Jane Austen News - Issue 51

What's the Jane Austen News this week?   

Jane Austen Honoured on Coins   The Royal Mint will be doing a good job of honouring Jane Austen in its newly released tender this year as, as well as Jane Austen being the new face of the ten pound note, she will also be one of the three famous British historical figures featured on the new coins from the Royal Mint. They’re due to come into circulation from spring and in addition to Jane Austen on the two pound coin, there will be a special fifty pence marking the achievements of Sir Isaac Newton whose wide-ranging work paved the way for the introduction of the ‘old standard’ system for valuing a nation’s currency (Sir Isaac was the one-time Master of the Royal Mint). Another commemorative two pound coin will also be released to remember the Royal Flying Corps and its contribution to the defence of Britain’s skies in the First World War. This year is set to be a stellar year for currency collectors!

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An Evening With Mr Wickham    On Sunday March the 5^th, Pride and Prejudice fans near Huddersfield, (especially those fans of the BBC’s 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice) will be in for a treat. Adrian Lukis who played the caddish Mr Wickham in the 1995 production will be in afternoon conversation with Huddersfield’s Jane Austen expert, Catherine Curzon, about his experiences, career and what Jane Austen has meant to him. Afterwards there will be a display of dances from Jane Austen’s era given by Regency Rejigged, and audience members are more than welcome to join in with the spirit of the afternoon and come in period dress. The event, which is part of Huddersfield Literature Festival, is also held as part of the celebrations this year marking 200 years since Jane Austen’s death in 1817. Residents of Yorktown Virginia are in for a treat this month. The Williamsburg Regional Library in Yorktown are hosting a free month-long tribute to Jane Austen which they are dubbing “JANEuary". As part of JANEuary, every Thursday an Austen-based film will screen at 2 p.m. in the library theatre and there will be a lecture following the screening of  Austenland. Love & Friendship is due to be shown on Jan. 12, Austenland on Jan. 19 and Sense & Sensibility on Jan. 26. The library will also host an afternoon of Austen-themed entertainment on Jan. 29, from 1-5 p.m., featuring lectures, an Austen trivia contest, period dance, Austen-themed crafts and an Austen fan survey. The event has been dubbed Austravaganza and some of the lectures will include; one contrasting Austen’s actual life to how her life has been portrayed in films; a lecture about sewing and dressmaking in Austen’s era; and a discussion about the custom of tea in Austen’s day followed by a complimentary cup of tea.

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Pride and Prejudice - A Historical Fantasy  If you like reading different adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, and you enjoy fantasy novels, then Heartstone, Elle Katharine White’s debut historical fantasy novel, might be one for you. White takes key elements of Austen’s beloved novel and fuses them with her own brand of magic, crafting a modern epic fantasy involving gryphons, direwolves, banshees and lamias.

They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters. Passionate, headstrong Aliza Bentaine knows this all too well; she’s already lost one sister to the invading gryphons. So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again. Her relief is short-lived. With the arrival of the haughty and handsome dragonrider, Alastair Daired, Aliza expects a battle; what she doesn’t expect is a romantic clash of wills, pitting words and wit against the pride of an ancient house.  

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Farewell to Jane Austen Foundation Founder   On a final note in this week’s newsletter, we’d just like to pay a brief tribute to Richard Boyd from Mississippi who we learnt died on Sunday 1^st of a pulmonary arterial hypertension. Richard Boyd was a co-founder of the Jane Austen Foundation of Louisiana, which stages Old Mandeville’s Jane Austen Literary Festival every spring, and he was also responsible for the Jane Austen Poetry Reading being held as part of the festival. At the Jane Austen News we’re very glad that there are people out there like Richard championing Jane’s work across the world and we wanted to say thank you to him for what he’s done.  

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Jane Austen News is our weekly compilation of stories about or related to Jane Austen. Here we will feature a variety of items, including craft tutorials, reviews, news stories, articles and photos from around the world. If you’d like to include your story, please contact us with a press release or summary, along with a link. You can also submit unique articles for publication in our Jane Austen Online Magazine. Don’t miss our latest news – become a Jane Austen Member and receive a digest of stories, articles and news every week. You will also be able to access our online Magazine with over 1000 articles, test your knowledge with our weekly quiz and get offers on our Online Giftshop. Plus new members get an exclusive 10% off voucher to use in the Online Giftshop.