Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
Her dour, unflinching portraits of women doing their level best not to lose any part of themselves reek of real life
Jane Austen
Happy birthday, Jane Austen: 250 years of undermining the romantic novel
The works of the 18th century author are about so much more than love, exploring female friendship, power struggles and survival in a patriarchal society
‘Badly done, Emma!’ Jane Austen needed only a picnic to torment her readers
As film and TV adaptations prove, there has never been a more excruciating group outing than the one in Emma
Would the fighting spirit that defeated the Nazis be possible now? You’d have to worry
This century the closest we’ve had to a wartime footing in Ireland has been the Covid pandemic - and while it did have a unifying effect for a time, it also seemed to unleash something
Materialists director Celine Song: ‘How are we supposed to find love when dating is reduced to a numbers game?’
Materialists, Celine Song’s new romcom, is inspired by the film-maker’s time working for an elite New York matchmaking agency
Attention, men: Books are sexy, but staring into a phone is not
Men are reading less these days, proving that what is rare is wonderful
This summer I’m taking a Maga approach to reading: self-serving and isolationist
The art of re-reading - or rewatching - old favourites is a romantic pursuit
Four new films to see this week: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, How to Train Your Dragon, Tornado and Lollipop
A quartet of movies released in the week of June 13th, 2025
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life director Laura Piani: ‘I didn’t want to do a film about a woman who is saved by a man’
The French director’s Austen-influenced romcom with a clever spin was inspired by a stint working at Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life review: Sparky dialogue and hearty comedy carry this lovely, mischievous film
Laura Piani’s film rises above comparisons not just with Austen’s work and the trad romcom but also with attempts to weave those things together
Aunts fictional and real matter more to us than they may know
In praise of our aunts and women who don’t hold the title, but who have always been there for us
Author Caroline Madden: ‘My luck turned when I created a female protagonist seething with quiet resentment’
The author of The Marriage Vendetta talks about what it takes to get published, her Jane Austen-inspired world record, and a surprisingly funny book
Author Patricia Scanlan: ‘I’m working on an unanticipated project of healing from breast cancer’
The author on new novel City Girls Forever, a key difference between men and women and dealing with a cancer diagnosis
Following the footsteps of Jane Austen in Bath, hotbed of 1800s gossip and novel plots
With its Georgian architecture, Roman baths and Austen-tatious literary history, Bath never breaks character
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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