December 2022 Newsletter

Hello friends. Thanks again for subscribing to my newsletter. This comes to you on my favorite day in December. The one we wait all year for so we can celebrate the birth of an icon. That's right, its Jane Austen's Birthday! You may ask yourself, dear reader, why is it that 247 years later, we Janeites still love Jane? Of course, it is totally possible that you may just be asking, "What is a Janeite?" while claiming "that sounds made up." To address your questions and concerns in reverse order, I am here to say, that no, it isn't made up. Janeites (which is a term coined by writer Rudyard Kipling in a short story about soldiers who loved Jane) are folks who openly admit how much they love Jane's works. Like any group, some people take it farther than others. Some folks cosplay as their favorite Austen characters while attending balls and dancing reels. Others may, and I am speaking from experience here, have a full set of Austen novels in every room of their house just because one never knows when one needs a handy witticism or some useful advice. Other Janeites are just people who watch the movies and read the books and are filled with joy. There are no gatekeepers here. So, why is it then, that nearly a quarter of a millennium after her birth, her work endures while other writers have faded into oblivion? Some may argue it is the romance. Others may argue it is the wonderful depiction of female friendship. Those are excellent points, and I couldn't argue with them at all. It is my contention that we still read Jane today, make movies, create stage plays, and possibly have full series of modern-day adaptations of her books coming soon from 4 Horsemen Publications, because of three simple things. The writing is exquisite, the characters and the situations they find themselves in are real, and the books are brilliant works of social commentary and satire. Here is the first sentence of Chapter 2 of my favorite Austen novel, Persuasion. " Mr. Shepherd, a civil, cautious lawyer, who, whatever might be his hold or his views on Sir Walter, would rather have the disagreeable prompted by anybody else, excused himself from offering the slightest hint, and only begged leave to recommend an implicit reference to the excellent judgement of Lady Russell, from whose known good sense he fully expected to have just such resolute measures advised as he meant to see finally adopted." We must first acknowledge that this sentence is a beauty. Complicated, insightful, and meandering while grammatically correct. She wrote that longhand, with a pencil, on a hidden notebook under her needlepoint while pretending to do her "women's work." Simply stunning. Next, we learn that Mr. Shepard is afraid of risk and of Sir Walter and that Lady Russell is well respected by all, very intelligent, and clearly not afraid of Sir Walter. One sentence tells us almost everything we need to know about two characters. Of course, as the book goes on, we learn more and more about them, but at their core, they are these people. A man employed by a person who doesn't like bad news and is thus afraid for his job and a woman who could care less about all of that nonsense thank you very much. Finally, here is a book published in 1817, where a well-respected man of letters, who by all accounts should be powerful enough to have other thinking men listen to his advice, relies on a widow to do his work. It is implied that he will, most undoubtedly, take full credit for the success of the plan or pass the blame if it fails. Austen comments on class and gender politics, but she dresses them up in pretty clothes and coiffed hair. I could teach a class on meta commentary just by using her novels. If one sentence can express so much, imagine what a whole book of them can say. So it is, that on her birthday, we think back on her brilliance and celebrate six of the greatest novels ever written in the English language. If you are already a Janeite, take some time this holiday season to revisit her. If you are not, treat yourself with a movie, TV series, or a book, be it digital, physical or audio. Jane has inspired so many great things as she continues to inspire us all. Notes from my bookshelf: Near the end of 2021, I made the decision that I would revisit Robert B. Parker's Spenser (with an s not a c) series in order. I made a plan to read one of them every weekend for 40 weeks. Once I finished that off, I decided to just go ahead and read the rest of his books. So now, as we end 2022, I find that I only have one book left. 68 books in 68 weeks. It has been quite an adventure. Parker was a great crime fiction writer, but he was, above all else, a keen observer of the human condition. I have enjoyed this experiment and so, I've decided that after I read War and Peace , (I've never read it and I like to end the year with a monster book), I am going to read Raymond Chandler's books (for the first time), as he was the inspiration for Parker, and then follow that up with Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series (I've read many, but not all of those). That should keep my weekends filled with mayhem and mystery. In non-crime fiction news, I recommend Rainbow Rowell's collection of short stories called Scattered Showers . Simply perfect. I just finished David Wootton's The Invention of Science. He looks at the scientific revolution through a linguistic lens. I know it sounds boring, but I really enjoyed it. Notes from my keyboard I am hard at work on the second of my Austen Chronicles books. This one is called That Other Dashwood Girl. We will spend time in the modern version of Sense and Sensibility told through the lens of the often-overlooked little sister, Margaret Dashwood. I have a few weeks off from teaching, so I will be in the chair, with my fingers flying over the keyboard that whole time. The series is really taking shape. The other day, while out for a walk, I had an entire conversation that will take place in the fourth book, which appeared fully realized right in my head. It was a bit of literary magic. I've seen the cover for Welcome to Mansfield . It is beautiful and I can't wait to share it with you. Make sure you follow me on Instagram as I will post the reveal there. Speaking of that book, I should have the notes back from the editor soon and I will be going over those notes in the coming weeks. I feel really confident that I know who will be narrating the audiobook, but I want to wait until that is officially confirmed to announce it on Instagram. So, that about wraps it up for December and for 2022. It has been a crazy year, but I am so thankful to 4 Horsemen for taking a chance on me. Also, I want to say, a special thank you to my wife, fellow Janeite, Lea, for making my website beautiful, for being my guide on how to do all the social media stuff (I am learning), for being my first reader on everything (including this newsletter), and for being my partner in everything I do. You are my favorite. ARF ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

You may ask yourself, dear reader, why is it that 247 years later, we Janeites still love Jane? Of course, it is totally possible that you may just be asking, "What is a Janeite?" while claiming "that sounds made up."

