Travels and Writing

Featured ~ Brenda S Cox

by Brenda S. Cox

“And when we do return, it shall not be like other travellers, without being able to give one accurate idea of anything. We will know where we have gone—we will recollect what we have seen.”–Pride and Prejudice

My friends, I don’t usually write about myself on this blog. But I haven’t been able to post much in recent months, so I thought I’d let you know what I’ve been up to. We’ve had several major family events in the last year: the birth of a precious new grandbaby, a memorial service for my beloved father (who passed away earlier, but it took some time to get me and my brothers together to celebrate his life), and the wedding of my youngest son; all beautiful events in different parts of the country.

Update: To read about my trip to Australia and New Zealand last year, see Visiting Janeites Down Under. See also my posts on Hobbiton.

Speaking and Traveling

In the Jane Austen world, I’ve been having wonderful opportunities to share about Jane Austen and the church to various groups in the US and abroad. My book, Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England, is doing well and I love that people want to hear more! I also learn and get new ideas from the questions they ask.

My most popular talk right now is “Why Mr. Collins?”, exploring why Jane Austen, a faithful Anglican, created a bumptious clergyman like Mr. Collins. Last summer I gave that talk at Regency Week in Alton, England. A wonderful crowd attended at St. Lawrence’s Church. This September I will be back in England speaking at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England. That talk will be at St. Swithin’s Church, where Austen’s parents were married (as well as William Wilberforce and his wife Barbara).

By the time you read this, I will be traveling in Australia, sharing the Mr. Collins talk with Jane Austen groups in Melbourne, Brisbane, Southern Highlands, and Sydney. Susannah Fullerton, head of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, has organized a day conference on “Mr. Collins’ Profession: Jane Austen and the Church.” I’ll be giving two talks (the second one on “Her Parish and Her Poultry: The Lives of Clergymen’s Wives in Austen’s World”) along with other speakers (Anne Harbers, Dr. Roslyn Russell, and Scott Stephens) who I’m excited to meet and hear from. That’s on May 11, if you’re in Australia. I’m also looking forward, in my free time, to seeing koalas, platypuses, wallabies, and other amazing animals and birds!

After Australia, my husband and I are heading to New Zealand. I’ll be speaking to a group of Janeites in Wellington. And we’re going to see some of the beauties of New Zealand, including penguins, royal albatrosses, the springs of Rotorua and the glowworm caves of Waitomo. And we’ll get to see Hobbiton, eat at the Green Dragon, and see a few other Lord of the Rings sights. There are no guarantees at all, but I’m also hoping for a glimpse of the Southern Lights! (Did you know there are Southern Lights as well as Northern Lights? So much in this world to learn about and to enjoy.)

When I get back in the summer, I’ll need to start work on my talk and article on “Jane Austen and the Evangelicals,” which I’ll be presenting as a breakout session at the JASNA AGM in October, in Cleveland (after which I will make another visit to that grandbaby, who will be over a year old by then!).

Writing

I am continuing to write. You can find my posts on Jane Austen’s World, the fourth Monday of each month. I’ve been doing a series on Jane Austen’s family churches, from my travels last summer, with a few other topics thrown in now and then. By the way, I highly recommend that you subscribe to Jane Austen’s World, which always has wonderful articles.

I’m also writing a series on Jane Austen’s clergymen for the beautiful magazine, Jane Austen’s Regency World. It’s been great fun to take so much that I’ve learned about the church in Austen’s world and apply it specifically to each clergyman; I’ll also be doing their wives. “Mr. Elton: The Ambitious Clergyman,” the third instalment, is in the March/April 2024 issue I just received.

And, for a new challenge, I’m currently working on a sequel to Sense and Sensibility, following Marianne and her romantic and spiritual journeys after Colonel Brandon dies. My two writers’ critique groups keep me accountable to (usually) write at least two chapters a month. Slow and steady wins the race, they say. We shall see! But it’s fun, and I hope I’ll eventually have something for you all to enjoy.

