The Authorized Version

A worldwide pandemic isn’t a career move, but in the past year many of us have been forced to reinvent ourselves due to the strictures of not being able to travel, hold meetings, or speak to groups in person. That’s what happened to me when I was barred from taking research trips, speaking at book festivals, and meeting with readers’ groups. 

When closures continued this year, I agreed to give the talk originally scheduled for the 2020 Portsmouth BookFest as a Zoom event for 2021. As the idea developed, I decided to let Jane speak for herself and give the whole talk in her persona.

On the day the event was gratifyingly successful, but the hoped-for recording was not. This led to my producing the entire talk as a video on my own. 

And thereby was born a new career avenue. I enjoyed the experience so much I have decided to produce a series of videos on “Jane Austen: From Paradise to...” The series will take viewers to various locations associated with Jane Austen, her books and the Austen family and allow Jane to reminisce.  As in this video, where Jane talks about scenes that were important to her family such as the Royal Naval Academy her brothers attended,

and Spithead where her brothers' boats awaited their orders to sail and where Fanny's brother William in Mansfield Park was to report. 

Jane shares from her letters, such as when she teases Cassandra about the arrival of Czar Alexander I of Russia at Portsmouth for a Naval review.

And she reads scenes from Mansfield Park including Fanny Price and Henry Crawford's encounter with Mr. Price on the High Street and their subsequent visit to the Dockyard.

As Jane says, "What a very good thing that our cyberspace now extends to Paradise."

View the video here.