Some happy news in difficult times: Project Muse, Johns Hopkins University Press, and many other presses have made available hundreds of books and journals for free download during COVID-19, including my books. Until May 31, 2020, The Making of Jane Austen is available for free download. If you download and read, I'd be grateful if you dropped me a line to tell me what you thought of it--or tell readers on Amazon, Goodreads, or BookBub? Hope you are staying safe and healthy, and I look forward to being in touch again in the coming weeks. 

Check out my just-published piece, "Five Myths About Jane Austen," in the Washington Post. It's in the March 8th print paper on p. B3, too. Want a sneak peak? The five myths that emerged were . . . 

1. Jane Austen was a secluded, boring homebody.
2. There is no sex in Austen's work.
3. Austen approved of slavery and co­lo­ni­al­ism.
4. ​Austen's work wasn't noticed before she died. 
5. ​Austen-inspired fan fiction emerged in the 20th century

All false! The WaPo's five myths series is so good. I'm proud to be a part of it. I hope you'll check out previous articles, if you haven't yet. Thanks to the editorial team, especially Jacob Brogan, for being a pleasure to work with and making the piece better.