To the future!

Yesterday my daughter and I went to see Austenland, a movie that centers around the question, “What if there were a real place where you could step into Regency England and live the life of Austen’s heroines?”

The movie was fun and filled with plenty of Austen references (as you’d expect). The heroes were dashing with just enough mystery to keep the entire piece intriguing. Jane, the intrepid hero reminded me at times more of Jane Eyre, a Bronte heroine rather than an Austen one, but it didn’t bother me in the least.

But it did get me to thinking.

Jane Austen wrote only six major novels (can you name them? See below to see if you’re right!). Yet here we are, 194 years after her death, still entranced by the world she created. Even the Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) keep hold of our reading interest and they only have one major work each (Match ‘em up! Who wrote what? See below for the answers).

No, I’m not going to ask what you think I’m going to ask. Reams of papers have been written on all four of these women with plenty of analysts giving their thoughts as to why the stories have endured. To me it’s actually pretty simple: good stories and memorable characters.

And that’s what the Scribes write as well. From Tara Nina’s McKinnons to Ruby Storm’s hunky heroes in love, from Tielle St. Clare’s dragons to Cait Miller’s stories of magic, Lynn LaFleur’s wonderful seductions, Arianna Hart’s sexy heroes and my own tales of Dominance and submission, we tell stories. Good stories.

Now, in two hundred years will someone write a fictional getaway based on our books? Why not? After all, a girl can dream!

Answers:

Jane Austen: In publishing order: Sense and Sensiblity, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion

Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre

Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Anne Bronte: Agnes Grey