Jane Austen in London
Though many readers associate Jane Austen with rural England, especially her native Hampshire, the city of London also features significantly in both her novels and letters; numerous characters from Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma go to “Town,” as they call it, as did Austen herself. She frequently visited her brother Henry, a banker, and his wife Eliza to socialize, sightsee, shop, go to the theater, and meet with her publisher. This talk will focus on Austen’s relationship to London, which was the largest city in Europe and a major cultural and economic force during the author’s time.
Presented by Dr. Jessica Cook
Jessica Cook has a PhD in English Literature from the University of South Florida, where she also currently teaches. Her research and teaching specialties include 18th-and 19th-century British literature, women’s literature, and place studies. She has published articles on the 18th-century novelist Samuel Richardson (one of Jane Austen’s favorite authors) and on the 18-century poet Mary Leapor. She also co-edited the essay collection, The Circuit of Apollo: Eighteenth-Century Women’s Tributes to Women (University of Delaware Press, 2019), with Laura Runge. She teaches undergraduate courses on 18th and 19th-century British literature, crime fiction, and the novel. She’s also the Director of the USF in London study abroad program, where she teaches courses on Jane Austen and Harry Potter in London.
Sunday, February 11th
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Price: Free with registration
Location: Community Building Auditorium
Community Building Auditorium