Writer Janet Mullany is from England, drinks a lot of tea, and likes Jane Austen, reading, and gasping in shock at costumes in historical TV dramas. Her household near Washington DC includes a badly-behaved cat about whom she frequently boasts.
Movies
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. These are the opening words of Jane Austen’s
History
Mrs. Griffiths was a very well-behaved, genteel kind of woman, who supported herself by receiving such great girls and young ladies as wanted either masters for finishing their education or a home for beginning their displays. She had several more under her care than the three who were now
Theater
Not to like pantomime, the journalist Leigh Hunt declared, is not to like love: pantomime is a curious blend of continental and British traditions. The raw energy of music hall, the sauciness of Victorian burlesque, the crazy chase of the harlequinade, the acrobatic power of John Rich, the archetypal plots
Culture
“Jane Austen? Didn’t she just write six novels? What do you talk about?” This comment—quoted with a satirical inflection that Jane Austen would have appreciated—was made by Liz Philosophos Cooper, President of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) at the organization’s 2019 Annual General
Dublin Murders
The first episode of Dublin Murders aired this week on premium cable network Starz, and we're all really hoping the series will be as good as this beginning. Just to be clear, I am a great admirer of author Tana French’s writing, and I think I was
History
Are you still picking the candy wrappers (or possibly even leftover candy) from their hiding places and wondering whether you should do something about the decaying pumpkin outside your house? And are you wondering whether you’d have these problems if you were a Brit? Halloween is catching on in
History
When we first meet Ned Despard (played by Vincent Regan) in the final season of Poldark, he's in prison and has written to his old friend Ross, with whom he served in the British Army in the American War of Independence, for help. Ross, always one for the
History
Think Game of Thrones. Instead of the Iron Throne, we have the throne of England up for grabs, three candidates, and a lot of bloodshed. England just before the Norman conquest is just that—it doesn’t include Wales or Scotland yet, and was technically only conquered by Vikings a
Books
My intention in writing this book is not to hunt and name the killer. I wish instead to retrace the footsteps of five women, to consider their experiences within the context of their era, and to follow their paths through both the gloom and the light. They are worth more
History
The War of 1812 is both fascinating and confusing. It’s not really even clear which side won—either could claim it as a victory. Certainly it changed America, persuading the government that both a standing army and navy were necessary and establishing our country as a world player. It
Books
The education bestowed on Flora Poste by her parents had been expensive, athletic and prolonged; and when they died within a few weeks of one another during the annual epidemic of the influenza or Spanish Plague which occurred in her twentieth year, she was discovered to possess every art and
History
On the 18th inst. at Winchester, Miss Jane Austen, youngest daughter of the late Rev. George Austen, Rector of Steventon, in Hampshire, and the Authoress of Emma, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility. Her manners were most gentle; her affections ardent; her candor was not to be