Everybody's Jane: Austen in the Popular Imagination

The first bookto investigate Jane Austen's popular significance today, Everybody's Jane considers why Austen matters to amateur readers, how they make use of hernovels, what they gain from visiting places associated with her, and why theycreate works of fiction and nonfiction inspired by her novels and life.The voices of everyday readers emerge fromboth published and unpublished sources, including interviews conducted with literary tourists and archival research into thefounding of the Jane Austen Society of North America and the exceptional Austencollection of Alberta Hirshheimer Burke of Baltimore.Additional topics include new Austenportraits; portrayals of Austen, and of Austen fans, in film and fiction; andhybrid works that infuse Austen's writings with horror, erotica, or explicitChristianity.Everybody's Jane will appeal to all those who care about Austen and will change how we think about theimportance of literature and reading today.