Austen Chat
Jane Austen Society of North America
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Top 10 Austen Chat Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Austen Chat episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Austen Chat for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Austen Chat episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
11/07/24 • 43 min
Lord Byron is one of the most notorious bad boys of English literature. He had countless affairs, drank wine from a cup fashioned from a human skull, kept a pet bear at Cambridge, and fought for Greek independence against the Ottoman Empire. What could this Regency-era demigod of “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” possibly have to do with spinster Jane, a country parson's daughter? More than you'd think, according to our guest, Christine Kenyon Jones. In this episode we discuss the parallels between Austen and Byron, Austen's references to Byron in her novels and letters, and how each may have influenced the other's work.
Dr. Christine Kenyon Jones is a Research Fellow at King's College London, focusing on the Romantic and Regency periods. Her books include Jane Austen and Lord Byron: Regency Relations (2024) and Dangerous to Show: Lord Byron and His Portraits (2020). She has also authored several essays published in Persuasions and Persuasions On-line.
For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep17.
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11/10/23 • 35 min
Ending a Regency-era marriage was difficult and daunting! In this episode, attorney James Nagle helps us navigate the murky legal waters of dissolving marital ties, Regency-Style, in a variety of ways. We're talking scandal. We're talking Maria Rushworth running away with Henry Crawford. We're talking wives being sold at auction to the highest bidder. What?! Yes. Crazy, but true.
Podcast Host: Breckyn Wood
Transcript and show notes: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep5
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09/06/24 • 49 min
Cassandra Austen, beloved sister to Jane, was a talented artist in her own right. At age 19, she illustrated Jane's satirical History of England with thirteen delightful ink-and-watercolor portraits. She continued to draw and paint throughout her life, most often copying from popular newspaper and magazine prints of the day. In this episode, Austen scholar Janine Barchas discusses her recent discovery of previously unidentified works by Cassandra and the underappreciated "art of copying," a talent Jane Austen gave her heroine Elinor Dashwood. Excitingly, there may still be pieces of Cassandra’s work out there, waiting to be discovered by you, the listener! Images of Cassandra's drawings discussed in this episode are included in the transcript on our website: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep15.
A video version of this episode is also available on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/AzPfNIDt-6U
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02/07/25 • 41 min
"To work in his garden was one of his most respectable pleasures."
—Pride and Prejudice
The garden may be where Charlotte sends Mr. Collins when she tires of him, but for many of Jane Austen's heroines, it's a place of repose and reflection. Nature is an important and recurring theme in Austen's novels and a meaningful part of her own life. In this episode, author Kim Wilson takes us on a tour of the many types of Regency-era gardens and greenery that inspired Austen and her work.
This episode is a slightly abridged version of the videocast available on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4XSBUImU0Y.
For audio-only listeners, a selection of images discussed in the episode can be found in the transcript on our website: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep20.
Kim Wilson is a writer and speaker, a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, and a past regional coordinator for JASNA's Wisconsin Region. Kim has presented at several JASNA AGMs and was a 2023/2024 JASNA Traveling Lecturer. She is the author of At Home with Jane Austen, Tea with Jane Austen, and In the Garden with Jane Austen.
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04/03/25 • 41 min
"I have made up my mind to like no novels really but Miss Edgeworth's, yours, and my own." —Jane Austen to her niece, Anna Lefroy, 1814
Jane Austen’s novels and letters are strewn with references to the female authors she admired—writers like Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and Charlotte Lennox. But these novelists, despite their wide popularity in their own time, have largely disappeared from our bookshelves. In this episode, rare book dealer Rebecca Romney shares some of their stories, examines their influence on Austen, and may even inspire you to add some of Austen’s favorites to your own to-be-read list.
Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer and the cofounder of Type Punch Matrix, a Washington, DC-area rare book firm. Over the course of her career, she has sold Shakespeare folios, first editions of Newton's Principia Mathematica and Darwin's Origin of Species, and individual leaves from the Gutenberg Bible. The author of several books, her latest is Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. She is also the rare books specialist on the HISTORY Channel’s show Pawn Stars.
For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep21/.
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06/06/24 • 47 min
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." —Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey
As an avid reader and a novelist herself, Jane Austen of course loved to read novels. But what else did she read, and what influence did it have on her writing? What books did she place in the hands of her characters, and what do their reading habits and choices say about them? Drawing from her forthcoming book, What Jane Austen's Characters Read (and Why), Professor Emerita Susan Allen Ford joins us in this episode to answer these questions and more. Susan is the editor of JASNA’s journals, Persuasions and Persuasions On-Line.
For a transcript, show notes, and guest bio: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep12
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07/06/23 • 44 min
In July 1809 Jane Austen and her mother and sister moved into a cottage in Chawton, England, known today as Jane Austen’s House. As the place where she wrote and revised all of her beloved novels, the house is truly "the most treasured Austen site in the world.” In this episode, we visit with the museum’s director, Lizzie Dunford, to discuss the early history of the house, its influence on Austen's writing, some of the Austen treasures on display there, and much more. You’ll also learn how you can visit and interact with the house without ever leaving the comfort of your own home.
Podcast Host: Breckyn Wood
For a transcript and show notes: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/episode1/
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08/03/23 • 35 min
Though never preachy, Austen’s novels have a rich moral depth that was heavily influenced by her faith. In this episode, we chat with Brenda Cox, author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. Brenda spent many years and several trips to England researching everything from Austen’s private daily devotions to the role churches played in the many social reforms of her time. We discuss all this, plus:
- Some crucial words in Austen’s novels that hold deeper religious meaning than you might think,
- A crafty countess who used a legal loophole to spread her Methodist faith, and
- A helpful way to finally remember the difference between a parson, a rector, a vicar, and a curate. (We don’t get into archdeacons, sorry!)
Podcast Host: Breckyn Wood
Transcript and show notes: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/episode2
Visit our website: www.jasna.org
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Email: [email protected]
09/07/23 • 39 min
What did Jane Austen wear? Was she a stylish dresser? A dowdy spinster? In this episode, noted fashion and textile historian Hilary Davidson sets the record straight, revealing that Austen was much more fashion conscious and on-trend than many suppose. Join us as we discuss what would have been in Austen’s personal wardrobe, from headwear and gowns to everything in between, and Davidson shares fascinating insights gained while researching her new book, Jane Austen’s Wardrobe.
Podcast Host: Breckyn Wood
Transcript and show notes: https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep3
You can learn more about Hilary Davidson on her website at http://www.hilarydavidson.net and follow her on Instagram and Twitter @FourRedShoes. She also has a Twitter account for her books @AustenDress.
Visit our website: www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Email: [email protected]
Austen Chat Trailer
Austen Chat
06/05/23 • 2 min
Meet our podcast host and learn about Austen Chat and what you can expect in upcoming episodes.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Austen Chat have?
Austen Chat currently has 23 episodes available.
What topics does Austen Chat cover?
The podcast is about Literature, Podcasts, Books, Jane Austen and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Austen Chat?
The episode title 'Jane Austen & Her House: A Visit with Lizzie Dunford' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Austen Chat?
The average episode length on Austen Chat is 41 minutes.
How often are episodes of Austen Chat released?
Episodes of Austen Chat are typically released every 28 days, 2 hours.
When was the first episode of Austen Chat?
The first episode of Austen Chat was released on Jun 5, 2023.
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