First Impressions: Why All the Austen Haters Are Wrong

In this episode, Kristin and Maggie discuss one of Austen's minor works, Lady Susan, which stars a delightfully charming, possibly-sociopathic main character built in the Crawford mold. Austen's feminist streak is on full display in this epistolary novella, in which Lady Susan takes control of her own destiny, and we get a peek at her wicked and ruthless private correspondence! This podcast discus...

[NEW FILE AVAILABLE - Dear listeners, we discovered and deployed some further audio fixes after releasing this episode, so if your episode auto-downloaded, we recommend deleting and re-downloading it to get the new version. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience!] Hello First Impressions fans! Everyone, we bespeak your indulgence: Episode 10 of the podcast is our experimental attempt to do a Ri...

Have you ever wondered about coincidences, apparent allusions, and other mysterious elements that appear in the plots of Jane Austen's novels? In this special episode of First Impressions, we welcome Austen scholar Arnie Perlstein to share his revolutionary ideas about the "shadow stories" in Austen's works. We discuss the theory of shadow stories in detail, and Arnie presents his theories about t...

In Part 2 of their discussion of Jane Austen's Emma, Kristin and Maggie delve deep into the fraught and controversial relationship between Emma and Mr. Knightley, dodging the looming specters of "daddy issues," constant mansplaining, and general creepiness to find vindication for feminists who think the Emma-Knightley pairing is perfection. (We apologize that this podcast is a full hour and a half...

Kristin and Maggie tackle the novel Emma and wrestle with its challenging heroine, the disgustingly handsome, clever and rich Emma Woodhouse herself. The girls discuss how their ambivalent relationship with Emma changes during the progression of the novel, and Kristin reads page after delightful page of monologue from Miss Bates, one of Austen's finest comic creations. They also confront the age-o...

Bonus episode! Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen's delightful parody of gothic romance, is full of surprises and humor. Kristin and Maggie highlight the hilarity of this adorable novel as it skewers of romantic convention, and review the charming meta-context Austen provides about novels and their value. They also discuss the 2007 BBC adaptation written by Andrew Davies, and the extra sexy special sau...

NOTE - NEW FILE AVAILABLE: If you are a subscriber and this episode auto-downloaded, we recommend deleting your file and re-downloading it. The new file has better audio quality. We apologize for the inconvenience! (Kristin did something to the file before converting it down to MP3 that degraded the audio quality and she didn't realize it. Oops.) In Part 3 of the Mansfield Park series, Kristin and...

In part 2 of the Mansfield Park series, Kristin indulges herself with an entire episode centered around the novel's famous set piece, in which the gang gets up a production of the scandalous play Lovers' Vows. Maggie contributes her theory as to how Mary Crawford's décolletage might affect the narrative. Kevin (Kristin's husband) guest-stars to provide incisive analysis and agree that Kristin is r...

In their third episode, Kristin and Maggie uncover the secret genius of Austen's complex and oft-misunderstood novel Mansfield Park. The girls discuss how the much-hated heroine of the novel, Fanny Price, is a victim of a Pygmalion tale gone awry. And Maggie is shocked to discover the secret sexual imagery amidst all that "dull" landscaping talk at Southerton. Are you a casual Pride and Prejudice...

Welcome back to First Impressions, the podcast for Austen lovers to stand up to their haters. In their second episode, podcasters Kristin and Maggie illuminate the brilliance of Austen's work by discussing Pride and Prejudice as an excellent tutorial for the socially awkward. The girls illustrate the genius of the 1995 A&E and BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, highlighting the critical scene...

Welcome Jane Austen lovers and haters alike! In their first podcast, Kristin and Maggie discuss Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. Kristin explains how Austen's portrayal of Mr. Darcy transformed her understanding of her own social anxiety, and why people who dismiss Austen's works as "love in bonnets" are missing the point.   The First Impressions podcast is a safe space for us to d...