Finding Jane Austen

Anne Fertig  00:02

You've heard of Jane Austen. She's in our movie theaters, our high school classrooms, even on the British pound, she's inspired more than 400 novel adaptations and probably more than a few of your favorite movies and series. You might even consider yourself a big fan of Jane Austen. But do you know who Jane Austen was?  Like, really, who was she as a person? The thing is, Austen is everywhere, but we know very little about her. She died before her books became famous, and only a fraction of her letters survive. So in this podcast, we're finding Jane Austen. We're solving the mystery of one of the most important writers in the English language through the clues she left behind along the way. We'll speak to some of the top Austen scholars in the world.

Lizzie Dunford  00:53

So it meant marriage for Austen, who does seem quite independent, but it meant a lot of sacrifices, and it's really interesting that when she did have the choice, she then changed her mind. So she had the choice, and she had the chance to be the lady of the manor, and she chose not to.

Misty Krueger  01:09

Austen was obsessed with criminals as a teenager. For people who haven't read Austen's teenage writings, I will tell you that she's got murders.

Janine Barchas  01:19

Well, she might have been a polite young lady, and I'm sure she was very well behaved at parties, but she was no Victorian prig.

Anne Fertig  01:25

So whether you love Jane Austen or if you haven't read her since high school, we invite you to join us in finding Jane Austen. Finding Jane Austen releases early 2025 but you can subscribe now on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. Finding Jane Austen is researched and written by me, Dr. Anne Fertig and is a production of R2 Studios, part of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History New Media at George Mason University. Go to r2studios.org to learn more.