https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/an-az-guide-to-jane-austens-world-100014598 "Although Jane Austen’s books are still widely read, certain aspects of their settings and backgrounds may be less familiar to contemporary readers than they were to readers at the time her works were published. This winsome book helps with that, offering an A-to-Z list of concepts that come into play in Austen’s works and life. Each chapter examines a new topic, beginning with a different lette

What a globe-trotting couple of Austen years this has been! My good friend, Austen scholar, and long-time president of the Austen Society of Australia, Dr Susannah Fullerton, did me the great honor of planning a fantastic day-long event around my book Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness. The day included a tremendous array of diverse speakers, all on the provocative theme of "Jane Austen: Romance Novelist?" Speakers included Carrie Kablean, David and Lisa Campbell, Jane C

I just returned from a Brazilian adventure. I was invited by long-time friend and Austen scholar Maria Clara Biajoli and my new friend and Austen scholar Natalia Barcellos to conduct a week-long class on Austen for their combined undergraduate and graduate students from both their universities-- UNESP of Araraquara and Universidade Federal de Alfenas. The students were wonderful, as one might expect after having excellent professors, and the week culminated in a public lectur

This interesting new review by Laura White places my book alongisde two other Austen studies, looking at Austen's use of history. (It is attached to this blog.) European Romantic Review, August 2026.

With Rachel, Johns Hopkins UP Sales Director Meeting Janeite owners and managers of Independent Bookstores Signing (and running out of) preprints of An A-Z Guide to Jane Austen's World It was such fun to sign advance copies of An A-Z Guide to Jane Austen's World. You can preorder it at your favorite bookstore. We ran out of copies pretty quickly! The official publication date is October 6, 2026. Harriet Wu's illustrations are just gorgeous!

In front of an audience of nearly 1000 Janeites, Susan Allen Ford interviewed four Austen scholars -- Janine Barchas, Collin Hemmingway, Devoney Looser, and yours truly -- on Austen's "Acts of Greatness" in late 2025. You can now read the transcript of our conversation here: https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/volume-46-no-1/ford-2/

https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781421455556 I'm surprised and delighted to receive this early review of my new Austen A-Z book. Here for convenience is the text of the review: Brodey (Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness), an English professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, delivers a rich guide to the language, objects, customs, and history that shaped Jane Austen’s life and work. Arranged in alphabetical order, the terms illuminate Austen’s stature

I've received my first samples of the new paperback edition of Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness. Doesn't it look nice? I'm delighted with the chance to make a few corrections, and also for all the new quotes on the back of the book! Thanks to all who helped the book reach this new edition!

Our NEH-funded digital humanities project, Jane Austen's Desk, now has music too! Travel back to March, 1813 and enter Austen's world via our site. If you hover over the pianoforte in the right side of the room, you will be able to enter a space to learn about five representative pieces of music from Jane Austen's life. We will be adding more music regularly. Thanks to our collaboration with the talented Laura Klein, users can learn about genres of music, composers, and conne

Coming on September 11, 2026 with Johns Hopkins UP. An A–Z Guide to Jane Austen's World features 26 carefully chosen words in order to illuminate the social customs, material culture, language, and historical forces shaping Jane Austen's fiction and life. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout by my talented colleague Harriet Wu (who also illustrated Jane Austen's Desk). A recurring theme is Austen's response to the rapidly changing age in which she lived, as well as

I'm delighted to announce that Johns Hopkins decided to release a paperback edition of Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness. It is available now for preorder on Amazon and elsewhere. I am gratified that the excellent reviews in the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Sunday Times (London) and elsewhere, as well as robust sales warranted this new edition. I was also happy to be able to make a few small corrections to the text as well.

I recently spent a glorious few days in Sydney, Australia, invited to speak at a weekend event arranged by the talented Susannah Fullerton and many others in the Jane Austen Society of Australia. The other speakers included Carrie Kablean, David and Lisa Campbell, Jane Caro, Steve Rohan-Jones, and Scarlett Hopper. The program was thoughtfully arranged and attracted over 200 lively attendees.