Matters of Fact in Jane Austen

History, Location, and Celebrity

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British, Theory
Cover of the book Matters of Fact in Jane Austen by Janine Barchas, Johns Hopkins University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Janine Barchas ISBN: 9781421407319
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Publication: July 15, 2012
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Janine Barchas
ISBN: 9781421407319
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication: July 15, 2012
Imprint:
Language: English

In Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity, Janine Barchasmakes the bold assertion that Jane Austen’s novels allude to actual high-profile politicians and contemporary celebrities as well as to famous historical figures and landed estates. Barchas is the first scholar to conduct extensive research into the names and locations in Austen’s fiction by taking full advantage of the explosion of archival materials now available online.

According to Barchas, Austen plays confidently with the tension between truth and invention that characterizes the realist novel. Of course, the argument that Austen deployed famous names presupposes an active celebrity culture during the Regency, a phenomenon recently accepted by scholars. The names Austen plucks from history for her protagonists (Dashwood, Wentworth, Woodhouse, Tilney, Fitzwilliam, and many more) were immensely famous in her day. She seems to bank upon this familiarity for interpretive effect, often upending associations with comic intent.

Barchas re-situates Austen’s work closer to the historical novels of her contemporary Sir Walter Scott and away from the domestic and biographical perspectives that until recently have dominated Austen studies. This forward-thinking and revealing investigation offers scholars and ardent fans of Jane Austen a wealth of historical facts, while shedding an interpretive light on a new aspect of the beloved writer's work.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity, Janine Barchasmakes the bold assertion that Jane Austen’s novels allude to actual high-profile politicians and contemporary celebrities as well as to famous historical figures and landed estates. Barchas is the first scholar to conduct extensive research into the names and locations in Austen’s fiction by taking full advantage of the explosion of archival materials now available online.

According to Barchas, Austen plays confidently with the tension between truth and invention that characterizes the realist novel. Of course, the argument that Austen deployed famous names presupposes an active celebrity culture during the Regency, a phenomenon recently accepted by scholars. The names Austen plucks from history for her protagonists (Dashwood, Wentworth, Woodhouse, Tilney, Fitzwilliam, and many more) were immensely famous in her day. She seems to bank upon this familiarity for interpretive effect, often upending associations with comic intent.

Barchas re-situates Austen’s work closer to the historical novels of her contemporary Sir Walter Scott and away from the domestic and biographical perspectives that until recently have dominated Austen studies. This forward-thinking and revealing investigation offers scholars and ardent fans of Jane Austen a wealth of historical facts, while shedding an interpretive light on a new aspect of the beloved writer's work.

More books from Johns Hopkins University Press

Cover of the book Forest Ecosystems by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Reducing Gun Violence in America by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Inventing Iron Man by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book The Unknown World of the Mobile Home by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Blood on Steel by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book STEM the Tide by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Creative Destruction? by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Beaked Whales by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book The Black Skyscraper by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book The Vegetarian Imperative by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book The Better End by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Collecting as Modernist Practice by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Maternal Megalomania by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Dead Tree Media by Janine Barchas
Cover of the book Otherworldly Politics by Janine Barchas
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy