8 Ways to Live Like Jane Austen

Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen

  Are you a Jane Austen fan? Have you ever been faced by a difficult decision — when you had to make a choice and desperately wanted to do the right thing, but weren’t sure which alternative was best? The next time that happens, make it easy on yourself. Just ask: What Would Jane Do? One…

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The Curse of Morton Abbey by Clarissa Harwood — Book Review

The Curse of Morton Abbey Book Review Header

  From the desk of Syrie James I was intrigued by the premise of The Curse of Morton Abbey, a novel which is described as “Jane Eyre meets The Secret Garden in a gothic novel of romantic suspense set in 1890s Yorkshire.” As a huge fan of both of those classic novels and All Things English and 19th…

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Comparing the Jane Austen’s Persuasion Movie Versions

Film Review Persuasion

  Which film version of Jane Austen’s Persuasion is best? There have been a number of movie adaptations of Jane Austen’s Persuasion including a new one from Netflix, and it’s always a thrill to see Austen’s work adapted for the screen. Persuasion, Jane Austen’s last completed work, is one of my favorite novels. The story…

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Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner — Book Review

Bloomsbury Girls - Book Review

  From the desk of Syrie James I enjoyed Natalie Jenner’s debut novel The Jane Austen Society and was excited to dive into Bloomsbury Girls, the tale of three shop girls working at a male-run century-old bookstore in 1950 London. Evie Stone (one of my favorite characters from The Jane Austen Society) is a studious…

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My Magical PBS SANDITON Lawn Party & Screening Event!

Syrie James with Sanditon Poster

  I enjoyed the most thrilling evening sponsored by PBS and Masterpiece Theater to celebrate Season 2 of SANDITON, their most popular TV series. I’m giving away SWAG from the event, so keep reading to learn how to enter! SANDITON is a British historical drama television series inspired by an unfinished manuscript by Jane Austen,…

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7 Ways My Real-Life Romance Inspired FLOATING ON AIR

7 Ways My Real Life Romance Inspired Floating on Air

  My contemporary romance novel Floating on Air (Book 1 in my Struck By Love series), about the whirlwind love affair between a radio deejay and a charismatic entrepreneur, is based in many ways on my own romance with my late husband. I hold this book dear to my heart. Here are 7 ways my…

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The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews – Book Review

  From the desk of Syrie James Can a daring, independent-minded equestrian and a brilliant, half-Indian dressmaker overcome the pressures of fashionable society to find love and happiness in Victorian London? That’s the premise of Mimi Matthew’s new novel The Siren of Sussex, and I have to admit, I was so intrigued that I could…

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8 Things I Love About the 80s

  I’m feeling nostalgic about the 1980s. I set two of my novels in that awesome era, a decade that gave us incredible entertainment choices, unique pop culture, life-changing technology, and the fitness craze. Here are 8 things I love about the 80s. 1. MOVIES     Some of my favorite movies came out in…

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