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The Thing About Austen

The Thing About Austen

By: The Thing About Austen
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The Thing About Austen is a podcast about Jane Austen's world — the people, objects, and culture that shape Austen's fiction. Come for the historical context and stay for the literary shenanigans. Think of us as your somewhat cheeky tour guides to the life and times of Jane Austen.© The Thing About Austen Podcast. Music "Studio per Il Pianoforte, Op. 30, No. 21 in G Major" by Johann Baptist Cramer. Performed and recorded by Karali Hunter. Used with permission of artist. Art Literary History & Criticism World
Episodes
  • Episode 108: The Thing About the Barouche-landau

    Episode 108: The Thing About the Barouche-landau
    Jul 21 2025

    The weather is fine, and Mrs. Elton would like to go for a drive with the top down. This episode we're covering barouches, landaus, and Mrs. Elton's favorite, the barouche-landau. Let's hope it doesn't rain.

    Thank you to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, presenting Jane Austen Wrecked My Life for sponsoring this episode. You can learn more and watch at home here: https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/janeaustenwreckedmylife

    You can find us online at https://www.thethingaboutausten.com and follow us on Instagram @TheThingAboutAusten. You can email us at TheThingAboutAusten@gmail.com and head over to https://www.redbubble.com/people/aboutausten/shop to check out our podcast related merch.
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    30 mins
  • Episode 107: The Thing About Manydown Park with guests Prerna Ramachandra and Sarah Rose Kearns

    Episode 107: The Thing About Manydown Park with guests Prerna Ramachandra and Sarah Rose Kearns
    Jul 7 2025

    In December 1802, while visiting family friends at Manydown Park, Jane Austen received and accepted a proposal of marriage from Harris Bigg-Wither. The next day, she withdrew her acceptance. This episode we are joined by guests Prerna Ramachandra and Sarah Rose Kearns to discuss this crossroads moment in Austen's personal and professional life.

    Thank you so much to Prerna and Rose for joining us for this episode! Their Kickstarter campaign for Manydown is now live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theholytheatre/manydown-a-jane-austen-story. Please check it out and consider supporting their work. You can also follow along with their progress by subscribing to their Substack: https://manydown.substack.com. You can learn more about Prerna and Rose's other work at https://www.prernaramachandra.me and https://www.theholytheatre.org.

    You can find us online at https://www.thethingaboutausten.com and follow us on Instagram @TheThingAboutAusten. You can email us at TheThingAboutAusten@gmail.com and head over to https://www.redbubble.com/people/aboutausten/shop to check out our podcast related merch.

    Thank you to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, presenting Jane Austen Wrecked My Life for sponsoring this episode. You can learn more and watch at home here: https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/janeaustenwreckedmylife
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    33 mins
  • Episode 106: The Thing About Special Licenses

    Episode 106: The Thing About Special Licenses
    Jun 23 2025

    Mrs. Bennet would like to ensure that Lizzy's special day is the MOST special. And what better way to do that than by having Darcy and Lizzy marry by special license. This episode we cover the banns, common licenses, and special licenses, and we dig into whether Mrs. Bennet's wedding dreams are likely to come true.

    You can find us online at https://www.thethingaboutausten.com and follow us on Instagram @TheThingAboutAusten and on Twitter @Austen_Things. You can email us at TheThingAboutAusten@gmail.com and head over to https://www.redbubble.com/people/aboutausten/shop to check out our podcast related merch.
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    29 mins

Featured Article: We’re Booked—The Best Literature Podcasts for Every Bibliophile


Love everything books and literature? Of course, you do—that’s why you're here! Don’t worry, you’re in good company. If you're a book aficionado who loves chatting about literature with like-minded people, literature podcasts are the perfect addition to your listening lifestyle. There’s no shortage of great book podcast options to choose from. Here are just a few of the best literature podcasts, covering many different genres and styles of podcasting.

Featured Article We’re Booked The Best Literature Podcasts for Every Bibliophile
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Zan and Diane deliver the important and juicy stuff that help makes Jane Austen live on! What a gem! Thank you!

Lively and fresh!

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relaxed discussion that goes deep without being stuffy at all
Unique topics related to all things Austen

enjoyable

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There are many cultural details in Austen’s novels that I’ve glossed over for decades without thinking too much about. The Thing About Austen digs into these nuances with guests who are experts in things like miniature paintings and astronomy. Zan and Diane find seemingly unimportant details that once they are examined give Austen’s novels much more depth. Thank you Zan and Diane. I look forward to each pod cast episode.

Depth through details

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I didn't spend any more time thinking about General Tilney's pamphlets than Catherine Morland did, so this episode was super interesting. It also perfectly explained Henry Tilney's comment about neighbors being voluntary spies, which had puzzled me before and I had assumed to mean he had gossipy neighbors - turns out to be much less benign!

really interesting historical context

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I love the level of detail and the insight into the Navy in Austin’s books

Enjoyed it!

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I love Jane Austen's works (my favorite is most likely Persuasion) so finding this podcast was a great discovery. There are many things in Austen's stories, usually contemporary items or places, that are not as easy to understand when you first read the novels. For example, Mr. Woodhouse of Emma is a known hypochondriac but it turns out he might be a bit justified about worrying about his grandchildren's health due to bad air as the podcast shows. Or how Mrs. Henry Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility turned out to be getting something valuable when she got to keep the linens brought with her upon her marriage (something Fanny Dashwood tries to take from her, along with Norland). Unless you read about Austen's world or on the books that explore Regency Life, details like these can slip through the cracks. But not with this podcast team!

I enjoy every episode I listen to, especially when they're on the more obscure or less recognizable topics like Blaize Castle or Tattersall's. If also you read or listen Georgette Heyer's novels, some of what they discuss also is useful for reading her books (Tattersall's plays a part in The Grand Sophy for example) so it's doubly enjoyable. The experts are knowledgeable and definitely bring some fun to some sometimes obscure or specialized topics. The stargazing episode was cool because the person they had on to talk about the scene from Mansfield Park actually was able to figure out when the scene was set historically just by the details in the book, which was impressive and showed Austen was not adverse to real-life details.

If you love Austen and want to learn more about her or maybe some of those details in the books that don't translate to modern culture as well (Udolpho, anyone?), check out this podcast!

The Bits and Bobs of Austen Become Relevant Here

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I really enjoy listening to this podcast and look forward to each episode as they come out. Their humor is snarky ala Jane Austen and the more in depth explanations help to make Miss Austen's novels more enjoyable. Thank you for your time and research.

These women are both smart and funny!

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