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HIATUS ENCORE: Sisters Jane and Anna Maria Porters’ books took Regency-era England by storm just a few years ahead of Jane Austen, and their lives were chock-full of fascinating (and insufferable) characters, intriguing romantic escapades, event-filled interludes at the homes of wealthy acquaintances and desperate gambits to stay one step ahead of the poverty line. Joining us is ASU Regents Professor of English, Devoney Looser, whose new book is Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontes. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a triumph of literary detective work.”

Discussed in this episode: 

Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontes by Devoney Looser

Devoney Looser

Jane Austen

Sir Walter Scott

Braveheart (1995 film)

Artless Tales by Anna Maria Porter

The Dashwood Sisters

“L'Allegro” by John Milton

“Il Penseroso” by John Milton

Thaddeus of Warsaw by Jane Porter

The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter

The Hungarian Brothers by Anna Maria Porter

Queen Victoria

Andrew Jackson

Emily Dickinson

Waverly by Sir Walter Scott

“The End of the English Major” (The New Yorker, 2/27/2023)

Sophia Lee's The Recess  

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