Romance authors celebrate Jane Austen's literary legacy on her 250th birthday

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published December 16, 2025 at 12:08 PM EST

The cover of "Ladies in Waiting" and authors Diana Quincy (top) and Nikki Payne (bottom). (Courtesy of Gallery Books, Shelley Larrabee and Frank W. photos)

Here & Now‘s Robin Young celebrates Jane Austen’s 250th birthday with Diana Quincy and Nikki Payne, two romance authors who contributed to the new book “Ladies In Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters.”

Book excerpt: ‘Ladies in Waiting’

By Diana Quincy and Nikki Payne

From the book “Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters” published by Gallery Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. “Lace and Larceny” copyright © 2025 by Nikki Payne. Printed by permission.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate