I think of fashion magazines as a kind of "mixtape." When you buy one, you recognise the form but are drawn in by the unpredictability of its content. Like compiling a mixtape, the challenge for the editorial team with every issue is to bring a fresh perspective, to engage wholeheartedly in a mission to intrigue, titillate, inform, challenge, shock, woo, and ultimately connect with their reader. A good mixtape doesn’t just reflect the zeitgeist; it helps shape and amplify it. For magazines, this happens through the shoots they choose to feature, the designers and creatives they collaborate with, and the unique blend of influences they curate or intentionally leave out.

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The Pride and Prejudice: Novel Magazine stretches its zeitgeist across three centuries. It connects with readers through deliberate juxtaposition: Jane Austen’s 18th-century Pride and Prejudice, presented in its original textual form, set against a 21st-century vision of the cultural currents that surrounded its creation. On this page, you’ll find links to magazine shoots, features, and adverts for the plays, novels, and cultural markers of the era.

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For those seeking strict historical fidelity, good luck with that. You won’t find it in fashion magazines, mixtapes, or any works where creativity takes the lead. Take my inclusion of Frankenstein, for instance. While Shelley’s novel was published after Austen’s death, the gothic entertainments like Phantasmagoria that inspired it were already part of Austen’s cultural world. The Novel Magazine isn’t about strict accuracy; it’s about exploring connections and imagining the influences that surrounded Austen.