To address your questions and concerns in reverse order, I am here to say, that no, it isn't made up. Janeites (which is a term coined by writer Rudyard Kipling in a short story about soldiers who loved Jane) are folks who openly admit how much they love Jane's works. Like any group, some people take it farther than others. Some folks cosplay as their favorite Austen characters while attending balls and dancing reels. Others may, and I am speaking from experience here, have a full set of Austen novels in every room of their house just because one never knows when one needs a handy witticism or some useful advice. Other Janeites are just people who watch the movies and read the books and are filled with joy. There are no gatekeepers here.

So, why is it then, that nearly a quarter of a millennium after her birth, her work endures while other writers have faded into oblivion? Some may argue it is the romance. Others may argue it is the wonderful depiction of female friendship. Those are excellent points, and I couldn't argue with them at all.

It is my contention that we still read Jane today, make movies, create stage plays, and possibly have full series of modern-day adaptations of her books coming soon from 4 Horsemen Publications, because of three simple things. The writing is exquisite, the characters and the situations they find themselves in are real, and the books are brilliant works of social commentary and satire.

Here is the first sentence of Chapter 2 of my favorite Austen novel, Persuasion.

"Mr. Shepherd, a civil, cautious lawyer, who, whatever might be his hold or his views on Sir Walter, would rather have the disagreeable prompted by anybody else, excused himself from offering the slightest hint, and only begged leave to recommend an implicit reference to the excellent judgement of Lady Russell, from whose known good sense he fully expected to have just such resolute measures advised as he meant to see finally adopted."

We must first acknowledge that this sentence is a beauty. Complicated, insightful, and meandering while grammatically correct. She wrote that longhand, with a pencil, on a hidden notebook under her needlepoint while pretending to do her "women's work." Simply stunning.

Next, we learn that Mr. Shepard is afraid of risk and of Sir Walter and that Lady Russell is well respected by all, very intelligent, and clearly not afraid of Sir Walter. One sentence tells us almost everything we need to know about two characters. Of course, as the book goes on, we learn more and more about them, but at their core, they are these people. A man employed by a person who doesn't like bad news and is thus afraid for his job and a woman who could care less about all of that nonsense thank you very much.

Finally, here is a book published in 1817, where a well-respected man of letters, who by all accounts should be powerful enough to have other thinking men listen to his advice, relies on a widow to do his work. It is implied that he will, most undoubtedly, take full credit for the success of the plan or pass the blame if it fails. Austen comments on class and gender politics, but she dresses them up in pretty clothes and coiffed hair. I could teach a class on meta commentary just by using her novels.

If one sentence can express so much, imagine what a whole book of them can say. So it is, that on her birthday, we think back on her brilliance and celebrate six of the greatest novels ever written in the English language. If you are already a Janeite, take some time this holiday season to revisit her. If you are not, treat yourself with a movie, TV series, or a book, be it digital, physical or audio. Jane has inspired so many great things as she continues to inspire us all.

Notes from my bookshelf:

Near the end of 2021, I made the decision that I would revisit Robert B. Parker's Spenser (with an s not a c) series in order. I made a plan to read one of them every weekend for 40 weeks. Once I finished that off, I decided to just go ahead and read the rest of his books. So now, as we end 2022, I find that I only have one book left. 68 books in 68 weeks. It has been quite an adventure. Parker was a great crime fiction writer, but he was, above all else, a keen observer of the human condition. I have enjoyed this experiment and so, I've decided that after I read War and Peace, (I've never read it and I like to end the year with a monster book), I am going to read Raymond Chandler's books (for the first time), as he was the inspiration for Parker, and then follow that up with Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series (I've read many, but not all of those). That should keep my weekends filled with mayhem and mystery.

In non-crime fiction news, I recommend Rainbow Rowell's collection of short stories called Scattered Showers. Simply perfect.

I just finished David Wootton's The Invention of Science. He looks at the scientific revolution through a linguistic lens. I know it sounds boring, but I really enjoyed it.

Notes from my keyboard

I am hard at work on the second of my Austen Chronicles books. This one is called That Other Dashwood Girl. We will spend time in the modern version of Sense and Sensibility told through the lens of the often-overlooked little sister, Margaret Dashwood. I have a few weeks off from teaching, so I will be in the chair, with my fingers flying over the keyboard that whole time. The series is really taking shape. The other day, while out for a walk, I had an entire conversation that will take place in the fourth book, which appeared fully realized right in my head. It was a bit of literary magic.

I've seen the cover for Welcome to Mansfield. It is beautiful and I can't wait to share it with you. Make sure you follow me on Instagram as I will post the reveal there.

Speaking of that book, I should have the notes back from the editor soon and I will be going over those notes in the coming weeks. I feel really confident that I know who will be narrating the audiobook, but I want to wait until that is officially confirmed to announce it on Instagram.

So, that about wraps it up for December and for 2022. It has been a crazy year, but I am so thankful to 4 Horsemen for taking a chance on me. Also, I want to say, a special thank you to my wife, fellow Janeite, Lea, for making my website beautiful, for being my guide on how to do all the social media stuff (I am learning), for being my first reader on everything (including this newsletter), and for being my partner in everything I do. You are my favorite.

ARF