The Latest from Devoney (16 December 2024)

Jane Austen's 249th Birthday Edition

Dear Jane-Friends:

I couldn’t resist reaching out on Jane Austen’s 249th birthday to ask how you’re spending this one. After all, it’s the last 16 December before the big, next 250th, aka sestercentennial, aka semiquincentennial, aka bisesquicentennial. As we all learn together how to spell those words, I hope you’re finding just the right way to spend a few moments looking Jane-ward today. (And 1940s Mr. Darcy. My dude. Please. Eyes up here.)

As for me, I feel so fortunate to be spending Jane’s birthday at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, where I’m in residence on a long-term fellowship this academic year. I’m starting a next book project. (More on that another time!) I’ve also had the chance to read in the Leigh Family Archive, a fascinating collection of letters by previous generations of Jane Austen’s mother’s family. (For more on the Leigh Family Archive, check out this video.) This is the building where I get to report to work each day. Scholar paradise.

This fall has been full of reading unique manuscripts and rare books, but it’s also brought final edits on a new book of my own. I’m excited to share the typeface mock-ups for my next book, Wild for Austen: The True Story of a Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane Austen, which will be out on 2 September 2025 from St. Martin’s Press. Stay tuned for more info soon about pre-ordering, etc. In the meantime, if you know of a bookstore, festival, or community group that might be looking for an Austen author event, please drop me a line to let me know?

I’m definitely feeling trepidation about what 2025 might bring, but I’m also convinced that celebrating Austen is going to be a bright spot. This is shaping up to be a year of Austen-tastic books, which I look forward to telling you more about in the months to come. I’ve had the pleasure to read a few of them pre-publication, including Janet Todd’s moving bibliomemoir, Living With Austen, Rebecca Romney’s intriguing and fun Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, and Natalie Jenner’s terrific novel, Austen at Sea.

It was great to see some of you in October at the Jane Austen Society of North America’s Annual General Meeting in Cleveland, where the Austen folks not only got to buy from Jane Austen Books and hear amazing keynote lectures (Patricia Matthew! Amanda Vickery!). We were also staying at the same hotel with inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At the hotel bar, we were literally at the table next to Robert “Kool” Bell of Kool and the Gang. Here’s photographic proof. Rock on, Janeites.

I’m going to end this missive here, so you can get back to your Monday celebrations. But if you haven’t yet seen this wonderful Substack post from Natasha Joukovsky on Austen Math 101, with her models charting Sense and Sensibility’s heroes for fortune, manners, morals, and f***ability, then you’ll definitely want to check that out. What better way to honor Jane Austen’s 249th birthday than with a bar chart showing exactly how Edward, Willoughby, and Colonel Brandon stack up against each other?

Thanks so much for being (and staying) connected,
Devoney

P. S. Feel free to forward this newsletter to a friend who might want to join us here. Because once again, with apologies for mangling Austen’s beautiful prose—How quick come the reasons for forwarding what we like!