The Jane Austen and the Brontes Newsletter Issue #1 A beginning
Over 200 years later, we’re still gossiping about Austen and the Brontes
In 2009 or 2010, I started an Etsy business called Excessively Diverting. I sold classic literature, mainly Austen, bookmarks, pins, and Christmas tree bulbs. The bulbs were clear and I would shred the first few pages of a book and put in the bulb. (The book would always be out of copyright so no issues there.) The bulbs were a huge success but the work involved was intense and when I started my first librarian job, I didn’t have time for my store. I closed the store down in 2012 with hopes to re-open in a few years later when things calmed down.
By 2017, it became clear the idea of re-opening my Etsy store was not going to happen so on January 1, 2017, I kicked off a Jane Austen and Bronte sisters blog over at excessivelydiverting.net.
Initially, I was posting every day because there was so much content available on the authors. Everything from news, to toys and games, to toothpaste and so much more became available seemingly daily. New books on topics as varied as retellings, continuations and pastiches, and academic treatises filled bookcases and were continually published. The time was ripe for Austen and Bronte blog so I plunged in.
I advertised the blog across all across social media. I was on Facebook and Twitter and briefly flirted with Instagram. I wrote about upcoming conferences, contests, book and movie reviews, plays and performance. Austen and the Brontes were everywhere.
As expected, I was not the only one writing about Austen and the Brontes. Some sites were incredibly niched such as about one particular movie or book and others spanned the gauntlet as I did. While I was providing a lot of content and SEOing the heck out of the blog, traffic was slow and not plentiful. But, I did build up a not too shabby following on Facebook and Twitter so I kept at it.
At one point, I even had a mailing list where I posted a new Austen or Bronte quote daily. When that became too much work, I cancelled the service.
By 2023, I was barely posting on the blog and mainly concentrating on social media. I backed up the blog and pointed the domain to the Facebook page. Then Twitter became X and while I had a good following and interaction with people on the site, I was not consciously feeling it right to stay on the service. I moved over to Mastodon and Bluesky and along with Facebook, I’m slowly building engaging with my followers by posting articles of interest, quick news and commentary, and one off discussion questions.
While the blog is long gone, I still have the itch to write about Austen and the Brontes. So many movies, books, and news begged for analysis. So many products to promote! I decided to start a newsletter and tada! Here we are. When I polled followers on Mastodon on the viability of the newsletter, reactions were split with agreement the newsletter was a good idea but others wanted to read via RSS and on the website since they got too much email. Thankfully, Substack allows those things to happen.
But why Austen? And the Brontes for that matter considering the Brontes had a lot of disdain for Austen.
I cannot remember when I fell in love with Austen, or the Brontes, but I’ve always been fascinated how women at the turn and middle of the 19th century captured love, social class, family, social commentary, and other relationships that were still prevalent over 200 years later. None of those authors have every been out of print and new content, movies and books, and products continue to be made.
What can you expect from the newsletter?
It will have no schedule. Maybe a few times a month? Other than this piece, I’m going to try and keep the word count under 500 words. I’ll write book and movie reviews, commentary and analysis on news, and whatever strikes my fancy.
I hope you will join me!
Divertingly yours,
Lisa