Author Archives: Robin Henry

The Year of Reading Dangerously: The Monk by Matthew Lewis, part 1

The Monk was published in 1796; some critics suspect that it was written, or at least started as early as 1792, during Lewis’s visit to the continent.  Several letters to his mother mention that he is working on a novel, and in a 1794 letter to her, he specifically mentions having written a novel inContinue reading “The Year of Reading Dangerously: The Monk by Matthew Lewis, part 1”

Book Discussion: Dracula, My Love by Syrie James

As fan fiction goes, Syrie James’s is some of the best.  I first read her Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen a few years back, and she also wrote The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen.  I lost track of her after that, so I was delighted to find a paperback copy of Dracula, My Love atContinue reading “Book Discussion: Dracula, My Love by Syrie James”

The Year of Reading Dangerously: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

In Gordon Wood’s Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, he writes that Revolutionary era literature contained a great deal of satire. He further argues that, “Satire as a literary device depends on a comprehending…audience…” (251). If we accept, as many Austen fans do, that Northanger Abbey is a satire of Gothic Romances, then inContinue reading “The Year of Reading Dangerously: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole”

Book Discussion: Educated: a memoir by Tara Westover

My book club met this week and we had read Educated.  Although I found the book interesting and Westover an engaging writer, certain aspects of the book were disappointing.  First, it bears more than a passing resemblance to The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This is not a reason not to read it, of course,Continue reading “Book Discussion: Educated: a memoir by Tara Westover”

The Year of Reading Dangerously Begins…

For 2019, the theme of the Jane Austen Society of North America will be Northanger Abbey.  Since Northanger Abbey is a book largely concerned with reading, and especially a certain type of reading, I have decided to try to read as many of the Gothic and other novels mentioned or referenced in Northanger Abbey asContinue reading “The Year of Reading Dangerously Begins…”