God leads us “in mysterious ways” (as Austen’s beloved William Cowper wrote). I have focused on multiple “careers” in my life: chemical engineering, raising children and homeschooling them, training language learners and teachers, writing, and more. I would never have guessed that one day I’d be traveling and talking about Jane Austen around the world. Sometimes it feels a little overwhelming, but then it’s such a joy to get to talk to other Austen-lovers about topics we all love.

I am thankful for these opportunities, and for you all who read what I love writing!

Upcoming Posts

Stay tuned. I have some great ideas for coming posts, once I’m sitting at my computer for long enough. I want to show you Netley Abbey, a place Austen visited, and the Garrison Chapel at Portsmouth where Fanny Price and her family worshiped. I want to write about Austen’s beloved Samuel Johnson and his faith. I got to see his house in Lichfield, England, last summer, and I have several books about him. He could have been another chapter in my book, but instead I’ll write about him here and probably on Jane Austen’s World as well. Also in England I visited fascinating science-related museums that I want to tell you about and show you pictures of.

So, I haven’t forgotten you, readers! Many blessings to you all!

Brenda S. Cox

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2 thoughts on “Travels and Writing”

  1. Dear Mrs. Cox,

    I am neither a writer nor a very great reader, but I am incomprehensibly blessed personally by the work you have done which somehow funnels down to me through the experiences you share on the blog including book recommendations and insightful thoughts.  I’m just gobbling up your book “Fashionable Goodness” as it rests on my coffee table and provides such a constant insight into the aspects of 18th century life that matter so much to me.  My enthusiasm for history, music, society, and customs as they pertain to the enlightenment period, England, etc. is pretty much is my main hobby. I love the earnest, direct, and honest look into the life and writings of this remarkably astute author, our dearest Jane Austen.  All that you have unearthed about the religion of the day has impacted me soberly and richly.  

The example of actually living a Christian life through the examples in Austen’s literature provide quite a canvas and you have very successfully shone a bright light on them.  I don’t think I realised it before I read your book because I only had a television version of Jane Austen in my mind.  And now, reading and learning what JA truly has to say has had a very positive impact on my life, as described in the following glimpse of my ordinary life: 

Over the last few months I have struggled to know how to interact positively with a highly irritating co-worker.  She has been territorial, sneaky, and greedy.  At times, several of us just throw up our hands and resort to coping with her in whatever way we can while our boss does nothing to “coral her” or “rein her in”. I have jeered, mocked, joked about, screamed internally, and ranted to my support co-worker and my boss and other  employees… because we are all so irritated by her abrasive, commanding, and generally insensitive ways.   Recently she overstepped again, and I found myself being dragged through the whole frustrating cycle all over again. She is truly a foolish and ridiculous woman in many ways. But something changed in me….I remembered Emma. And I remembered her lesson (rebuke). This “foolish” and “ridiculous” woman I have to contend with is very much disadvantaged (like Miss Bates).  Divorce, financial hardship, social dependancy, issues from the past, all play into “the way she is”.  Me, being in a supporting and loving relationship with my husband, free from financial anxiety (though not “rich”), strongly respected and even admired amongst my peer group, have every advantage above this co-worker (like Emma!)  Recognizing my advantage over her, my heart changed, and the instruction in my heart to react with compassion rather than scorn…yea, even to move to lift her higher in whatever way I could, replaced all the frustration and misery I had hitherto battled. In essence, my Christian faith “kicked in” to recognise the “low among us”. My co-worker is to be pitied, not scorned. And I don’t think I could have busted out of this mean cycle without having such a marvellous illustration in the characters of Austen’s books AND without you pointing out the “Christian” culture of Jane Austen’s time. This formed a link in my mind that allowed me a way forward and a way to express my understanding of God’s compassion for the poor and the needy.  I just wanted you to know that.  

Thank you!  Bonnie Wilkens

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    1. Wow! Bonnie, I am so blessed by your comment. Thank you! May God continue to give you (and us all) compassion, patience, and wisdom in dealing with difficult people in your life. I’m amazed at how God can use writers, long gone from this world, to speak to us today. Blessings to you.

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