This blog explores social attitudes in Jane Austen's time, discusses her novels, reviews forgotten 18th century novels, and throws some occasional shade at the modern academy. The introductory post is here. My "six simple questions for academics" post is here. Spoilers abound in my discussion of these forgotten novels, and I discuss 18th-century attitudes which I do not necessarily endorse. |

The weekend featured knowledgeable speakers talking about crafts, quilts, and fashions in Austen's time. I met some fellow authoresses of JAFF (Jane Austen fan fiction). We are all research junkies, I think. We love learning more about Regency life and putting these events in context for our readers.
The theme for the conference was "The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen," so I turned to some research I've posted here on my blog, concerning the social and even religious strictures against female wittiness in Austen's time. Since Austen knew she was a superb comic genius, what was it like for her to live in a world where moralists and authors of conduct books basically condemned female wittiness?
I really enjoyed sharing my research with a knowledgeable audience of Janeites. Who else would get my Fordyce's Sermons joke?