Janeites : Austen's Disciples and Devotees

Over the last decade, as Jane Austen has moved center-stage in our culture, onto best-seller lists and into movie houses, another figure has slipped into the spotlight alongside her. This is the "Janeite," the zealous reader and fan whose devotion to the novels has been frequently invoked and often derided by the critical establishment. Jane Austen has long been considered part of a great literary tradition, even legitimizing the academic study of novels. However, the Janeite phenomenon has not until now aroused the curiosity of scholars interested in the politics of culture. Rather than lament the fact that Austen today shares the headlines with her readers, the contributors to this collection inquire into why this is the case, ask what Janeites do, and explore the myriad appropriations of Austen--adaptations, reviews, rewritings, and appreciations--that have been produced since her lifetime. The articles move from the nineteenth-century lending library to the modern cineplex and discuss how novelists as diverse as Cooper, Woolf, James, and Kipling have claimed or repudiated their Austenian inheritance. As case studies in reception history, they pose new questions of long-loved novels--as well as new questions about Austen's relation to Englishness, about the boundaries between elite and popular cultures and amateur and professional readerships, and about the cultural work performed by the realist novel and the marriage plot. The contributors are Barbara M. Benedict, Mary A. Favret, Susan Fraiman, William Galperin, Claudia L. Johnson, Deidre Lynch, Mary Ann O'Farrell, Roger Sales, Katie Trumpener, and Clara Tuite. Over the last decade, as Jane Austen has moved center-stage in our culture, onto bestseller lists and into movie houses, another figure has slipped into the spotlight alongside her. This is the "Janeite", the zealous reader and fan whose devotion to the novels has been frequently invoked and often derided by the critical establishment. Jane Austen has long been considered part of a great literary tradition, even legitimizing the academic study of novels. However, the Janeite phenomenon has not until now aroused the curiosity of scholars interested in the politics of culture. Rather than lament the fact that Austen today shares the headlines with her readers, the contributors to this collection inquire into why this is the case, ask what Janeites do, and explore the myriad appropriations of Austen -- adaptations, reviews, rewritings, and appreciations -- that have been produced since her lifetime.The articles move from the nineteenth-century lending library to the modern cineplex and discuss how novelists as diverse as Cooper, Woolf, James, and Kipling have claimed or repudiated their Austenian inheritance. As case studies in reception history, they pose new questions of long-loved novels -- as well as new questions about Austen's relation to Englishness, about the boundaries between elite and popular cultures and amateur and professional readerships, and about the cultural work performed by the realist novel and the marriage plot. Over the last decade, as Jane Austen has moved center-stage in our culture, onto bestseller lists and into movie houses, another figure has slipped into the spotlight alongside her. This is the "Janeite", the zealous reader and fan whose devotion to the novels has been frequently revoked and often derided by the critical establishment Jane Austen has long been considered part of a great literary tradition, even legitimizing the academic study of novels. However, the Janeite phenomenon has not until now aroused the curiosity of scholars interested in the politics of culture. Rather than lament the fact that Austen today shares the headlines with her readers, the contributors to this collection inquire into why this is the case, ask what Janeites do, and explore the myriad appropriations of Austen -- adaptations, reviews, rewritings, and appreciations -- that have been produced since her lifetime.The articles move from the nineteenth-century lending library to the modern cineplex and discuss how novelists as diverse as Cooper, Woolf, James, and Kipling have claimed or repudiated their Austenian inheritance. As case studies in reception history, they pose new questions of long-loved novels -- as well as new questions about Austen's relation to Englishness, about the boundaries between elite and popular cultures and amateur and professional readerships, and about the cultural work performed by the realist novel and the marriage plot. This Study Explores The Phenomenon Of The Janeite--the Zealous Reader And Fan Of Jane Austen Whose Devotion To Her Novels Has Been Frequently Invoked And Often Derided By The Critical Establishment. The Text Asks What Janeites Do And Explores The Myriad Appropriations Of Austen. Introduction : Sharing With Our Neigbors / Deidre Lynch -- The Divine Miss Jane : Jane Austen, Janeites, And The Discipline Of Novel Studies / Claudia L. Johnson -- Jane Austen's Friendship / Mary Ann O'farrell - Sensibility By The Numbers : Austen's Work As Regency Popular Fiction / Barbara M. Benedict -- Austen's Earliest Readers And The Rise Of The Janeites / William Galperin -- Decadent Austen Entails : Forster, James, Firbank, And The Queer Taste Of Sanditon (comp. 1817, Publ. 1925) /clara Tuite -- The Virago Jane Austen / Katie Trumpener -- Free And Happy : Jane Austen In America / Mary A. Favret -- In Face Of All The Servants : Specators And Spies In Austen / Roger Sales -- Jane Austen And Edward Said : Gender, Culture, And Imperialism / Susan Fraiman. Edited By Deidre Lynch. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This study explores the phenomenon of the "Janeite," the zealous reader and fan of Jane Austen whose devotion to her novels has been frequently invoked and often derided by the critical establishment. The text asks what Janeites do and explores the myriad appropriations of Austen