Everybody's Jane : Austen in the popular imagination

258 Pages·2011·1.189 MB·English

by  Austen, Jane, Austen, Jane, Wells, Juliette

Nigel Boonham, Jane Austen in Heaven, 2010. Plaster, 0.67 m. © 2011 Artists Rights
Society (ARS), New York/DACS, London. Sculpture displayed at Winchester Cathedral
June–August 2010 as part of “In This Sacred Place,” an exhibition of works by the Society
of Portrait Sculptors.
Everybody’s Jane
Also available from Continuum
Adaptation in Contemporary Culture, edited by Rachel Carroll
Austen’s Emma: A Reader’s Guide, Gregg A. Hecimovich
Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Jane Austen, Douglas Buchanan, Kelly
Gesch and Carol J. Adams
The Reception of Jane Austen in Europe, edited by Anthony Mandal and Brian
Southam
Everybody’s Jane
Austen in the Popular Imagination
Juliette Wells
Continuum International Publishing Group
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www.continuumbooks.com
© Juliette Wells 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any infor-
mation storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
The Author has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be
identified as Author of this work.
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate Internet addresses at the time of
publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, or for
changes that occur after publication.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 9781441118998
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wells, Juliette, 1974-
Everybody’s Jane : Austen in the popular imagination / Juliette Wells.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4411-7654-7 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-4411-4554-3 (pbk.) 1. Austen,
Jane, 1775-1817--Appreciation. 2. Austen, Jane, 1775-1817--Influence. 3. Austen, Jane,
1775-1817--Adaptations. 4. Austen, Jane, 1775-1817--In mass media. I. Title. II. Title: Austen
in the popular imagination.
PR4037.W457 2011
823’.7--dc23
2011025052
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN
Dedicated with love to Rodney, Lucy, and Eric
and in memory of Frederick A. Klemm
I have lost a treasure, such a Sister, such a friend as never can have been
surpassed,—She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother
of every sorrow, I had not a thought concealed from her, & it is as if I had lost
a part of myself. I loved her only too well …
Cassandra Austen to Fanny Knight, July 20, 1817
A good reader also creates.
Sheenagh Pugh, The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context
(2005)
Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Chapter 1 Introduction: Approaching Austen in the Popular Imagination 1
Chapter 2 Alberta H. Burke, Austen Omnivore 35
Chapter 3 Reading Like an Amateur 64
Chapter 4 Getting Closer to Austen: Literary Tourism 103
Chapter 5 Envisioning Austen: Portraits, Fiction, Film 141
Chapter 6 American Austen Hybrids: Sex, Horror/Paranormal, Faith 177
Chapter 7 Coming Together Through Austen 206
Bibliography 225
Index 241
Acknowledgments
My heartfelt gratitude to all those who contributed to this book:
First and foremost, my husband, Rodney Yoder, and our delightful children,
Lucy Yoder-Wells and Eric Yoder-Wells, who assisted especially in my literary
tourism research. Thanks to my parents, Virginia and William Wells, to my late
grandfather Frederick A. Klemm, and to all the Wells, Wells-Dang, Yoder, and
Yoder/Leupen families for their support.
My students and colleagues at Manhattanville, where my ideas about Austen
and popular culture have had the chance to grow. Special thanks to the English
department and the Office of the Provost for course development, research,
and publication support.
The visitors to Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton during July 2009
who thoughtfully answered my questions about the experience of their visit
and what Austen means to them. At the museum, special thanks to Louise West,
Ann Channon, Madelaine Smith, and Tom Carpenter, and to all the staff and
volunteers who generously shared their impressions with me.
At Goucher College, Nancy Magnuson, Tara Olivero, Sandy Ungar, Kate
Dannals, and Cassie Brand. I gratefully acknowledge Goucher’s Jane Austen
Scholar-in-Residence Program, which made possible my research in the Burke
Collection and JASNA archives.
The many members of JASNA who have listened, encouraged, and offered
ideas, including Susan Allen Ford, Marsha Huff, and Alice Villaseñor; in
the New York metropolitan region, Joyce Melito, Nili Olay, Elsa Solender,
Kerri Spennicchia, and Jerry Vetowich; in Rochester, NY, Celia Easton and
Edith Lank; in the Ohio North Coast region, Amy Patterson and Jennifer
Weinbrecht; in Ottawa, Emily Arrowsmith. I gratefully acknowledge JASNA’s
Traveling Lecturer program, which made possible my presentations at several
regional meetings, as well as the International Visitor Program fellowship,
which supported my research in Chawton,
Colleagues in the world of Austen studies who have offered encouragement
and feedback on work in progress, and who have generously shared their own
work, especially Rachel Brownstein, Gillian Dow, Marilyn Francus, Katie Halsey,
Clare Hanson, Felicity James, Deidre Lynch, Mary Ann O’Farrell, and Kathryn
Sutherland; as well as participants in the “Jane Austen and Contemporary