligence with which Ellen and Harriet examine the canon is exquisite, from explanations of what was happening in the historical period to examinations of specific sentences for clues and plot points. The breadth of their knowledge and understand is absolutely wonderful; I cannot express adequately how grateful I am to the work they put in to share their appreciation of the novels and of Austen’s skill and cleverness with us.

As someone who has just started reading Jane Austen in my 30s, I’m having a bit of a deep dive and am in want of people to talk to about it all. With this podcast I feel I am getting the commentary, historical context and analysis of adaptations that I’ve been craving. Thank you for the smart and engaging content!

Very enjoyable listen. Both hosts are warm and engaging. Lots of interesting historical asides and insights as well. More so than on some other podcasts, our hosts appreciate that, for example, P&P was penned with a light touch and tongue firmly planted in cheek and is not serious social criticism a la Dickens (e.g., Mr. Bennet’s teasing of Mrs. Bennet is playful banter of a particularly British kind, not some sort of villainous 19th C misogyny as it is sometimes represented as by US podcasters.) Happily, our two hosts capture the essence of Austen’s writing nicely.