Reclaiming Jane

We're here for a good time, not for a long time. The topics our audience chose:

• The Office
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Waffles
• Time travel
• Renaissance faires
• Mardi Gras

This episode marks the end of "Phase 1" of Reclaiming Jane! We're taking a few months off to doctorize a host and will return in summer 2024 with new readings, discussions, and shenanigans.

It's our traditional book wrap-up episode, where we reminisce, give advice, and get a little tipsy – now with some unplanned additional reading recommendations?

It's our final reading episode of Northanger Abbey! Not even Catherine's wild imagination could have predicted these anxiety-inducing events... 

Catherine is seeing a little sunlight after the confrontation in a previous chapter, but conses are quencing elsewhere. There are choices and there are CHOICES, just like there's romancing and there's romanticizing...

Catherine's imagination has kicked into high gear – perhaps to the detriment of her relationship with the Tilneys. Join us for a discussion of her particular self-casting as Gothic heroine and a look at who's really working around Northanger Abbey.

Gothic shenanigans are officially afoot as Catherine and the Tilneys make their way to Northanger Abbey! Pay no mind to that mysterious furniture, look at these renovated windows and spontaneous dance numbers instead.

You can't keep Catherine Morland down for long. Despite certain disappointments - and alarming developments - it's more important to remember that wishes do come true... While we talk about legal topics and early 2000s dramas, of course.

Catherine is finally standing up for herself and getting her way - much to John Thorpe's displeasure. There are still plenty of shenanigans afoot, though... Give in to all kinds of temptations in this episode, from the pedantic to the musical!

Red flags abound as we follow Catherine deeper into the ever-more-Gothic novel of her life in Bath! An episode featuring some of our favorite subjects: friendship, fashion, and... a little light kidnapping?

We have almost as much to say as John Thorpe does. Catherine's social circle is expanding with characters new and old – plus we'll take you on a shopping spree, a desert vacation, and an extremely targeted new campaign.

Catherine Morland makes a friend! Catherine Morland had better not even THINK of betraying that friend. We've got authorial tangents, boiled egg water, and infamous rom-com (not Gothic) betrayals in this second episode on Northanger Abbey.

We're starting our final novel with gusto! What exactly is the deal with Austen's first and last heroine, Catherine Morland, and why is she unfit for the job (in her own opinion)?

Your regularly scheduled guaranteed chaos episode is here. The contenders this time around:

• Dungeons & Dragons
• Food Network
• Charles Darwin
• lesbians
• magical realism
• Barbie

Despite our best efforts, we've made it to the end of Persuasion. This time we're sharing our final thoughts and the traditional tipsy advice for certain characters.

We stretched it out as long as we could, and we still weren't prepared for this book to end. Join us for the final chapters of Persuasion, some overdue historical questions, and deliciously painful fiction tropes.

Certain characters really leaned into the episode theme of "generosity"... Anne is finally trusting her own intuitions while we enthusiastically cheer her on. Plus, Italian translation and a little Swiftie moment (accidentally anticipating the week's news again, oops!).

Okay, maybe moderation isn't everything. Anne continues to have a mediocre time in Bath as expected, but there are some very unexpected events brewing... We're also brewing beauty content and a little Downton Abbey moment!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Join us in following Anne from old haunts to new neighborhoods while she grapples with her own perceptions and those of everyone around her (but especially the other Elliots). Plus, for your entertainment, a bit about Bath and an impromptu book review!

This episode's theme of "completion" is mostly notable in its absence, but we're covering plenty of drama: from the text itself, to an infamous historical figure, to the things that linger uninvited...

It's a contemplative kind of episode - let's talk about the exquisite agony of estrangement and Mary Musgrove's chronic FOMO.

The landscape is changing for Miss Anne as the other Elliots leave for Bath. We're talking about the things that contribute to feeling secure in life – and how that gets interpreted differently depending on gender.

Welcome to a new season! Let's meet the Elliots... Vanity, mortality, and haunting the narrative are the orders of the day.

It's the wrap-up of (spoiler) one of our favorite Austen novels! Listen to find out where Emma stands in our estimation, what we'd say to the characters, and our biggest takeaways from this delightfully infuriating book.

We've reached the final section of Emma! In this episode we're sharing our thoughts on happy endings, some colorful history, and a few last jabs at Mrs. Elton. 

It's the last episode of 2022 and THINGS. ARE. HAPPENING. Dreams destroyed! Wishes fulfilled! New information comes to light! Join our discussions of fancy funerals and secret relationships in this penultimate, hopeful section of Emma.

The characters of Emma decide to make some courageous decisions in these chapters, while your hosts courageously decide to share opinions on fictional characters and celebrities who will never respond. It's basically the same thing. 

In this episode, we're discussing moments of character growth, what makes Knightley's strawberries so exciting, and why the Don't Worry, Darling drama is actually an example of being courageous. 

