Yours Faithfully, Amanda

16 December 2019 Connecticut Dear Jane, Happy, happy, happy birthday! I daresay that it's shocking to reveal a woman's age w hen she has not given her direct consent to do so, but it's not every day that a beloved authoress turns 244-years-old! Pray, forgive my impertinence, but it speaks to your legacy that we are still celebrating you all these years later. You are more globally revered than ever, and I, for one, am so very grateful for your novels, stories, letters and everlasting wit.  To think that you came into the world on December 16, 1775 in such a different era is remarkable. And yet, when it comes to human nature, not much has changed in the past two-hundred and forty-four years. Your characters and stories are forever relatable and familiar, even in 21st century America...and that, my dear friend, is why you are a genius. Your brilliant writing skills, sharp wit and astute observations of the people around you culminated to produce some of the finest no...

*My heart is broken for the victims of the recent mass shootings in El Paso, TX & Dayton, OH. Please take a moment of silence for them and their loved ones today.* Thursday 1 August 2019- 6 Tuesday August 2019 The Internet, Connecticut Dear Jane, I must confess that I am quite frustrated with myself. I am just going to write everything else that happened in Cartagena no matter how long it takes or how long this letter is as a result, so please excuse the self-indulgence that is this letter. In truth, much has happened since we returned from Colombia that I have completely ignored (and now nearly forgotten). For one thing, my family and I saw American Ballet Theater's adaptation of Jane Eyre  at the Metropolitan Opera House in June starring none other than the incomparable MISTY COPELAND as Jane Eyre, herself!  It was an absolutely breathtaking performance and I am so glad we had the opportunity to see it. Additionally, my darling nephew turned two years old a...

December 21, 2018 Dear Jane, You may be wondering why I chose the above quotation, as it was written in a letter by the inconstant and rather unbeloved, Frank Churchill, but as this is my eighth (and final!) letter about the hackneyed English holiday I took five months ago, I daresay no one can call me humble. I do not wish to brag or drag on about my trip, but I just feel so, well, prosperous for having had such a wonderful experience with my sister that I want to ensure I remember every detail! I do so appreciate your willingness to indulge me in this one last letter on the subject, dear friend. St. Pancras. The lobby. So lovely. As we arrived back at King's Cross Station in London, on the eighth day of August in the Year of Our Lord, two-thousand and eighteen, Rachael and I were both tired from our journey and still feeling the pangs of disappointment at leaving York. We also knew that our holiday was nearly at an end so our pain was exceedingly acute, Jane. Luc...