The Virginian-Pilot reports that George Holbert Tucker, the author of two books about Jane Austen, has died at age 95. Mr. Tucker’s books include Jane Austen The Woman and A History of Jane Austen’s Family. They are delightful books and both highly recommended. Rest in peace, George, and tell Jane we said hello love her!

Joan Klingel Ray, the president of the Jane Austen Society of North America, will give an illustrated lecture titled “Jane Austen 101: Why the World Loves Jane Austen,” at the Library of Congress on April 12. The lecture will take place at noon in the James Madison Memorial Building, Mumford Room, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C. The lecture is free and no tickets are required. For more information, please call (202) 707-1658.

(Via Fredericksburg.com)

EDITED TO ADD: We received a postcard a few weeks ago and it unfortunately was buried under other things, and just found today. Professor Ray will also be speaking on Tuesday, April 12 at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland; it seems to be the same talk she will give at the Library of Congress. The lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. at Alumnae & Alumni House, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, in Baltimore. Call 410-337-6362 for further information or directions.

The Atlantic Monthly reports that Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of The Remains of the Day among many other novels, is a Friend of Jane. Unfortunately the article is for subscribers only, but it’s still nice to know! We’ll have to check it out at the library.

Amy, director, adapter, and Lucky Girl Who Gets To Dance With Henry Tilney, writes to tell us that there is a last-minute change in the venue location for her stage production of NORTHANGER ABBEY at the College of William and Mary this weekend. On Saturday, the play will take place in Andrews 101, which is connected to Phi Beta Kappa Hall, which houses the main stage. The play is still at 7:30 and the time and place of the other two performances remain unchanged from the information in our previous post about the play. She also sent a link to an online map to help you find your way. Break a leg, Amy and Co.!

Alert AustenBlog Reader Sonja of www.jane-austen.de wrote to tell us about a book that is out now in the U.K. and that will be out in the U.S. in June: Jane Austen, The Complete Critical Guide by Robert P. Irvine. (Amazon.co.uk link; Amazon.com link)

Jane Austen’s early nineteenth-century novels marked a turning point in the history of the genre and paved the way for the blossoming of the form in the decades to follow. As a result, her work has long occupied a central place in the study of English literature, as well as entertaining generations of readers. This volume: outlines the social, historical and literary contexts within which Austen wrote offers an extensive, insightful guide to her novels explores critical issues related to her work, from gender and class to ideology and imperialism surveys the criticism of Austen’s work and offers suggestions for further reading traces adaptations of Austen’s novels on film. Robert P. Irvine’s guide to this major novelist and her work is essential reading for any serious student of English Literature. Accessible and broad-ranging, it is suitable both for students examining one novel at an introductory level, as invaluable extended reading, or for those beginning a more detailed study of Austen, as a reference and guide to a vast and varied critical field.

For those who prefer their Austen criticism with a less scholarly bent, Alert AustenBlog Reader Elizabeth wrote to tell us about Flirting With Pride and Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick Lit Masterpiece, edited by Jennifer Crusie, which will be released in September 2005.

One of fiction’s most well-loved novels, this 19th-century classic continues to capture the hearts of contemporary readers with its notions of marriage, dating, and romance. Leading authors in the area of women’s literature and romance contribute to this fresh collection of essays on everything from Lydia’s scandalous marriage to George Wickham to the female-dominated Bennett household and the emphasis placed on courtship and marriage. Contributors include Jo Beverly, Alesia Holliday, Mercedes Lackey, Joyce Millman, and Jill Winters. This compilation is an excellent companion for both those new to Jane Austen and well-versed Austen-philes.

And yes, we ground our teeth over the “Chick Lit” in the title, though we think the book sounds like an interesting read.

Publishing Powers That Be, we beg of you: in your mania to categorize everything to the nth degree, please don’t ghettoize Jane Austen’s work. Her novels have a wide and lasting appeal that goes beyond any one genre. The two books described in this post are proof of that.

Scientists in Scotland used Jane Austen’s novels in a study on how poetry affects brain activity.

Psychologists at Dundee and St. Andrews universities say poetry generates more eye movement which is connected with deeper thought.

“It may be because readers are trying to hear the words or recreate the imaginary event the poet has provided a script for,” says Dr. Jane Stabler, a literature expert at St. Andrews.

Oh, it’s STIMULATION you want, eh?

The sun reflected off the pond and glistened in Darcy’s wet curls as he shook them back. Slowly he peeled off the shirt that clung to his manly torso…

(Cannot continue…I can hardly write for laughing!)