Among The Janeites
Published by HarperCollins
A “witty, irresistible” account of Jane Austen’s most zealously devoted fans and their lively literary community (Lan Samantha Chang, author of The Family Chao).
They walk among us in their bonnets and Empire-waist gowns, clutching their souvenir tote bags and battered paperbacks: the Janeites, Jane Austen’s legion of devoted fans. Who are these obsessed admirers, whose passion has transformed Austen from classic novelist to pop-culture phenomenon? Deborah Yaffe, journalist and Janeite, sets out to answer this question, exploring the remarkable endurance of Austen’s stories, the unusual zeal that their author inspires, and the striking cross-section of lives she has touched.
Along the way, Yaffe meets a Florida lawyer with a byzantine theory about hidden subtexts in the novels, a writer of Austen fan fiction who found her own Mr. Darcy while reimagining Pride and Prejudice, and a lit professor whose roller-derby nom de skate is Stone Cold Jane Austen. Yaffe goes where Janeites gather, joining a pilgrimage to historic sites in Britain, chatting online with fellow fans, and attending the annual ball of the Jane Austen Society of North America—in period costume. Part chronicle of a vibrant literary community, part memoir of a lifelong love, Among the Janeites is a funny, touching meditation on the nature of fandom.
“[A] playful exploration of Austen obsession. . . . amusing and sometimes mind-boggling.” —Jane Smiley, The New York Times
“Explores the dimensions of modern Jane-o-mania . . . Yaffe honors her hero throughout.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Lively and insightful . . . Yaffe, who is ‘happiest when curled up alone with Persuasion,’ gamely dons period costume, studies country dancing, and dives into Austen fan fiction to research this subculture.” —Publishers Weekly
They walk among us in their bonnets and Empire-waist gowns, clutching their souvenir tote bags and battered paperbacks: the Janeites, Jane Austen’s legion of devoted fans. Who are these obsessed admirers, whose passion has transformed Austen from classic novelist to pop-culture phenomenon? Deborah Yaffe, journalist and Janeite, sets out to answer this question, exploring the remarkable endurance of Austen’s stories, the unusual zeal that their author inspires, and the striking cross-section of lives she has touched.
Along the way, Yaffe meets a Florida lawyer with a byzantine theory about hidden subtexts in the novels, a writer of Austen fan fiction who found her own Mr. Darcy while reimagining Pride and Prejudice, and a lit professor whose roller-derby nom de skate is Stone Cold Jane Austen. Yaffe goes where Janeites gather, joining a pilgrimage to historic sites in Britain, chatting online with fellow fans, and attending the annual ball of the Jane Austen Society of North America—in period costume. Part chronicle of a vibrant literary community, part memoir of a lifelong love, Among the Janeites is a funny, touching meditation on the nature of fandom.
“[A] playful exploration of Austen obsession. . . . amusing and sometimes mind-boggling.” —Jane Smiley, The New York Times
“Explores the dimensions of modern Jane-o-mania . . . Yaffe honors her hero throughout.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Lively and insightful . . . Yaffe, who is ‘happiest when curled up alone with Persuasion,’ gamely dons period costume, studies country dancing, and dives into Austen fan fiction to research this subculture.” —Publishers Weekly
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