Mags, Editrix

Mags’ favorite Jane Austen novel is Persuasion and her favorite film adaptation is the 1995 adaptation of Persuasion. She is the Self-Appointed World’s Leading Expert on Northanger Abbey (because nobody else seems to want the job, to her perpetual astonishment) and is firmly convinced that Henry Tilney is Da Man. She consoles herself with the idea that Jane, too, was a pathetic fangirl for sailors and almost-handsome men in great coats. Her personal Web site is Tilneys and Trap-doors.

Julie B., Cub Reporter

Julie B.’s favorite Austen is Pride and Prejudice. Today. Tomorrow it might be Persuasion. Her favorite Austen hero is Mr. Darcy…no, Captain Wentworth…no, Mr. Tilney…no, Mr. Knightley. She admires the well-defined standards of the society in which the novels are set, the strong narrative voice, and that in Jane Austen’s novels, everyone ends up happier than they have a right to be. She is convinced that Mr. Bingley is a middle child.

Tasha, Cub Reporter

When Tasha first read Persuasion six years ago, she realized that it was a truth universally acknowledged that she was born in the wrong century. While she’s not cooped up in her cubicle at AustenBlog Central, Tasha is working on a time machine that will not only take her to the past, but also inside the pages of Pride and Prejudice so she can be courted by Mr. Darcy. Oh, and in her spare time, she goes to Boston University, roots for the Red Sox, and saves the world every five minutes.

Mary, Cub Reporter

Mary is a recent college graduate still in pursuit of her dream career (i.e. she has no idea what she wants to do with her life). When she’s not lost in her personal library of “books her friends have never heard of,” she can be found on the internet (reading about said books), riding horses (or horse, as one usually only rides one at a time), shopping (for books, of course!), or pondering the meaning of life.

Heather L., Cub Reporter

Heather L. loves Jane Austen’s novels for their wit, polished style, and layers of meaning. While fond of all of them, she has an especially soft spot for Northanger Abbey. Like Catherine, she enjoys country walks and horrid novels, but if she had ever met a real-life Henry Tilney, he would have had her arrested for stalking. Other pursuits include playing the piano (badly) and designing her dream reef aquarium. Her personal Web site is Solitary Elegance.

Dorothy, the housekeeper

The Editrix borrowed Dorothy from Mr. Tilney’s Gothic parody (thinking her a better choice than the slatternly Rebecca from MP). Dorothy is an experienced tea-brewer and manages to keep up with the Editrix’s constant demand for really spicy yet creamy vanilla chai, vanilla-flavored rooibos (sometimes laced with a bracing shot of Tullamore Dew), and fresh-brewed iced tea with lots of lemon. For these services the Editrix overlooks the fact that she hasn’t dusted the shelves in the Jane Austen Memorial Library and Reading Room this age.

The AustenBlog staff made their portraits here.