Once a genre gains popularity, here come the parodies. Jane Austen grew up, petticoats deep in Gothic novels, and Jane had thoughts on reading them, writing them, and the effect they had on women readers. Our last novel, Ann Radcliffe’s THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO is mentioned multiple times in Jane Austen’s NORTHANGER ABBEY, finished in 1799 but not published until a few months after Austen’s death in 1817.

Join Sonja and Vanessa as they explore the historical and literary context of this lesser known and sadly lesser-loved Jane Austen novel. Find out why being Mrs. Tilney would be better than being Mrs. Darcy. Hear about a Jane Austen narrator that is not ambiguous and hard to pin down in a meta story about reading…a story that seems to agree with IWAW: namely, that stories shape us.

Along the way, we discover there is no crime in early 19th century England, we confirm that female frenemies have always been a thing, and Jane Austen finds herself caught in a late 18th century catch-and-kill publishing move.

REFERENCES:

If you have not read NORTHANGER ABBEY, you should stop by your local bookstore, and if you don’t have one, order it from our local Lawrence bookstore, The Raven.

The novel that references monks molesting nuns is Matthew Lewis’s THE MONK from 1796.

If you have not read Ann Radcliffe’s THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO from 1794, you can dive into those 600+ pages, or let us do the reading for you by listening to our fun, educational, romp through the plot in our MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO shows, Part 1 and Part 2.

Also, as always, we highly recommend Rachel Feder’s brilliant study of romantic heroes, THE DARCY MYTH or at least check out our show about it.

Much of the biographical information for this episode was taken from Claire Tomalin’s careful and thorough biography, JANE AUSTEN: A LIFE.

We also reference Charlotte Lennox’s THE FEMALE QUIXOTE from 1752 & FORDYCE'S SERMONS a collection of advice to young ladies from 1766.

Heather Aimee O’Neill published her debut novel, THE IRISH GOODBYE, on the last day of September, and it’s already started a reading wildfire: People Magazine just made it their Pick of the Week, it’s Apple Books’s October Staff Pick, and Jenna Bush Hager announced it as her “Read with Jenna” on the Today Show last week. Go, Heather!

Join Sonja and Vanessa as they ask Heather about dyslexia, her early years as a poet, the mentors who inspired her, her transition from poetry to prose, the importance of sisters, and the emotional work of finding her way to and through the creation of this beautiful first novel, THE IRISH GOODBYE. To spend time with Heather Aimee O’Neill is to dip into our shared cultural struggles and losses and to find a way to embrace and be at peace with all the messiness of relationships–especially with family. If you’ve ever simultaneously anticipated and dreaded holiday family gatherings, you’ll relate to her characters, and you’ll value Heather’s warmth and honesty in this interview.

Everyone is trying to get 5 minutes of this hot new novelist’s time, and she graciously gave way more than that to In Walks a Woman, so we’re betting you won’t find another interview that is as deep and thoughtful as this one. Start October right with the fourth in IWAW’s Authors’ Series!

Along the way, Sonja admits to some baking trauma, Heather invents “Long-Island Gothic,” and Vanessa loses track of Chekhov’s raccoon.

REFERENCES:

To learn more about Heather Aimee O’Neill, here is website & she’s can be found on Instagram.

If you live in Lawrence, Kansas, head on down to The Raven Bookstore on Mass or place an order through them at the Raven Bookstore Website.

When we mention “Eric” in this interview, that would be English professor and former Poet Laureate of Kansas, Eric McHenry. Heather considers Eric one of her most important mentors, and Sonja is so fond of Eric she married him and has two kids with him. If you want to check him out, here’s a good place to start!

Heather Aimee O’Neill references The Shit No One Tells you About Writing Podcast, and it’s legit–go check it out if you’re an aspiring writer!

If you want to purchase The Irish Goodbye, Heather Aimee O’Neill has been collaborating with Barnes & Noble, and this link will let you support them.

If you are looking for Heather Aimee O’Neill 2011 poetry collection, Memory Future–the one Sonja mentions–you should see if your local bookstore can order it for you…but if not, here is a link to Amazon. It’s not as widely available as her new novel, but it’s fantastic and totally worth hunting down.