Febregency Returns: Jane Austen Era Reading Plans

Bringing some 1814 energy into 2024...

As the temperatures drop and snow blankets the hills outside my farmhouse, it’s lovely to have a reading project that will keep me cozy and occupied inside. The Febregency Readathon will return next month for its third year, with new challenges from each of our hosts to encourage you to take a literary step back in time and immerse yourself in the era of Jane Austen.

There’s no disguising the fact that my love of Austen is the primary force behind my interest in this time period. 😉 Austen is so timeless that in many ways she stands apart from her age, but it has been fascinating to read more from and learn more about her quotidian world. Febregency has provided great motivation for me to finally pick up many of the titles referenced in her works - the infamous “Lovers Vows” of Mansfield Park, poets like Cowper and Scott who were admired by Anne Elliot and Captain Bennick in Persuasion, and, of course, the “novels of genius, wit, and taste” commended in Northanger Abbey.

Last year we read one of those novels (Evelina by Frances Burney) as our Febregency group read, and this year we are tackling another: Belinda by Maria Edgeworth. Personally, I would rank Edgeworth over Burney, and I remember loving Belinda the first time that I read it years ago. I’m excited to revisit the story and discuss it during our group read/book club meeting later in the month.

Before we get to the other challenges and my TBR, I wanted to acknowledge some sad news from the booktube community. A fellow bookish video creator and one of our original Febregency co-hosts, Jennifer Brooks, passed away unexpectedly at the beginning of the month. It was so sad and shocking to see the announcement her mother posted on her channel, but it’s been heartwarming to see so many people sharing their memories of Jenny and talking about how her beautiful videos and passion for books impacted their reading. I was rewatching a poetry salon that Jennifer was part of on my channel and remembering her love of Byron and the poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, and I decided I’ll be reading that next month in her memory. ❤️

The general prompt for Febregency is simply to, during the month of February, read a book written during, popular during, or set during Great Britain’s Regency Period, which technically spanned the years 1811 to 1820, but we’re giving ourselves a little more wiggle room with Wikipedia’s generous definition of 1795 to 1837. To help you get inspired, we have four challenges…

Emma’s Challenge: Read a book from the Regency era that involves a naval journey or travel by sea.

Whether you choose to take this challenge in the direction of the Royal Navy and the Napoleonic Wars or in the direction of Regency travelogues, I think there should be plenty of interesting reading options. I’m excited to follow the wanderings of the Byronic hero at the heart of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage as he traverses Europe over the course of four cantos.

Stephanie’s Challenge: Read a new-to-you Regency author.

I have two different options for this prompt: one is a carryover from last year’s TBR, “Essay on the Military Policy and Institutions of the British Empire” by Captain Pasley of the Royal Engineers, published in 1811. Rather improbably, Jane Austen described this in one of her letters as “delightfully written and highly entertaining.” I have to check it out! My other possible new-to-me Regency author for 2024 would be Lady Morgan, who wrote The Wild Irish Girl, published in 1806. The plot involves a young man from a Protestant, Anglo-Irish family meeting a young woman from the Catholic, native Irish royal family that his ancestors displaced. It sounds so intriguing!

Christy’s Challenge: Read historical fiction set during the Regency period.

This challenge could be a fun opportunity to get to know Georgette Heyer better - I am not, in fact, all that well acquainted with her books - but I also have been meaning to pick up the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester (which is about an officer in the Royal Navy and came out in the 1930s) ever since I found it in a used bookstore several years ago and bought it for one of my brothers. Porthos, did you ever get around to reading it? You won’t mind if I steal your copy for awhile, right? Another possibility would be a reread of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, a hefty but beautifully-written book that weaves magic into the milieu of Regency Era England. I would highly recommend it!

Tristan’s Challenge: Learn and engage in a Regency pastime or arrange an evening of Regency games with friends.

Why not take the Febregency fun beyond books? I’ve enjoyed using the readathon as inspiration to incorporate some common and cozy practices from Jane Austen’s day-to-day into my own day-to-day throughout the month of February, whether that’s sitting down at the piano, picking up some needlework, or learning a card game or recipe from the past. I still have to decide which Regency pastime to prioritize this year! If you’re looking for some ideas, be sure to check out my “Regency Era Starter Pack” video.

Will you be joining us for Febregency? I’d love to hear how your winter reading plans are shaping up down in the comments below.