Austenprose celebrated its first anniversary this week… so we offer hearty congratulations to Laurel Ann for her consistently insightful “musings” with hopes that she shall continue to enlighten us every day with her “celebration of the brilliance of Jane Austen’s writing.”  It has been an especially fine month of Gothic doings delving into the hidden crannies of Northanger Abbey… 

Jane Austen’s World was selected for two blog awards… 1) Elizabeth from Scandalous Women, and

2)  Alyssa Miller from The Love Coach,  (who also selected Austenprose)…these are both great literary blogs to add to your favorites; and then link to Jane Austen’s World to see her choices for best blogs (hint:  Ms. Place most kindly chose JAIV … so thank you Vic!  I now need to select my own 15 favorites…so stand-by for that!)

AustenBlog has posted information on Sue Forgue’s online Regency Encyclopedia, a first-stop resource for all things Regency, geared toward fan-fiction writers.  The site is searchable and browse-able by subject and includes interactive maps, book lists and links to online resources.   Go to Austenblog for the information and user password that Mags provides.  Expect to be visiting the site for at least the entire weekend… !  I have just taken a fabulous tour through Regency London….and am now perhaps off to Bath…

Jane Odiwe shares one of her watercolors of Austen based on the Cassandra sketch, as well as a few words on the Chawton Cottage and gardens.

Here’s a new one…a horse named Jane Austen won big in the the latest Irish racing event.  Read all about it here at the independent.ie

Ellen Moody’s blog on her latest readings on Austen life and works, along with some lovely pictures of Steventon and Chawton.

Two patterns for cross-stich samplers with Jane Austen quotes can be found at Pattern Mart; click here for the second pattern.

Sunday, November 2, 2008, a lecture at the Princeton Branch of the English Speaking Union on “The Facts and Fictions of Jane Austen”by Elizabeth Steele, the regional coordinator of the Eastern PA JASNA Chapter.  See the article and website for more information.

Paul Johnson at the Spectator.uk writes on “Jane knew All about a Banking Crisis”, giving some history of Jane’s knowledge of banking issues through her brother Henry’s mostly disastrous banking experiences.  But see Jezebel where she sounds off on just being plain exhausted with seeing Jane Austen’s name linked to EVERYTHING going on in the world!  (I heartily concur!)

See the Regency World of author Lesley Anne McLeod blog  for information on a new contest offering the out-of-print book “Everybody’s Historic England” :  the contest begins October 31…. there are also several new additions to her website.

See this Architect Design blog post about the 2006 BBC movie about Beau Brummell, the Regency dandy…starring the always fabulous James Purefoy (Vanity Fair, Rome, he also played Tom Bertram in the newest Mansfield Park); however did I miss this one??

Lady Helga at her Jane Austen PodNovel blog has hit the 50 mark, i.e. her 50th show…stay tuned for her next podcast! [she has been reading P&P]

 This of interest to those in New England:  an interactive touring map linking you to the websites of stores specializing in children’s books in the New England area [the map is at the site of the the New England Children’s Bookselling Advisory (NECBA)]  My favorite shop here in Vermont is the Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne.

For you lovers of Patrick O’Brian, click on the following link for POB’s Riches, a listing of (nearly) all the literary (and non-literary) quotations and allusions in O’Brian’s books. [with thanks to an alert Janeite who posted this on the Janeites discussion group]…. in a very cursory browse, I find only one direct quote to Jane Austen, though we know he loved her dearly.  And speaking of Mr. O’Brian, I have recently added to my bookshelf “Lobscouse & Spotted Dog” a gastronomic companion to the Aubrey/Maturin novels, by Anne C. Grossman and Lisa G. Thomas [Norton, 1997], and will be brushing up on my Whipt Syllabub [page 26], as Jane would be pleased…

For a little much needed humor, here are the rules for “The Jane Austen Drinking Game” created by Mostly Water Theater.  Click on the YouTube link for their rendition of the game while viewing Sense & Sensibility.

Book reviews: I link you to only one this week…(more to come I promise): Ms. Place on Mansfield Revisited.

And I end this post, it being Halloween, I give you a fine post by Ms. Place on some Halloween happenings at Jane Austen Today… see also her link to the History of Halloween.