"When a gentleman undresses, a gentleman goes to bed." Louis Auchincloss

Louis Auchincloss posthumously published memoir, “A Voice From Old New York: A Memoir of My Youth,” continues where his fiction leaves off—it’s an insightful perspective of life lived among the exceptionally wealthy of the Upper East Side.

Okay. First off, when it comes to the rich and… richer, how much can we really care about this insular world most of us will never be a part of?

Auchincloss (author of over 60 works) died last January, unfortunately occurring the day before J.D. Salinger’s death. Overshadowed then by Salinger’s death, Auchincloss still remains largely unnoticed for his peculiar contribution. According to an article in the The Guardian, he is described as “the only one who tells us how our rulers behave in their banks and their boardrooms, their law offices andtheir clubs.”

Auchincloss received flack from critics throughout his life for his choice of subject matter, but one should note he does not indulge the social elite with glittering descriptions of how fine it is to be apart of their subculture—despite what may be assumed by novel titles like East Side Story. He also does not engage in malicious gossip for cheap entertainment. It was said that he indulged in “the kind of curiosity on which Truman Capote overdosed, though Auchincloss had nothing of Capote's cruel taste for hurting people through gossip.”

It’s an endearing quality that is hard to pinpoint exactly that Auchincloss, in the midst of a world frequently depicted in literature for its elitism and occasional viciousness, was a man of habit and consequence often leading to his own seclusion away from the literary world, “Auchincloss writes in good humor about how, as a young American novelist, he rarely fit in. He kept orderly habits, and thus Norman Mailer’s parties, when he was invited to them, started too late for him.” While literary society may not of known what to do with him, members of his own society were just as puzzled categorizing his passion for writing in the same likeness as a “fondness for yoga”. Despite what may have been thought, Auchincloss would not be deterred from writing, continuing to write up until his death at 92.

How Far Will the "Janeites" Go?

With the rise of social networking, the subtle nuances of social etiquette are often lost. Perhaps this is why Jane Austen’s fan base continues to grow despite having being dead for almost the past 200 years. With 245,344 fans on her Facebook page, her readership is hardly waning.

In a recent article by Arden Dale and Mary Pilon, “In Jane Austen 2.0, the Heroines And Heroes Friend Each Other,” Dale and Pilon explore the relationship new readersare undertaking with Austen. “Janeites”—as they are called—are attracted to not only the elegant, classy side of Austen, take for example, the annual Jane Austen birthday tea party in Boise, Idaho, where post-adolescents dress in “frock coat[s] with cuffs,” but “Janeites”--also defined as "the self-consciously idolatrous enthusiasm for 'Jane' and every detail relative to her"--are also interested in the universal themes depicted in her novels like “marrying for money, crazy parents, [and] dating”.

It’s Austen’s flexibility that has contributed to making her into a budding pop culture icon in the 21^st century. The young adult novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Mr. Darcy, Vampyre are perfect examples of how Austen has been adapted to fit the recent supernatural frenzy.

Austen’s adaptation to pop culture trends is not limited to just zombies and vampires. Have you ever imagined what the characters from Pride and Prejudice might talk about if they had access to social networking sites at the turn of the 19^th century? Thanks to Austenbook—a condensed version of Pride and Prejudice told through the lens of Facebook —probably something like this:

It’s not often one can ask an author, “What’s next?” posthumously, but almost two centuries later we continue to wonder what Austen inspired media will be thought of next. Aside from her recently revamped-vampire series, can we see an Austen-Twilight crossover movie in the near future? Maybe not, but that hasn’t stopped other cult films from using Austen as inspiration.

Tyler Durden meet Elizabeth Bennett: