Jane Austen, much like the Brontё sisters and Charles Dickens, is a name most people are well-acquainted with and is often referenced in popular culture. Her six completed novels have endured across centuries and have been adapted and re-adapted over and over again for the screen. Contemporary writers, such as P.D. James, have even composed their own sequels and parodies, creating alternate endings, experimenting with genre and rewriting the entire narrative from the perspective of another character. Each week we will look at one of Austen’s novels and discuss why her texts have remained an unwavering source of interest. Please ensure you bring a pen and paper or a device to type with.
The following books from Jane Austen:
- Sense and Sensibility
- Pride and Prejudice
- Mansfield Park
- Emma
- Northanger Abbey
- Persuasion
- Jane Austen’s six completed novels, including Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1817) and Persuasion (1817)
- The author’s world and the context in which her works were written, as well as the values and attitudes of English readers during the long eighteenth century
- How the characters, plot and content of each novel has remained relevant to its audience across time
- Analysing themes (e.g. marriage, gender roles), literary techniques, tone and characterisation
- Screen adaptations, including film and television series
- The rising popularity of sequels and parodies written by contemporary authors, such as Death Comes to Pemberley (2011) by P.D. James
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Outline Jane Austen’s context and the important role it had in the composition of her six completed novels
- Explain why they think Austen’s texts have remained an enduring source of entertainment, discussion and relevance across time, particularly in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
- Analyse the effects of literary techniques, tone, characterisation and central themes on the delivery of each narrative and the experience of its respective reader
- Address the influence of screen adaptations, as well as sequels and parodies written by contemporary authors, on the way Austen’s novels are perceived by current audiences
