Happy 2026, listeners! To kick off the new year, we’re sharing something special: Austen Chat’s first episode recorded in front of a live audience.

Jane Austen lived during a remarkably dynamic period of British history and was well aware of the forces shaping her world—colonial expansion, booming global trade, revolutions in Europe and the Americas, and yes, slavery and the abolition movement. It was also a world that included people of color whose lives were far richer and more influential and varied than often assumed today. In this episode, we talk with author Vanessa Riley, who is eager to share their stories.

Join us as we discuss Miss Lambe—Austen’s mixed-race heiress in Sanditon—and meet some notable Black figures from Austen’s time, such as Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, who was born enslaved but went on to build a Caribbean business empire. Vanessa also shares some of her experiences behind the scenes (and on the screen!) of the 2024 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility as Hallmark's historical consultant.

Dr. Vanessa Riley is the author of over 25 novels across across the genres of historical fiction, romance, and mystery, including a trio of books based on the true stories of extraordinary women during the Regency era: Island Queen, Queen of Exiles, and Sister Mother Warrior. Her works spotlight hidden narratives of Black women and women of color. Vanessa was the historical consultant for Hallmark’s 2024 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility and the 2024 Georgia Mystery/Detective Author of the Year for Murder in Drury Lane. With a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and other engineering degrees from Penn State, she brings a research-oriented approach to her inclusive storytelling about the Caribbean and the Georgian and Regency eras.

For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep31.

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“Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful . . . .” —Mrs. Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

Jane Bennet, the eldest of the five Bennet sisters, is an undisputed beauty, but Austen tells us Jane also “unite[s] with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper, and an uniform cheerfulness of manner.” In this episode, we sit down with Susannah Harker—beloved by Janeites for her portrayal of Jane Bennet in the iconic 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice—to explore the nuances of Jane’s character and Susannah’s experiences bringing her to life on screen. We also touch on Susannah’s theatrical heritage, the enduring appeal of the 1995 adaptation, and her plans for a new comedy-drama project, Jane Bennet’s Second Spring.

Actor and writer Susannah Harker is best known to Janeites for her role as Jane Bennet in the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries. Her extensive television work also includes many roles in mystery series and contemporary and period dramas, and she received a BAFTA award nomination for her role as Mattie in the original House of Cards. Among her film roles is that of Titania in A Caribbean Dream, an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. On stage, she has starred in Abigail’s Party, The Glass Menagerie, and many other plays. Harker is currently writing a script for a new comedy-drama project, Jane Bennet’s Second Spring.

For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep30/.

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Visit our website: www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channel
Email: podcast@jasna.org

Join us for a chat with noted Austen scholar Kathryn Sutherland about Jane Austen’s surviving manuscripts and what they reveal about her writing process and creative confidence. Kathryn also shares the story behind the ambitious digital project that brought Austen’s scattered manuscripts together in a virtual archive and talks about some of the material objects she included in her book Jane Austen in 41 Objects—reflecting on how tangible artifacts can bring us closer to the writer we think we know.

Kathryn Sutherland is Professor Emerita and a Senior Research Fellow at St Anne's College, Oxford. She is the author Jane Austen's Textual Lives (2005), Why Modern Manuscripts Matter (2022), and Jane Austen in 41 Objects (2025). She is also the editor of many editions of Austen's works through Oxford World's Classics, including Teenage Writings (with Freya Johnston, 2017). Sutherland was also the Project Director and Principal Investigator for Jane Austen's Fiction Manuscripts, a website that houses the digitized files of all Jane Austen's known fiction manuscripts. She is a patron of Jane Austen's House in Chawton, a trustee of Friends of the Nations' Libraries, and a trustee of the British Library Collections Trust.

For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep29/.

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Visit our website: www.jasna.org
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channel
Email: podcast@jasna.org