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Guest Review: ENCOUNTERS WITH JANE AUSTEN edited by Cheryl Robson
- Sophia Rose
- Oct 15
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 18
ABOUT THE BOOK
Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, a vibrant anthology of contemporary writing by women. With an introductory overview of Austen’s life and work by academic, author, and speaker, Professor Jennie Batchelor, and over 20 contributors will reveal the impact of Austen’s timeless writing on their own journeys.
OPENING LINES
A few months after her death in July 1817, Jane Austen finally received public acknowledgment as a novelist.
GUEST REVIEW by Sophia Rose
Sometimes, nothing else will do but for everyone to bring their own favorite dish to share in honor of a grand event. In this case, what sort of dish would talented authors bring to celebrate 250 years of another talented author, but a writing piece tribute? Editor Cheryl Robson curated a diverse collection of writing for Jane Austen-loving readers to sample and savor, including work from heavy hitters like Bridgerton author Julia Quinn, actor and writer Talulah Riley, bestselling authors Charlie Lovett and Natalie Jenner, and two Pulitzer Prize-winning poets, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Sara Teasdale.
Encounters with Jane Austen opens with Jennie Batchelor's introduction, a love letter to fandom, to the life of Jane, and to her legacy, before introducing readers to what they can expect throughout the book. This is followed by thirty essays, stories, poems, chapter samples, interviews, and photos.
First out of the gate, author Katherine Reay shares an essay, “My Good Friend.” Essays make up a large bulk of the anthology, covering a fascinating array of topics. I was particularly taken with “A Role Model for Women’s Solidarity” by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney, “A Slow Burn Love Story” by Katie Lumsden, who worked at the Jane Austen Center, and “Jane and the Gothic Novel” by Ellen Chesire.
Interviews with Jane Austen sculptor Martin Jennings and with Gillian Dooley and Jennie Batchelor on “She Played and Sang: Jane Austen and Music” captivated me.
Of the handful of short stories, all resonated in their different spaces. International bestselling author Natalie Jenner played at my heartstrings with “The Completion Competition,” Julia Miller had me chuckling with "Georgiana Darcy, Pistols at Dawn,” and actress Talulah Riley shocked my bloomers off with her modern sequel, “Charlotte.”
There were nearly a dozen poems of varying styles. I feel the least qualified to discuss poetry, but a couple resonated well for me, like Untitled by Karenjit Sandhu and Buried Love by Sara Teasdale.
What a rousing good collection to celebrate Jane Austen's birthday year from the comforts of one's own armchair, encountering familiar names but just as many were new to me. A stretching of the literary muscles, writing styles, and topics that cover the gamut, the anthology was a truly enriching encounter with Jane Austen!
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Cheryl Robson was born in Australia, went to University in the UK, then joined the BBC, where she worked in film and production. She has recently won four awards, including a Gold Award for her documentary film "Rock n Roll Island." She also ran a women's theatre company for a decade and founded Aurora Metro Books, where she has published around 200 international authors. As a writer, she has won the Croydon Warehouse International Playwriting Award and received Option and Commission Awards from the UK Arts Council. As a translator, she has been shortlisted for the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation. As an editor, her books have won awards from Gourmand World Cookbooks, as well as a special jury prize for Peace.
CONTRIBUTORS
My Good Friend Jane by Katherine Reay
Charlotte by Talulah Riley
How to find a Partner in Oxford by Kimberley Bailey
A Role Model for Women’s Solidarity by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney
She by Zita Holbourne
Georgiana Darcy – Pistols at Dawn by Julia Miller
Discovering Pride in Austen’s Time by Caitlin Grills
Three of Diamonds by Stephanie Lyttle
Mansfield Park by Julia Quinn
A Zuihitsu on Various Walks by Ellora Sutton
First Impressions by Charlie Lovett
Tom Lefroy devours a Cotillion by Marcelle Newbold
Kipling’s Tribute to Austen by Mary Hamer
Buried Love by Sara Teasdale
Staging Persuasion Interview with director Jeff James
Meeting with Jane by April de Angelis
She played and sang: Jane Austen and Music Interview with Gillian Dooley and Jennie Batchelor
A slow-burn Love Story by Katie Lumsden
Words that blink by Esme Gutch
Jane Austen and Shelley in the Garden by Janet Todd
Untitled by Karenjit Sandhu
Sculpting Jane Interview with Martin Jennings
Witch-Wife by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Jane Austen and the Gothic Novel by Ellen Cheshire
Love’s Armour by Allyson Joule
The Completion Competition by Natalie Jenner
Austen’s Onscreen Evolution by Jen Francis
Shedding Skin by Jurie Jean van de Vyver
The Jane Austen Festival by Rachel Beswick
Austen’s World Photographs
ABOUT THE GUEST REVIEWER, Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener, which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby. Connect with Sophia via FACEBOOK GOODREADS TWITTER
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