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Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a writer, publisher, and award-winning podcaster based in Penang, Malaysia, with a deep passion for uncovering the stories that shaped our world. As the Southeast Asia Editor for International Living magazine, Keith explores the intersections of history, culture, and modern life across the region.
A dynamic lecturer and storyteller, he speaks internationally on Southeast Asian politics, economics, and history—bringing the past to life with clarity, wit, and insight. Keith is also a proud Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is on a mission to make history not only accessible but genuinely entertaining for everyone.
His published books include:
• Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003).
• Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017).
• Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015).
• The Habitat Penang Hill: A pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021
• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)
www.entrepotpublishing.com
Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Wit as Weapon: Jane Austen’s Disarming Charm
She never married. She never travelled far. And when she died at just forty-one, only a handful of people knew her name.
And yet—Jane Austen changed the literary world forever. And in today’s episode, we’re stepping back into the drawing rooms and hedgerows of Georgian England to explore the remarkable life—and legacy—of one of Britain’s most beloved novelists.
Austen’s stories are full of quiet rebellion. They appear genteel, polite—embroidered with bonnets and tea cups—but just beneath the surface, they bristle with sharp wit, social critique, and emotional precision. From Pride and Prejudice to Persuasion, her six novels reshaped the way we think about love, class, and character.
We’ll look at the world she lived in—the restrictions she faced as a woman, the heartbreaks she never quite wrote about, and the brilliance she poured into her work anyway. We’ll talk about the books, the brothers, the silence that followed her death, and the global fandom that exploded more than a century later.
This isn’t just a tale of romance and restraint. It’s about ambition in a corseted world. About the power of words to outlast even the quietest life.
So, pour yourself a cup of tea—or something stronger—and join me as we meet the real Jane Austen.
Referral Links:
For books written and published by Keith Hocton