That’s a difficult idea to argue with, and we always encourage everyone to read more Jane, though ultimately we find the argument rather simplistic.

Too much Quentin Tarantino and not enough Jane Austen are to blame for the increase in violent crime, a senior police officer has said.

Clive Wolfendale, the deputy chief constable of North Wales Police, said: “We have seen an unprecedented year in the number of violent attacks, which have led to deaths. All of these have been swiftly detected.

“In today’s society, more people are likely to spend their evenings watching a Quentin Tarantino DVD than reading a Jane Austen novel. Perhaps we should not be surprised by the consequences.”

We do not consider enjoyment of Jane Austen’s work and Mr. Tarantino’s work mutually exclusive. We dare say that Jane would have loved JACKIE BROWN: a sweet, if unusual, odd-couple romance, with a stone fabulous soundtrack. The work of both artists enjoys immense popularity and critical acclaim and engenders a great deal of discussion amongst those who enjoy them. Maybe the answer is to have Quentin Tarantino direct a Jane Austen film; say, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: John Travolta as Darcy, Uma Thurman as Elizabeth, Samuel L. Jackson as Wickham, Harvey Keitel as Mr. Bennet, and a cameo by the director as the charming Col. Fitzwilliam. It would sure put a different spin on Darcy and Lizzy’s dance at Netherfield…

As noted earlier by AustenBlog, a decision from the Heritage Lottery Fund was expected Tuesday regarding a grant needed to purchase the John Murray archive. The Fund approved the grant, which clears the way for the National Library of Scotland to purchase the documents.

[The archive] was started by the first John Murray, who was a Scot and founded his publishing house in London in 1768.

Seven successive Murray generations built up the archive with the close relationships each enjoyed with the writers of their time helping to make it a “who’s who” of 19th century society.

Described as one of the world’s most significant literary collections, the John Murray Archive is made up of 150,000 manuscripts, papers and letters.

It contains correspondence between the publisher and influential figures including Jane Austen, Charles Darwin, Sir Walter Scott, Benjamin Disraeli, David Livingstone, Thomas Carlyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edith Wharton, among others.

More on the archive purchase here, here and here.

A note from the Editrix: Thanks to Alert AustenBlog Reader Joanne for sending in this news–I didn’t have a chance to post it before Cub Reporter Julie got to it! Dorothy obviously put a little Extra Something in her Orange Pekoe this morning.