Austen Chat
Episodes
Jane Austen & Jane Bennet: A Visit with Susannah Harker
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful . . . .” —Mrs. B...
Jane Austen & Her Manuscripts: A Visit with Kathryn Sutherland
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for a chat with noted Austen scholar Kathryn Sutherland about Jane Austen’s surviving manuscripts and what they reveal about her writing pro...
Jane Austen & the Oxford English Dictionary: A Visit with Charlotte Brewer
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bath bun. Bobbinet. Poor basket. Vanity-bait. These are just a few of the words the Oxford English Dictionary credits Jane Austen with using for the f...
Jane Austen & Her Teenage Writings: A Visit with Lesley Peterson
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"She has many rare & charming qualities, but Sobriety is not one of them."—Jane Austen, Jack and AliceDrunken brawls. Cannibalism. Her...
Jane Austen & Her Wild Side: A Visit with Devoney Looser
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Think you know Jane Austen? In this episode, we explore the wild side of Austen’s writings, life, and legacy with noted scholar Devoney Looser, who ...
Jane Austen & Gentlemen: A Visit with Brett McKay
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chooses, and that is his duty." —Mr. KnightleyWe believe Jane Austen is for every...
Jane Austen & Shakespeare: A Visit with Mary Floyd-Wilson
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"'The course of true love never did run smooth'—A Hartfield edition of Shakespeare would have a long note on that passage.” —Emma...
Jane Austen in America: A Visit with Juliette Wells
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Austen has had devoted American admirers since her works were first published. In fact, several Americans played a crucial role in preserving and...
The Women Writers Who Inspired Austen: A Visit with Rebecca Romney
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"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, ...
Jane Austen & Her Playlist: A Visit with Laura Klein
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"I do not think I can live without something of a musical society. . . . without music, life would be a blank to me." —EmmaThough these ...
Jane Austen in the Garden: A Visit with Kim Wilson
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"To work in his garden was one of his most respectable pleasures."—Pride and PrejudiceThe garden may be where Charlotte sends Mr. Collins ...
A Close Look at Austen’s Genius: A Visit with John Mullan
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Happy 2025! This year marks Jane Austen's 250th birthday, and we are delighted to kick off the celebration with professor and author John Mullan ...
Adapting Austen: A Visit with Andrew Davies
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we chat with the man who gave us the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice—for many, the definitive Austen adaptation. A prolif...
Jane Austen & Lord Byron: A Visit with Christine Kenyon Jones
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
Austen in Translation: A Visit with Keiko Parker and Maria Biajoli
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the tireless work of translators, readers around the world can enjoy Jane Austen's works in their native languages. But how does one ev...
Cassandra Austen & Her Drawings: A Visit with Janine Barchas
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Jane Austen & Her Creative Process: A Visit with Collins Hemingway
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Austen pioneered and perfected quite a few literary techniques, and her novels mark a major turning point in modern English fiction. In this epis...
Jane Austen & A Reading Challenge: A Visit with the “Jane Austen July” Hosts
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's Austen Chat's one-year anniversary! Encouraging more people to read Jane Austen and gain a deeper understanding of her works and life i...
Jane Austen & Her Bookshelf: A Visit with Susan Allen Ford
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." —Henry Tilney, Northanger AbbeyAs...
Jane Austen & Movie Music: A Visit with Ruth Mudge
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The delicate tinkling of a pianoforte. The clash of cymbals. The soothing strains of a harp. Music in Austen film adaptations performs a variety of fu...
Jane Austen & the Decorative Arts: A Visit with Kristen Miller Zohn
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
During the Georgian era, gender differences in domestic goods became increasingly common. For example, a gentleman's writing desk was a sturdy, s...
Jane Austen & Her Genius: A Visit with Juliet McMaster
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Juliet McMaster, grande dame of Austen scholarship and one of the founding members of JASNA, joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about th...
Jane Austen & Food: A Visit with Julienne Gehrer
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From roast mutton to white soup, pickled melon to Bath buns, Jane Austen and her characters enjoyed a variety of fascinating foods. To learn more abou...
Jane Austen & Dido Belle: A Visit with Renata Dennis
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
JASNA member Renata Dennis joins us to discuss the fascinating story of Dido Belle, a woman of color caught between two identities. Dido was the daugh...
Jane Austen & Mr. Wickham: A Visit with Adrian Lukis
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we welcome Adrian Lukis, the actor who made the role of George Wickham his own in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. We disc...
Jane Austen & Divorce: A Visit with James Nagle
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ending a Regency-era marriage was difficult and daunting! In this episode, attorney James Nagle helps us navigate the murky legal waters of dissolving...
Jane Austen & Her Endings: A Visit with Inger Brodey
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How "happy" are the endings of Jane Austen’s novels? In this episode we chat with Professor Inger Brodey about Austen’s endings: what sh...
Jane Austen & Her Wardrobe: A Visit with Hilary Davidson
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Jane Austen & Goodness: A Visit with Brenda Cox
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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, au...
Jane Austen & Her House: A Visit with Lizzie Dunford
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Austen Chat Trailer
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meet our podcast host and learn about Austen Chat and what you can expect in upcoming episodes.