First Impressions: Why All the Austen Haters Are Wrong

Dear First Impressioners, have you ever been curious about the wide world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF), and the writers that publish it? In this special episode, our friend Lona Manning joins us to discuss her experience writing and publishing her JAFF novels and stories! Be ready for some intriguing insights, from how historical fiction authors research details about Regency life, to tips fo...

Hello First Impressions fans! We're excited to present our book review of The Making of Jane Austen by Devoney Looser! In her highly entertaining, amazingly informative and exhaustively researched work, Dr. Looser discusses how our view of Austen has evolved over two centuries, from kindly "Aunt Jane," to conservative darling, to feisty suffragette. Told through cultural artifacts such as books, p...

Hello gentle listeners! We're excited to welcome our second FI fan and Clueless aficianado, Ellie, onto the podcast! Join us for a freewheeling discussion about Clueless and its impact on pop culture and subsequent Austen adaptations. We touch on lots of fun details about the movie, including a discussion of the book As If: The Oral History of Clueless by Jen Cheney. There is also quite a long tan...

Listeners, we're so excited to put out our first of two Clueless episodes! This episode stars longtime listener Tash from Sydney, an Austen scholar who helps to illuminate the brilliance of Clueless as a high-value, highly entertaining adaptation of Austen's beloved novel, Emma. Listen to learn about how Cher interacts with gender and the patriarchy (as if!), why 90s society in wealthy Los Angeles...

Gentle listeners, rejoice! We're reviewing another Austen movie adaptation, this one the 2007 ITV adaptation of Mansfield Park, starring Billie Piper as Fanny Price. Listen as we discuss Fanny's spunky badminton chops, Haley Atwell's winsome take on Mary Crawford, and Edmund's incomprehensibly strange bangs. To nobody's surprise, Kristin didn't like it. Credits for the movie can be found at https:...

We're back with our second (and final) episode on John Mullan's book, What Matters in Jane Austen: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved! This time, Maggie and Kristin tackle the subjects "Did Sisters Sleep Together?" and "What Games Did the Characters Play?" Get ready from some surprising insights that stem from these basic questions, as we plumb the depths of sisterly relationships in Austen's work, and...

First Impressions fans! We're SO EXCITED to release our discussion of the brilliant book, What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan. This book is full of surprising connections, fascinating analysis, and deep insight into Austen's life and works. In this episode we dig into two specific chapters of the book, focusing in on the topics of "sex" and "death" in Austen's...

Hi First Impressions fans! We know you're all waiting with bated breath for our next major episode, but in the meantime, here's the fourth installment of our movie commentary series for the 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries to tide you over. Keep your eye out for our next episode on What Matters in Jane Austen, by John Mullan, which will be coming in the next few weeks!

Gentle listeners, rejoice! Maggie and Kristin are reunited once more, this time broadcasting from beautiful Boise, ID, where we tackle the thrilling third episode of the 1995 miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. This is a movie commentary track, so you can listen while watching the movie, or simply just follow along while doing all those boring data...

Hello First Impressioners! We're continuing our commentary track series of that oh-so-perfect adaptation, the 1995 Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. The track was recorded while watching the second episode of the miniseries, but if you know the movie by heart like we do, you can also listen to it on its own! We hope to cover the whole series, so stay tuned for more tracks...

Hello First Impressioners! As promised, we're releasing the first of our commentary tracks on the 1995 classic Pride and Prejudice miniseries. The track was recorded while watching the first episode of the miniseries, but if you're familiar with the movie, Maggie tells me it can be listened to on its own as well! Stay tuned for more of these commentary tracks coming soon!

Dear First Impressions listeners, thank you for being so patient with us. After many technical difficulties, we're so glad to present the second installment of our re-visitation of Pride and Prejudice! In this episode, we probe the Darcy-Elizabeth relationship, and how they both grow and change and come together to teach the admiring masses what conjugal felicity really is.

Hi First Impressions fans! We apologize for the wait for the next podcast we promised, P&P The Remix, Part 2. Due to technical difficulties we have not been able to complete that podcast yet (sad face), however, we do have a special bonus episode to tide you over while you wait! Kristin, Maggie and Bay check out a new Jane Austen trivia game, The Jane Game, for your edification and amusement!

