The Authorized Version

Yes, we all know that Sanditon, Jane Austen’s fictional seaside resort in the novel fragment of the same name, which is currently a smash hit television series, is just that—fictional. Jane invented the location, just as she did her heroine Charlotte Heywood, the developer Tom Parker, wealthy Lady Dedham, and all the people she placed in it.

Yet, knowing that Sanditon is not really real does not...

I am delighted to be able to offer my readers a free copy of my most recent release The Shaping of the Union, Of Plots and Parliaments, Epoch 8 in my Celtic Cross Series. The book will be free today, Sunday, April 3, through Thursday April 7.

Valiant Women Risk All for Ireland

1996, As conflict rages around her, American Mary Hamilton despairs of ever bringing about peace for the young people of Belfast. It was...

The smash hit series Sanditon, based on the unfinished Jane Austen novel of the same name, took to the small screen on PBS and livestream from Britbox with Season 2 this month. Fans around the world, including myself, can’t wait to see how the story continues.

The new season is an especially joyful event since the first season left audiences dangling with a cliffhanger ending—then ITV announced they were cancelling the series. The outcry from viewers won a 2-season renewal.

Is Sanditon based on a book?

The series is based Jane Austen’s book of the same title, but the author died after completing only 11 chapters. These opening events were quickly covered in the early episodes of the television series. So, ITV, executive producer Andrew Davies, and lead writer Justin Young are giving us...

Well, OK, it’s really Round 3. Those who read my earlier post, speculating on whether or not Jane Austen might have known this fabulous heritage method for cooking chicken, will know how excited I was about the tasty, tender result I achieved from a recipe dating back to Regency times. I couldn’t wait to hear from my daughter-in-law, the Cordon-Bleu-trained food writer, Kelly Crow—the ultimate source of culinary matters in our family.

Her response: “I encountered Spatchcock Chicken at Le Cordon Bleu....

On August 27, 1805, Jane Austen was staying at Goodnestone Park, the family home of her sister-in-law Elizabeth Bridges. Elizabeth’s brother Edward dropped in unexpectedly for a late dinner. Jane reported the occasion in a letter to her sister Cassandra: “It is impossible to do justice to the hospitality of his attentions towards me; he made a point of ordering toasted cheese for supper entirely on my account.”

From that, the surmise that toasted cheese was one of Jane Austen’s favorite foods, seems to be a fair assumption. And the great thing is that we have the very recipe Jane would have enjoyed at home in...

Happy New Year to all my Readers!

Along with everyone else I am praying for a healthy 2022 for our world—including the open gatherings and travel that will include. But in the meantime, while we continue to take precautions, let me offer you an armchair visit to Canterbury Cathedral—in a January snowstorm in mid-Victorian times—via a free copy of To Dust You Shall Return. (Free through 1/13)

But to begin, a few pictures of 2 very different visits I had there: First, shortly after 9/11—times equally as scary as today.

The Cathedral was evacuated and gates to the close barred just before Evensong...