Literary Obituaries: Death Notices for Austen, Byron, Brontë, and Dickens
Today, Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Charlotte Brontë, and Charles Dickens are generally recognized as four of the greatest authors in English literature. But how did their contemporaries view them? Were their works appreciated? And how did the 19th century public feel when three of them, still in their prime, met an untimely end? To discover the answers to these questions, one might delve into the legions of biographies written over the years or have a look at their letters, journals, or contemporary reviews of their poems and novels. However, since it is less than a week until Halloween, I thought we might instead take a brief look at their obituaries.[…]Continue Reading
Venetia and the Byronic Hero
(*Author’s Note: The following article was originally published in the April edition of The Regency Reader. I thought it was time to have it here in its entirety. Enjoy!)
As romance writers and readers, we are all intimately acquainted with the Byronic hero. That particular brand of brooding, mysterious, misunderstood – and did I mention handsome? – Regency rogue that has stolen the heart of many a sheltered young Regency heroine. He is Captain Conrad in The Corsair, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, and Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. And as dark and dangerous as he is, he makes the honorable, morally upright gentlemen with whom he shares the page seem downright unappealing.[…]Continue Reading
“Be Not Alarmed, Madam, On Receiving This Letter…”
The reading and writing of letters plays an important role in many of our most beloved nineteenth century novels. And it is no wonder why. In an era defined by its social constraints, a well-written letter can achieve what the characters cannot accomplish through ordinary dialogue. […]Continue Reading