These chapters feel like balancing on a precipice. While we wait for the next bomb to drop, we're talking about Romanichal history in England and some very distressed damsels.

New challenger approaching... The Eltons are shaking things up in Hartfield! Will Emma stand her ground and assert her place in the hierarchy?

Join us for mail talk and a healthy dose of intersectional feminism.

Emma is beginning to suspect there's something Frank Churchill isn't telling her. We are beginning to suspect there's something Frank Churchill isn't telling anyone. 

We're using our theme of beginnings in this episode to talk about the Regency gentleman's Grand Tour, connect K-pop debuts to young ladies coming out in society, and debate exactly why Frank Churchill made such an extravagant trip to London. (P.S. -- if any generous donors would like to sponsor a Reclaiming Jane 2023 grand tour, we are available. You know. For research.) 

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We're moving and shaking and defending Robert Martin's honor. 

No one's mad. But they're all disappointed. In this episode, Emily and Lauren ask whether certain characters could have been rather more cautious in their behavior, plus some context on Miss Fairfax's situation and nostalgia for Bridesmaids.

An extremely stable episode... up to a point. Join Emily and Lauren for conversations about consequences for actions, stubborn streaks, and more of what passes for Regency healthcare.

Emma Woodhouse is fully prepared to girlboss her way through life, but are we prepared to support her? (Answer: maybe.) This week we're using our theme of tradition to share some hot takes about adaptations and learn where Mr. Knightley's home got its name.

Come along on our Season 4 kickoff! We're delighted to be getting started with Emma this time – although delight isn't the only emotion our heroine provokes.

The segment where we try so hard to fit random topics with Jane Austen, we might as well be Cinderella's stepsisters with the glass slipper. Marvel at Lauren and Emily's attempts to connect everything from the United States Supreme Court to Lord of the Rings!

At long last, we have come to the end of Mansfield Park. Join Lauren and Emily for a retrospective on the book, a deluge of questionable advice for the characters, and an inevitable airing of grievances.

Alternate title: "We Reject Your Ending and Substitute Our Own"

In our final analysis episode of Mansfield Park, Emily and Lauren have strong opinions about both the rejections in the book and the ones we think should have happened. Also included: Love Island's second appearance and the biggest scandal of them all.

Let's take a detour through historic Portsmouth with a surprise visitor to the Price household! And what do Mario, Anthony J. Crowley, and Henry Crawford have in common?

After a short hiatus (which will be explained, don't worry), we're back! Jump into the balance of Fanny's life with Lauren and Emily while we discuss decision making, household management, and Selling Sunset.

Welcome to another episode where we wish the theme were less relevant. This week, Lauren and Emily talk about authority with detours into performance, affection, and probably more violence than you'd expect from an Austen podcast.

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This section's got BDE (Big Debutante Energy). Join Lauren and Emily for an energetic discussion of Fanny's coming out! Also included: balls, typical Fanny anxiety, and some truly inspired matching of characters with the same energy.

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There's nothing like a good challenge, right? This week, Lauren and Emily talk about the challenges that our characters face and the ones they've made for themselves. Also included: textile history, trope talks, and inferiority complexes.

(We swear this was recorded before season 2 of Bridgerton came out.)

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It's hard to be positive when you're in the middle of a love triangle and the lord of the house comes home and ruins all the theatrical fun. Emily and Lauren try to talk positivity as we cover the mess that is the attempted staging of Lovers' Vows. Also included: what Sir Thomas was really up to in the West Indies, Euphoria, and plenty of pity parties.

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Let's... put on a show? In this section, Emily and Lauren talk about accomplishment as we follow the denizens of Mansfield Park through their preparation for a play. Also included: a new arrival, love triangles, and the scandal of the stage.

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Relationships are getting complicated in the next chapters of Mansfield Park! Lauren and Emily talk about collaboration – or rather, the distinct lack of it. Also included: gaslight/gatekeep/girlboss and a healthy helping of harping on ha-has.

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Welcome to Mansfield Park! In this first episode of Season 3, Emily and Lauren are joined by Diane and Zan of The Thing About Austen to talk about disappointment. Also included: courtships, class divides, and Pirates of the Caribbean. 

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It's our first audience participation episode – and our first anniversary! For the last few months, we took suggestions on social media of topics that you wanted us to connect to Jane Austen. How did we do?

The final episode of the season, in which we drink and we (pretend to) know things. Lauren and Emily discuss their final thoughts on the whole of Pride & Prejudice and throw a healthy amount of shade in the Bennets' direction.

At long last... the final section of Pride & Prejudice. Join Lauren and Emily as we discuss how identity is created. Also included: character growth, a whole bunch of letters, and why this book stands out to us.

Links to topics discussed in this episode: