News for Austen Enthusiasts: January 2025

When's it too late to keep wishing people a happy new year? Happy Jane-uary, I guess! The first month of Jane Austen's 250th year is off to a storming start, with many institutions, museums, theatres and fan societies pulling together plans for events to mark the occasion. If you have an event on the horizon, please do remember to send it to us so we can include it on our calendar of this year's events. 

Here's everything you might have missed in Jane Austen news this January! 

TikTok user catches heat for period drama filler comments

A TikTok posted by user allison.marie633 has sparked controversy after she argued that actors who opt to have cosmetic enhancements such as botox and filler should "never even get past the audition" for a period piece. This comes after comments that many actors have something called "iPhone face", a certain look that makes them distinctly 21st century. With cosmetic enhancements continuing to grow in popularity, it seems that movies set in the past could lose a bit of historical accuracy, with actors sporting distinctly 21st century looks.

What do you think? Is it no big deal, or is iPhone Face a real problem? 

Read more at People >>

Jane Austen link to Longleat discovered

New documents have uncovered a possible link between Jane Austen and the Wiltshire estate. It is known from the estate's day book that Austen's nephew and biographer, the Rev. J.E. Austen, made a visit to the estate. Documents and archival materials have revealed that Longleat was one of the first estates to be opened to the public for visits and tours, just as Elizabeth Bennet and her aunt and uncle visit Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice. Many of the descriptors of Pemberley ring true with descriptions of Longleat at the time -- is it possible that Austen herself visited? 

Read more at the Swindon Advertiser >> 

Miss Austen premiere reopens curiosity about burnt letters

Any dedicated Austen fan knows about the mystery surrounding the correspondence between Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra. Cassandra is known to have burnt large volumes of her correspondence with her sister after Jane's death, but the reasons why remain a mystery. There has been a lot of debate around whether this was the right thing to do, to preserve Austen's memory against the prying eyes of future fans, or whether it destroyed documents that would be incredibly valuable now. With Miss Austen, a reimagining of Cassandra Austen's life, premiering on the BBC this month, star Keeley Hawes has weighed in. 

Read what she had to say at the Radio Times >>

The Times reflects on 250 years of Jane Austen 

Times columnist Laura Hackett has written a retrospective on our love of Jane Austen, speaking to an array of experts on how the author has shaped their lives. They talk everything from the iconic dripping wet Colin Firth to the Jane Austen Festival here in Bath. If you have a Times subscription, it's worth the read. 

Read it at the Times >> 

The top 20 Jane Austen adaptations, ranked 

Michael Hogan at The Guardian has taken on the brave task of ranking adaptations of Jane Austen's work, attempting to make the definitive list of the best movies and TV adaptations of her work. All of the expected ones are there, but the are a few rogue choices in there. What do you think, does he get it right?

Read the list at the Guardian >> 

Looking into the lives of Austen siblings 

It wasn't just Jane and Cassandra -- there were seven Austen siblings! All of them lived interesting lives, and Tatler has put together short biographies of all of them. Whilst Austen died without children, her family legacy continued through her nieces and nephews. If you're looking for somewhere to get started on the Austen family tree, this is a great jumping off point. 

Read the article at Tatler >> 

Bridgerton Season 4 pushed to 2026

Fans hoping to catch season 4 of Bridgerton this year are out of luck it seems. At a splashy Hollywood event in January, Netflix teased new seasons of many shows, with lots of exciting shows on the horizon. Sadly, for fans of Bridgerton, there are no plans for the fourth season of the show to appear on our screens on 2025. This might be because showrunner Shonda Rimes has another show about to drop, White House murder-mystery The Residence.  

Read more on IMDb >> 

AS ALWAYS, WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW IF WE HAVE MISSED ANYTHING, AS WELL AS ALL YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEWS!