The Latest from Devoney (June '22)

June edition: Pride and Persuasion. (And Countdown: Four Months Until Sister Novelists.)

Dear Jane-Friends:

Hello from Phoenix, where we’ve entered the “Yes, you could possibly burn your hands on your car’s steering wheel” season. Hibernating indoors has its benefits now, as I put the finishing touches on Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës, for its October 25th release. (More on that below.) First:

Pride and Jane in June

Have you watched Fire Island yet? Count me among those who loved it. What they did to update the Lydia/Wickham subplot is jaw dropping. Do you think Fire Island is the Clueless of the 2020s? That’s the theory in this snappy piece in Town and Country magazine by Emma Fraser. I’m going to file it under, “Ask myself again in 2029.” I’m planning to rewatch Fire Island before the end of Pride month. And I’ll definitely be showing the opening scene the next time I teach Pride and Prejudice. . . But wait, there’s more! Did you hear about Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Gay Pride and Prejudice podcast? I’m really enjoying it so far. I wasn’t expecting the music. The song “Gimme Chicas” has proven a terrific June earworm.

Four-Month Countdown to Sister Novelists

Those of you who’ve been following the rollout of my next book—on the pioneering, once-celebrated, and wrongly forgotten historical novelists, Jane and Anna Maria Porter—already know how eager I am to get it out into the world. When the advance reading copies arrived last week, I staged a photo with backyard flowers. You can’t even tell it’s 113 degrees! I feel so very fortunate to have received generous endorsements from Tilar Mazzeo, Janet Todd, and Lucy Worsley—writers I so admire. My brilliant editor and publicist are working to get these uncorrected proofs into the hands of media influencers and review editors who’d appreciate it. In the meantime, I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering the book?

And, to further whet your appetite for “another Jane”—that is, Jane Porter—you could watch our conversation about the incredible Porter manuscripts at the New York Public Library in this “Doc-Chat” talk—a wonderful weekly series I recommend . Or you could register to attend the preview talk I’m giving for JASNA Southwest on July 16th at 11 a.m. PT. It’s a free event, but they are kindly requesting donations. I hope to see you there!

The New Persuasion? Bring It On

If you’re a Janeite on social media, then you probably followed the brouhaha over the new Persuasion trailer last week. A number of Anne Elliot fans were livid. A few Janeites expressed frustration with the trailer’s use of the contemporary-sounding word “exes.” I hope I did my little part to defuse that kerfluffle. Reader, I looked it up. The word “exes” got its start as a political term by 1827, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. A quick search also turned up a novel using the phrase “ex-lover” in 1825. . . . Don’t get me wrong. I love original Anne Elliot’s quiet strength, but I’m not angry that Netflix’s version might refashion her. Adaptations have a long history of changing up Austen’s heroes and heroines, sometimes thoughtfully! I’m planning to watch to find out. (And I got to add a little quote to that effect in Kerry Parnell’s worthy column in the Sydney Sunday Telegraph.)

A New PBS Austen-Inspired Miniseries: Biopic Edition

Up next: Did you hear PBS Masterpiece is planning a new Jane Austen-inspired fictional biopic, a four-hour miniseries? It’s going to be based on Gil Hornby’s novel Miss Austen, a fictional story that centers on Cassandra, Jane’s older sister. Wait, is this new, or has this sort of thing been done before? Answer: Absolutely been done before. The bioplay Dear Jane (1919) by Eleanor Holmes Hinkley (T. S. Eliot’s cousin!), gave the Austen sisters’ story an imaginative whirl. The research I did in The Making of Jane Austen on the first off-Broadway production of Dear Jane (1932) is something I’m very proud of unearthing. Some in the audience knew that the bioplay’s two stars, acting as Jane and Cassandra, were also off-stage lovers. I’m intrigued to see what PBS Masterpiece does with Hornby’s Miss Austen. And, hey, wouldn’t it be great if more screen stories were made about real-life Regency sisters?

Until Next Time . . .

As ever, if there’s something you think I should know about, please drop me a line. And if there’s someone you think might enjoy this newsletter, please forward it and ask them to join us. Although Emma’s Mr. Weston may not have been entirely right when he said, “One cannot have too large a party,” I hope his quip might apply to our gathering here, without reservation!

“Your dutiful and obedient humble servant” (as Austen wrote),
Devoney

UPCOMING EVENT WITH DEVONEY

16 July 2022: Preview of Sister Novelists with JASNA Southwest Online Speaker Series (virtual/live), 11 a.m. PT. (Registration required.)

P. S. DO YOU LIKE TO RATE/REVIEW THINGS?

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Rate/review The Making of Jane Austen on Amazon, Goodreads, or BookBub.

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