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About sarahemsley

I’m a writer and editor, with a particular interest in the novels of Jane Austen and Edith Wharton.

“Virtue is its Humphry Ward”

Posted on February 2, 2012

In the years after the Great War, Edith Wharton wondered about her future reputation. In my last post, I wrote about her feeling that her work was “either nothing or more than they know.” She wondered if she would begin … Continue reading →

Posted in Edith Wharton, Edith Wharton's Birthday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy Birthday to Edith Wharton!

Posted on January 24, 2012

Today is Edith Wharton’s 150th birthday, and I’m thinking about ways to celebrate, in addition to rereading her work. There’s a short birthday video on the website of The Mount, the house Wharton designed and built in the Berkshires; there are … Continue reading →

Posted in Edith Wharton, Edith Wharton's Birthday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” in Sense and Sensibility

Posted on January 7, 2012

JASNA Nova Scotia will meet in February to talk about papers on Sense and Sensibility from the 2011 Annual General Meeting in Fort Worth, Texas.  We’re meeting on Sunday, February 12 at 2pm at Christina’s house; please email me (semsley … Continue reading →

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Feeding the sick in Austen’s time (and our own)

Posted on December 27, 2011

Find out what invalids were advised to eat in Jane Austen’s time: Dr. Catherine Morley, Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Acadia University and a JASNA member, will speak on “The Invalid’s Dietary in the Austen Era: Its Presence … Continue reading →

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Advent Calendars and Books

Posted on December 2, 2011

The Advent Book Blog is counting the days to Christmas, with new book recommendations posted every day–what a great idea to help with gift-giving! The blog, a “viral holiday book recommendation engine” that supports independent booksellers, was created by Sean Cranbury and … Continue reading →

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Jane Austen’s Birthday in Halifax

Posted on November 18, 2011

Celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday with us in Halifax!  December 16th is her 236th birthday, and members of the Nova Scotia Region of the Jane Austen Society of North America will meet for lunch at The Carleton on Argyle Street at … Continue reading →

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Austen’s “Beautifull Cassandra”

Posted on October 28, 2011

Juliet McMaster reads Jane Austen’s story “The Beautifull Cassandra” to a group of children in this video on the University of Alberta Faculty of Arts website.  McMaster’s beautifully illustrated edition of the story, in which she imagines Cassandra and the … Continue reading →

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Elizabeth Bennet and Anne Shirley

Posted on September 12, 2011

During a holiday in Prince Edward Island last month, I thought more about ways of introducing Jane Austen to children, not because my daughter and I were reading Austen, but because we were completely absorbed in the literary world of … Continue reading →

Posted in Jane Austen for Kids, L.M. Montgomery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Jane Austen for All Ages

Posted on July 30, 2011

What’s the ideal age to start reading Jane Austen?  I don’t know the answer to this, though I’ve heard lots of people say they discovered her at the age of twelve.  It took me much longer–I read Pride and Prejudice … Continue reading →

Posted in Jane Austen for Kids | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tea in June

Posted on May 28, 2011

I’m looking forward to tea with members of the Jane Austen Society of North America three times in the month of June.  The first is a strawberry tea at which we’ll discuss links between Austen’s novels and Oscar Wilde’s play … Continue reading →

Posted in JASNA | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments