Jane Austen illustrations from the British Library

Technology is awesome. This week, it’s particularly awesome because I learned that the British Library has used it to post a whole mess of nifty illustrations from beloved classic editions of Jane Austen’s novels to its Flikr stream.

Some of these Austen illustrations include Irish Illustrator Hugh Thomson’s famous line drawings for Macmillan’s 1896 edition of Emma, represented below by Mr. Knightley’s proposal.

Hugh Thomson Illustration from Emma
Hugh Thomson illustration for Jane Austen’s Emma: Mr. Knightley proposes.

For more from and about iconic illustrated Austen works, peruse the following:

 

A “modern” Emma by Alexander McCall Smith…

Writer Alexander McCall Smith – creator of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency mysteries  – is working on a contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma for HarperFiction’s Austen Project.

“Writing a contemporary version of Emma is both a privilege and a real challenge,” the author said. “Not only is Emma one of the finest novels in the English language, but it is possibly Jane Austen’s most thought-provoking and interesting book.”

According to HarperFiction,

The Austen Project pairs six bestselling contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works: Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park. Taking these well-loved stories as their base, each author will write their own unique take on Jane Austen’s novels.

Continue reading “A “modern” Emma by Alexander McCall Smith…”

“Emma Approved” premiers!

Joanna Sotomura as Emma
Joanna Sotomura as Emma.

The first Youtube installment of Emma Approved hit the web today. In the premier webisode of this multimedia adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, we meet our eponymous heroine, a bubbly, self-described lifestyle expert and blogger. We discover her professional raisons d’etre and meet her button-down Highbury Partners colleague/buddy, Alex Knightley, and her friend/client, Annie Taylor.

After just a few minutes, Emma fans will swiftly figure out where things are headed…

Continue reading ““Emma Approved” premiers!”

Emma Approved: Another Austen-inspired web serial

Emma Approved
Emma Approved premiers October 7!

If you enjoyed The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, an interactive online media series adapted from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, you’ll be over the moon about Emma Approved. Based on Austen’s Emma, this one’s produced by the very same team that  brought you Diaries and Welcome to Sanditon.

Continue reading “Emma Approved: Another Austen-inspired web serial”

Presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma for sale…again!

Anne Sharp's Copy of Emma
Anne Sharp’s Copy of Emma, from Sotheby’s.

I was kind of avoiding this because I thought it might’ve been a bad case of necrolink, but apparently it’s true: Anne Sharp’s presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma is indeed for sale…again. It last sold at auction in April, 2010 for the then pounds sterling-equivalent of $271,294.

The set of three volumes is one of twelve special first edition copies – “presentation” copies as they’re called – reserved for Austen’s family, friends, and her highest-profile fan of the period, the Prince Regent (care of his royal librarian, James Stanier Clarke). Anne Sharp is often noted as the only “friend” among the bunch of recipients. Miss Sharp had served as governess to Austen’s beloved niece, Fanny Knight, and by most accounts is the logical model for the Woodhouse girls’ dear former governess, Mrs. Weston, in Emma. Continue reading “Presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma for sale…again!”

Link: Dear Mr. Knightley…

It’s come to my attention that Mr. George Knightley of Jane Austen’s Emma fame is now authoring his own advice blog, titled Letters to Mr. Knightley! With help from colleagues and friends, he’ll be dispensing his wit and wisdom on life and love to the denizens of Highbury, the Internet, and beyond. Here’s a man I’d trust with any problem!

Celebrate Georgette Heyer with Austenprose.com

During the month of August, Austenprose.com is hosting a tribute to legendary Regency romance novelist Georgette Heyer.  Join Laurel Ann and the gang for thirty-one days of Georgian-by-way-of-the-20th-century fun!

“Pride & Prejudice Without Zombies” event begins this Tuesday!

Austenprose.com is sponsoring a zombie-free, non-mashup look at Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.  The festivities begin this Tuesday and continue through mid-July.  Participate in the group read and discuss this perennial favorite with Laurel Ann and other Austen fans!