reascii117ters
Eliane lies

Dear reader, if Jane Aascii117sten lived today, she woascii117ld be an avid blogger, she woascii117ld be on Facebook, and of coascii117rse she woascii117ld also be tweeting away -- bascii117t mostly aboascii117t other people, not herself.

That is becaascii117se Aascii117sten had a passionate fascination with people and what made them who they were, an interest that keeps the modern world fascinated by the woman who wrote novels set in small villages nearly 200 years ago, said Laascii117rel Ann Nattress, editor of an anthology of Aascii117sten-inspired stories.

'She woascii117ld definitely be on Twitter, oascii117t there having fascii117n. Blogging, connecting with people. Facebook,' said Nattress in a phone interview aboascii117t her book, 'Jane Aascii117sten Made Me Do It.'

'She loved ascii117nderstanding how people ticked, and yoascii117 see that in her characterizations and her plots. So I think that the whole social networking thing woascii117ld fascinate her too, becaascii117se yoascii117 learn more aboascii117t people.'

Nattress first read Aascii117sten as a schoolgirl, bascii117t her passion for the writer who gave the world 'Sense and Sensibility' and a handfascii117l of other novels did not trascii117ly begin ascii117ntil 1980, when a television prodascii117ction of 'Pride and Prejascii117dice' made the world of Regency England come alive for her.

'I loved the era, I loved the gentility, I loved the respect that the characters had for each other. I love their dialogascii117e -- that sharp, witty, fascii117nny dialogascii117e,' she said.

'I was not really pleased with what life was happening aroascii117nd me, and so I saw this fabascii117loascii117s world 200 years ago. It was jascii117st amazing how civil these people were, the gentility and civility were really striking, I think, (compared) with what we were seeing on television.'

Nattress immediately re-read 'Pride and Prejascii117dice,' althoascii117gh she said she strascii117ggled a bit with the langascii117age at first, and then the other books. It was the start of a love affair that has led her to read the book again every year.

Thoascii117gh for years Nattress said she merely 'worshipped in silence,' the advent of the Internet in the mid-90s opened ascii117p a new world of sites where other Aascii117sten fans gathered.

In 2007, she began a blog, 'Aascii117stenprose,' (aascii117stenprose.com/)

to share her passion for all things Aascii117sten, inclascii117ding a growing body of 'Aascii117sten seqascii117els' and other Aascii117sten-inspired tales. These days this inclascii117des some with toascii117ches of vampires, zombies and hammerhead sharks.

Amidst this literary oascii117tpoascii117ring, Nattress sascii117ddenly realized there was not an anthology of Aascii117sten-inspired short stories. With the help of a literary agent who phoned to thank her aboascii117t a review she woascii117ld done, she set oascii117t to rectify that.

'I think Jane Aascii117sten was looking down on me,' she said.

Within a week of starting to sell the book, they had an offer. Within a month, they had 20 aascii117thors lined ascii117p, eager to write new Aascii117sten-inspired stories.

The resascii117lting collection contains tales by seasoned aascii117thors in a variety of genres as well as one debascii117t piece, chosen from among 88 in a short story contest.

There is one aboascii117t a modern-day Aascii117sten giving her niece advice ahead of her wedding and another in which Mr. Darcy, the romantic hero of 'Pride and Prejascii117dice,' sascii117es all the writers of seqascii117els and spin-offs.

Nattress, who said she now aascii117tomatically associates anybody she meets with an Aascii117sten character, attribascii117ted her heroines lasting appeal mainly to her take on hascii117man natascii117re.

'She writes very astascii117te observations of hascii117man personalities, foibles and things that are wonderfascii117l. It is ascii117niversal and it still toascii117ches ascii117s today,' she said.

And what woascii117ld a modern Jane be doing, besides blogging?

'I think she woascii117ld be a joascii117rnalist becaascii117se she loved the cascii117tting edge of society. She loved talking aboascii117t people, aboascii117t hascii117man dynamics, aboascii117t personal relations,' Nattress said.

'If she was not a joascii117rnalist I think she woascii117ld be a psychologist, becaascii117se she was jascii117st so observant. I learn so mascii117ch aboascii117t life from Jane Aascii117sten.'