"Thieves! Spies! Abolitionists! Ghosts! These and other characters and events come to life in [this book], where the myth of Jane Austen as a quiet, bland spinster is put to rest at last. This ... book shows us an Austen who was far wilder in her time than we've often given her credit for, leading us through the fascinating and fantastical journey that turned the great novelist into a household name and global icon. All six of Austen's completed novels are examined here. Looser uncovers striking new gems in fan favorites from Pride and Prejudice to Emma, as well as in Austen's juvenilia, unfinished fiction, and even poetry and letters. Looser also presents entirely new scholarship on the Austen family's relationship to the abolitionist movement and on their surprising work for and against women's suffrage. Turning to the legacy of Austen's works, Looser reveals the film adaptations that might have changed Hollywood history had they come to fruition, the extraordinary stories imagining early ghost sightings of the late author, and the ways her characters were used to sway juries in courts of law. We also meet the eclectic members of Austen's extended family whose own outrageous lives seem wilder than fiction. Written with warmth, humor, and ... details never before published, Wild for Austen is the ultimate tribute to Jane Austen on her 250th birthday"-- Dust jacket flap.
|
