What would Jane Austen have thought of the internet? If she was alive today, would she be busy writing a blog, or perhaps have her own Facebook page? She could watch the ups and downs of the Amazon rankings for her books – surely she would have had some ironic comments to say on that heart-stopping author obsession.
Jane was a very private person, so it may be she wouldn’t have bared her soul online. But other Georgian writers, such as that inveterate scribbler James Boswell, would probably have embraced the internet. In ‘Would Jane Blog?’ my latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World, I take a look at writers such as Boswell and Captain Gronow , whose Reminiscences and Recollections (1862-1866) are strikingly similar to blog posts.
Image: Regency Dandies. From left to right: Marquis of Londonderry, ‘Kangaroo’ Cooke, Captain Gronow, Lord Allen, Count D’Orsay. Colonel ‘Kangaroo’ Captain Gronow’s Recollections and Anecdotes, (Smith, Elder & Co., 1864.)
Jane was a very private person, so it may be she wouldn’t have bared her soul online. But other Georgian writers, such as that inveterate scribbler James Boswell, would probably have embraced the internet. In ‘Would Jane Blog?’ my latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World, I take a look at writers such as Boswell and Captain Gronow , whose Reminiscences and Recollections (1862-1866) are strikingly similar to blog posts.
Image: Regency Dandies. From left to right: Marquis of Londonderry, ‘Kangaroo’ Cooke, Captain Gronow, Lord Allen, Count D’Orsay. Colonel ‘Kangaroo’ Captain Gronow’s Recollections and Anecdotes, (Smith, Elder & Co., 1864.)
Blogging is today's letter writing and Austen was a dedicated letter writer, so I think she would embrace blogging with glee.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I have nominated you for a Superior Scribbling award as I always love reading your posts, even though I don't comment all that often. Interesting stuff, always...stop by my blog for details. Write on...
Hi Jane
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to hear from you again. Thank you very much indeed for nominating me for a Superior Scribbling Award! Watch this space for my nominations...