Jane Austen's Books & Adaptations discussion

There are tons of lectures and debates on Jane Austen, her books and making of JA adaptations available online. Some good, some bad and some in between.

Here's the place to share the links and maybe a short summaries or reviews so people know what to expect. :)

Lectures:


👨‍🎓 Jane Austen's heroines, from Elizabeth Bennet to Emma Woodhouse by John Mullan (33 min, YouTube link)
👨‍🎓 John Mullan on Mansfield Park (1 h, YouTube link)
👩🏻‍🎓 Love and Courtship in Jane Austen Day (1 h 20 min, YouTube link)
👩🏻‍🎓 Powers of Persuasion by professor April Bernard (1 h, YouTube link)
👩🏻‍🎓 What's so great about Austen? Isn't she just bonnets and balls? by Dr Sandie Byrne (42 min, YouTube link)




👨‍🎓 Adapting Jane Austen with Andrew Davies (Writers on Writing Course) (1 h 17 min, YouTube link)

Debates:


👨‍🎓👩🏻‍🎓 Jane Austen vs Emily Brontë: The Queens of English Literature Debate with Dominic West - John Mullan (1 h 54 min, YouTube link)



Podcasts:


🧑🏻‍🎤 Emma Woodhouse (In Our Time) - BBC Podcast (47 min, YouTube link)

Jane Austen's heroines, from Elizabeth Bennet to Emma Woodhouse by John Mullan (33 min, YouTube link)
Watched today. I absolutely love John Mullan - his book is great and everytime he speaks about Jane Austen you can feel his enthusiasm. Mullan briefly sums up JA heroines, makes some interesting points and supports them with JA quotes.

This is a great example what you can expect from his book What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved while at the same time not being as inside baseball as the book.

Highly recommended.

Emma Woodhouse (In Our Time) - BBC Podcast (47 min, https://youtu.be/Du8OJZMvrbE)

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Emma, one of Austen's most popular novels and arguably her masterpiece, a brilliantly sparkling comedy of manners published in December 1815. With Janet Todd Professor Emerita of Literature, University of Aberdeen and Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge John Mullan Professor of English at University College, London And Emma Clery Professor of English at the University of Southampton.

The host is quite obnoxious and his condescending comments and talking over his female guests is rather disturbing. But all the guests are excellent and when they discuss the novel with each other it's a brilliant programme.

Listen to this after finishing the book. Or if you know the plot really well, go ahead. - Emma is my favorite JA novel so I didn't need a re-fresher.

EDIT: a working link: https://www.test.bbc.co.uk/sounds/pla...

What's so great about Austen? Isn't she just bonnets and balls? by Dr Sandie Byrne (42 min, YouTube link)
Dr Sandie Byrne, a University Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at Oxford University, sums up what is great about JA novels. Focuses mostly on use of humor, irony, and literary style. Mostly basic information with a lot of examples.

I've been listening to different Jane Austen themed podcasts all month to find out if there is an informative well-done option which is not limited to gushing over hot actors starring in JA adaptations.

And I have found a great one that I can wholly recommend.

The Thing About Austen
Hosted by two literature scholars.

All about Jane Austen and her world
"Regency history | Material culture | Shenanigans
Hosted by @shapedbystoriesdiane & @zcammack

A podcast about Jane Austen's world.
Join us as we examine the material history of Austen's novels and the time she lived in, discuss the cultural practices of 18th and 19th century England, and generally engage in literary shenanigans. Plus, a bit of Janeite pop culture. Think of us as your somewhat cheeky tour guides to the life and times of Jane Austen."

These are absolutely excellent. They pick a fragment/theme/event/thing mentioned in one of JA's novels and they dissect it. They add a lot of historical context which I love. They usually have a guest - another scholar, usually somebody who published a paper on either Jane Austen or (aspects) of the Regency period.

I've listened to these:

Ep16: The Thing About Harriet's Riddle Book with guest Dr. Lynn Festa. Acrostic and chill? We're here to tell you all about it. Will we uncover any salacious tidbits? Let's just say that Mr. Woodhouse might know a dirty joke or two.

Ep12: The Thing About Mary Crawford's Harp with guest Dr. Lidia Chang
If you ever wondered about all those mornings Edmund spent listening to Mary playing at the parsonage, this episode is for you.

Ep09: The Thing About the Rushworths' Divorce with guest
@EllenCampbell. Sex! Scandal! This week we're headed to Mansfield Park where a matrimonial fracas is brewing. Actually, it happened in Twickenham, and it's already fully steeped.

Ep08: The Thing About Sir Walter's Favorite Book is out now. We dive into the opening paragraphs of #JaneAusten's #Persuasion and Sir Walter's adoration for Debrett's. It's all about prestige, darling!

Ep07: The Thing About Spinsters is out now. Join us as we discuss the term's etymology and why a woman might choose to marry a Mr. Collins over remaining single in #JaneAusten's world.

I listen to them on Spotify, but "The thing about Austen" is available on Apple podcasts, too.
You can check their twitter: https://www.instagram.com/thethingabo...

Zuzana wrote: "I've been listening to different Jane Austen themed podcasts all month to find out if there is an informative well-done option which is not limited to gushing over hot actors starring in JA adaptat..."

That sounds great! Thanks for sharing. ^_^