Jane Austen Upside Down: Spring Persuasions On-Line
March 19, 2020
We invite you to enjoy 11 new essays in this special issue of Persuasions On-Line—because at a time like this, we can all use more Jane Austen in our lives.
As with other bonus editions JASNA has published in the past, the essays in the Spring 2020 issue of Persuasions On-Line (Vol. 40, No. 2) relate to a specific theme: this time, “Jane Austen Upside Down.”
She went after dinner to shew her ring and boast of being married to Mrs. Hill and the two housemaids. C. E. Brock, 1895.
Several essays discuss how modern works of fiction turn Austen upside down by retelling her stories from a different character’s point of view, from the point of view of the servants, or from the context of today’s morals and customs. Other articles make the point that Austen’s timeless themes can still inspire modern video games and an animated musical film, and one author shows us that by focusing on the small objects Austen wrote about in her novels (rather than on her subjects), we learn how she used “things” to embody the morals of her characters. Still other essays explore the ease with which Austen’s plots, characters, and language can be reused in crime fiction.
In the words of the editors: “Collectively, the essays in this special issue show how turning Jane Austen upside down can help us not only to see things about Austen herself but also to examine our own roles as readers of Austen.”
Many thanks to the contributing authors, Persuasions Editor Susan Allen Ford, her co-editor for this issue, Lisa Hopkins of Sheffield Hallam University, the Persuasions Editorial Board, and all who helped create and publish this special issue.
