What Would Jane Do?

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. On the 210th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, Julia and Kate discuss first impressions (also the first title of P&P). We run through how first impressions were created in Regency England so if you wanted a quick guide to the society of Jane's era - here it is! We then discuss social mobility and what Jane made of that. Could Jane be understood as an author whose plots are about first impressions? We go o...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. Recorded on Jane Austen's birthday Julia and Kate turn our attention to the giving and receiving of presents! First we stop by Georgian Christmas traditions and then think about how Jane's presents are like bombs going off in the narrative. Stay tuned for the news and the Darcy and Wickham of the week!

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. We've just come through a period of changing leaders, from the passing of Queen Elizabeth and the changing of Prime Ministers in the UK, to American midterm elections. What would Jane do when it comes to leaders? We look at the range of leaders in her time from royals to military, and then go on to think about her leading men (and ladies). Is the secret of why Mr Darcy is a character who gets into all our hearts because of his le...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. Were you delighted or outraged by the recent Netflix adaptation of Persuasion? Well then, this is the podcast for you to vent your views! Julia Golding and Kate Macfarlane take a look at the 18th century tradition of adaptations that Jane Austen herself would have known and in fact uses in her own writing. They then go on the discuss what was right (and wrong) about the 2022 Persuasion, comparing it to previous attempts in 2007 a...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. Recent events have brought war back to the forefront of our minds. Jane Austen lived during a period of almost constant war. It was the background to her life with a huge proportion of the population, including two of her brothers, in the armed services. What was war like in her day? Kate Macfarlane joins Julia Golding to discuss this. Kate has impressive expert knowledge thanks to her time with the 33rd Foot Regiment, a re...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. Who would you like to come to your bookclub? We are guessing many of us would pick Jane Austen. In this episode Julia Golding (Jane Austen Investigates) and Kate MacFarlane, Jane Austen super fan, discuss what were the equivalent in Jane's day, where she got her reading material from, how publishing worked, and we even pause for some short tasters of the kind of books that were best sellers in her day. Prepare to have goose...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. Julia Golding and Kate Macfarlane take a light-hearted look at the questions of what kind of man you should aspire to be! Reviewing the models available in Jane Austen's era, from the 1770s fop to the Byronic heroes of the 1810, they discuss what qualities were expected of men. They then turn to Austen's works and see what she admired - and disliked - in men of her era. Why is there very little description of what people look lik...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. In this episode, Julia Golding is joined by Katherine MacFarlane, expert on Regency fashions thanks to her participation in the re-enactment world of the 33rd Foot. (There is also a version of this on YouTube if you want to see the visuals referred to during the discussion.) Where would Jane get her fashion news from and how were clothes bought and designed? Was there such a thing as fast fashion or 'the little black dress'? It i...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. It's a modern day epidemic on social media. Suggested by an audience member at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, Julia Golding takes a look at oversharing in the era of Jane Austen, from letters, to memoirs, to roman à clef, to cartoons, her time was not without its places to spill the beans. Who is the worst oversharer in Emma (there are lots of them!) and what is wrong with being too reticent? Have a listen and then add y...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. Julia Golding and Zoe Wheddon take the podcast to that most Jane Austen of cities: Bath! On the occasion of the Jane Austen Festival, they visit the main sights from Pump Room to Royal Crescent, reflecting on what Jane would make of the city as it is today and what it would have been like when she lived there. To see Julia and Zoe on location, you can watch the podcast here: https://youtu.be/QIy_FcTCp68

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. In this episode Julia Golding and Zoe Wheddon look at Jane Austen and childhood. We investigate how her era invented our modern idea of childhood as a time of innocence. But how was she raised? Did new ideas of Rousseau and natural education make it to the parsonage at Steventon? There were many children in her adult life and she was a much loved aunt to her brothers' children. What games and stories did she play with them? We th...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. This week Zoe Wheddon and Julia Golding discuss what would Jane do about modern friendship, look back at Jane's friendships in real life and in her fiction, as well as swap Jane Austen news and award this episode's Lizzy and Lady Catherine. Would Jane fit in with Taylor Swift's pack or a Facebook fan group? What role does messaging (or old fashioned letter writing) play in creating strong female networks of friends? And i...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. *Contains mature content* In this episode, inspired by the Netflix series, Bridgerton, we discuss Jane Austen and sex. What did Jane know about it? What role does it play in her novels? Then we widen the discussion to look at the Georgian world on such matters as contraception, pornography and prostitution. We then discuss Bridgerton - the successes and failures in the series, talk a little about what might be in series 2, ...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. For the second season of What would Jane do? The author and original host, Julia Golding, is joined by Zoe Wheddon, teacher, researcher and writer. They discuss how Jane and her characters would respond to a pandemic, the nature of illness in the early nineteenth century and what treatments were available. Stick around to hear who is this week's Darcy (hooray!) and this week's Wickham (boo!), Jane Austen news and what we w...

Thanks for listening. Do text us with topic ideas or reactions. Ever wanted to time travel back to the theatre in Jane Austen's time? Find out in this podcast with world expert, Dr David Taylor of St Hugh's College, Oxford, what Jane Austen would have seen when she entered a theatre in the 1790s. Who was there and what did it look like? What plays were on offer? Which writers inspired her? Were there special effects and what were they like? Turning from this, we go on to discuss the influence...