The Toronto Star has a very nice article about Jane Austen’s online presence, including AustenBlog.

Many self-declared “Janeites” have banded together to form a multitude of online communities dedicated to preventing classic novels like Emma from collecting dust on bookshelves. The Republic of Pemberley, co-founded by Americans Myretta Robens and Amy Bellinger, is the largest online Jane Austen fansite, with an average of 8 million to 10 million hits per month. AustenBlog.com, though slightly smaller with an average of 3,500 page views per day, was initiated by Pennsylvanian Margaret C. Sullivan as a source for Austen news bulletins. The site’s tagline: She’s everywhere.

When asked to predict Austen’s place 50 years from now, she says it all depends on whether someone figures out how to get any money out of it. Like Robens, she does not receive any financial compensation for running her website. For them, it is a labour of love.

“I wonder if there will be an attempt to present a corporate, profit-seeking version of Jane Austen online, and I wonder how it will be received,” says Sullivan, before adding that AustenBlog will, of course, provide commentary if or when that day comes.

It should go without saying that the commentary will be snarky! So far just about all the Austen sites online are for fans, by fans. It will be interesting, from an anthropological point of view, to see if anyone attempts to monetize the Austen fandom online and what the reaction to such a site would be.

We were delighted to discover that Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters by Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh and William Austen-Leigh is now available for free download at Project Gutenberg. Life and Letters is the book that was later expanded and mostly rewritten by Deirdre Le Faye as Jane Austen: A Family Record, one of our favorite Jane Austen biographies.

If you are into e-books, the book is also available for free download in an astonishing selection of formats at Manybooks.net.

Thanks to the coders and Distributed Proofreading team that made the book possible for all of us e-book fans!

Naturally, all of Jane’s novels and some of the minor works/juvenilia are available for free download at both Project Gutenberg and Manybooks.net, as is J.E. Austen-Leigh’s Memoir (and at Manybooks.net).

Alert Janeite Lisa let us know about a series of Jane Austen-related events hosted by the libraries in the Langley, BC area. The events start on September 13 at the Walnut Grove library and continue at other branches; we couldn’t find a website, so if you are in the Langley area, contact your library directly for information.

“We wanted to do something local to celebrate Jane Austen and her life,” said Ingrid Dagis, one of the librarians organizing the two-week long event.

“It might inspire people who haven’t read (her work) to do so, and those who have, to re-read and branch out.”

A collaborative effort between the Langley City and Township libraries, the festival is hitching its barouche to the larger Jane Austen Society of North America’s (JASNA) annual general meeting, which will take place in Vancouver next month.

(Editorial aside: The Editrix and Cub Reporter Heather L. will be attending the AGM and would love to meet AustenBlog readers!)

But because this is a library event, the discussion will centre on the volumes written by, about and as complements to Austen’s own, offering some suggested reading for those who’ve exhausted the author’s relatively small treasury.

There are Austen biographies, bound copies of letters she wrote and even sequels to her famous stories, written by a variety of modern-day authors, as well as a whole popular genre of “chick lit” inspired by Austen’s work.

The session guided by Langley City librarian Kerry Hutcheon, will examine a pair of relatively new books, The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible, Yet Elegant Guide to Her World and Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure.

Hey!

With the release of each new Austen-related picture (The Jane Austen Book Club, based on Karen Joy Fowler’s novel, is due out Sept. 21) the number of people checking out Austen’s novels rises, said Langley City library manager Pat Dawson

“When the films come out, we see a surge of interest (in the books).

“Whether they get through them … ?” she said with a shrug.

We certainly hope so!

Alert Janeite Lisa A. found this Persuasion cover on Flickr. This falls into both the ugly AND bizarre categories, we think.

ETA: We heard from the artist who made the “cover,” and he said it is a joke, and we think rather a good parody on some of the hilariously horrifying REAL covers we’ve seen! To wit:

Captain Wentworth for Old Spice

Primary Colored Gowns: All the Rage in Regency England

Return to Northanger Abbey: the 25th Anniversary Reunion Special

Just….ugh

Alert Janeite Carmen found an article about Fina Torres, the director who is hoping to bring Sense and Sensibilidad to the screen. The article is in Spanish, but Carmen provided a rough translation of the pertinent parts.

“Un té en La Habana” and “Sense and Sensibilidad” are the titles of Torres for realising for the end of the year and 2008.

“‘Sense and Sensibilidad’ is the chicana version of Jane Austen’s novel, which will be filmed with locations in México and deep México from the East Los Angeles”, a zone that the director knows very well due to her seven years of living in the big city of California.

The director and mexican writer Luis Alfaro are finishing the script and they are waiting for the opening in 2008 in USA, where the film projects for the latin market are in fashion for independent producers and big Hollywood productions. < <…>>

She says: ”I have a strange relation with my films, they born from something purely emocional, it’s not about thoughtful projects, calculated, they are more deep, you make it, you direct it, you show it and and then you have to release”. “I suppose it’s a relation which seems to be like a son/daughter relation”

It’s hard to tell if the 2008 filming is definite, but we hope it is, because the project sounds fascinating.

Alert Janeite Lisa spotted a USAToday article with a reference to President James Garfield’s affection for our favorite authoress.

“After college, Garfield briefly taught classical languages. Books remained a favorite refuge whenever politics became unbearable. He was particularly fond of Jane Austen. During his short stay in the White House, Garfield installed a library with 3,000 volumes. Given his distaste for the modern literature of his day — ‘highly spiced with sensation,’ he called it — his students could expect a large dose of Miss Austen and her peers.”

Sounds good to us!

Well, this one slid past us…Becoming Jane is out on DVD in Region 2 as of today, so those of you in the Region 2 countries, or elsewhere who have the proper equipment, and can’t wait to get your sticky hands on it, get out your credit cards and start clicking away. (Do NOT miss the reviews on Amazon, they are hilarious, especially that from one “B. Elliot.”)

Extras include Behind the Scenes, Regency Dance Featurette, Hair, Make-up & Costume Design Featurette, Filming the Cricket Scene, Filming the Boxing Scenes, Deleted Scenes (DEAR JANE YOU MEAN THERE’S MORE???? *ahem*), Theatrical Trailer, Commentary, and Photo Gallery.

It’s also available in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray for those who want to see the sweat droplets fling off James MacAvoy in high definition during the boxing scene.