[UPDATED FILE AVAILABLE: There seems to have been a glitch around minutes 3-5 of the first version of this podcast; we've uploaded a fixed version of the file for anyone who wishes to re-download it.] We knew you needed more, so we delivered! The girls are back to give Pride and Prejudice the complete podcast treatment, where all the minor characters can finally shine. During our first foray into...

We're back, gentle listeners, with a spirited discussion of the 2007 movie The Jane Austen Book Club (which is based on the book of the same name). Jocelyn, Sylvia, Prudie, Grigg and the gang are back, and they're still well drawn characters with rich inner lives. Despite some misgivings, we greatly enjoyed this movie, and especially liked the discussion of Mansfield Park which the book was lackin...

Something a little different, listeners! BOYS! As you wait for us First Impressions gals to come out with our brilliant analysis of the Jane Austen Book Club movie, please enjoy this podcast we asked Kevin and Bay to put together on that beloved box office flop, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! The guys warm up by talking about their own histories with Austen, then lay the smackdown with cutting c...

In this episode, the girls discuss the Jane Austen Book Club, a novel by Karen Joy Fowler. The book is a clever take on a group of friends who read Austen together as their lives begin to parallel Austen's plots in surprising ways. Kristin and Maggie can relate! The First Impressions podcast is a safe space for us to discuss our love for Jane Austen away from the haters, and perhaps even convert s...

Ok, I'm just kidding. Episode 19 of First Impressions does not include an MMA-style cage match between two Persuasion movie adaptations, although I do wish we had thought of that before recording it! This episode is just a conventional yet spirited review of two adapatations of Austen's Persuasion: the 1995 Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds version, and the 2007 ITV adapation starring Sally Hawkins. Enjoy,...

Maggie and Kristin present the second installment of their discussion of Jane Austen's Persuasion, a novel that is Austen-brand catnip for the romantic in all of us (yes, including a reluctant Kristin). We hope you enjoy it, gentle listeners. You pierce our souls, our hearts, our cheese, our mics, and our balloon animals. The First Impressions podcast is a safe space for us to discuss our love for...

Hello First Impressioners! We bring you part 1 of our discussion on Jane Austen's Persuasion. Kristin attempts to enlighten Maggie to the fact that (1) Fredrick Wentworth is a dick, and (2) the dismal worldview and the autumnal themes Austen employs in Persuasion make this novel a hard read for sensitive souls. As always, the psychological nuance of Austen's work is on display as she uses Persuasi...

Welcome back, First Impressions listeners! In honor of our one-year anniversary, we've got a special episode for you! Special guest (and longtime fan) Bethany C. is joining us to tell us fascinating facts about Regency fashion and its importance in Jane Austen's novels. Ever wonder about pattens, petticoats, spencers, shoe-roses, pelisses, and chemises? We've got all the information for you here....

Hello First Impressioners! In this episode Kristin and Maggie review their most beloved of all Austen adaptations, the triumphant 1995 movie directed by Ang Lee and written by Emma Thompson. From the fantastic casting, to the excellent screenplay, to the indelible performances, this film is (in our opinion) a masterpiece! For the film's full credits, see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114388/fullcre...

Welcome back, First Impressions fans, to our discussion of Austen's triumphant novel, Sense and Sensibility! In this episode, after excoriating Willoughby just as much as he deserves, Kristin and Maggie move on to the lighter side of the story, highlighting comic passages about Robert Ferrars, Mrs. Jennings, Anne Steele, Sir John Middleton, Charlotte Palmer, and more. The girls draw a parallel bet...

Welcome to episode 13, gentle listeners! In this episode, Kristin and Maggie begin their discussion of Sense and Sensibility.  The girls work their way through the plot of the novel by exploring the differences (and maybe similarities?) between the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, and take a deep dive into each character's reaction to love and loss. Kristin finds herself falling in love with...

In Episode 12, Kristin and Maggie review Love & Friendship, a newly released movie adaptation of Austen's comic novella, Lady Susan. Kristin relates an encounter with director Whit Stillman which raised him very much in her estimation, while Maggie bemoans the saccharine sweetness of star Kate Beckinsale's performance. In the end, the girls agree to disagree, and you'll be relieved to hear that (s...