Jane Austen fans will be able to view a rare collection of the English author’s first editions as part of a free event hosted by The University of Western Australia that explores her enduring appeal.
Held to mark the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth, the event on Monday November 17 will celebrate Austen’s life, writing and towering legacy – including the countless adaptations that continue to keep her in the public eye.
In the first half Associate Professor Ned Curthoys, a lecturer in English and Literary Studies at UWA, will discuss the remarkable Austen treasures held by the University as part of its Special Collections, including some of the fascinating stories behind them.
The works include rare first editions of the three volumes that make up the novel Emma, first published in 1815. One volume includes an inscription from Elizabeth Rice – believed to be Austen’s niece – dated 1823.
The volumes, of which only 2,000 copies were printed, also bear the famous dedication to the-then Prince Regent that a reluctant Austen was forced to include – an insult she avenged via some subtly barbed language.
Also in the collection is a four-volume original edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, published five months after Austen’s death in 1817 at the age of 41, which revealed the author’s identity for the first time.
The Austen volumes – periodically brought out for students undertaking a unit on Jane Austen and her legacy as part of UWA’s English and Literary Studies and Gender Studies majors – are the most popular items in the University’s rare books collection.
“There is just an aura around these original editions,” Associate Professor Curthoys said. “When we show them to students they are struck by their anonymity, and there are some great stories behind them which we’ll delve into during the presentation.”
Also on display will be a 1926 edition of the 1869 memoir of Jane Austen by her nephew James Edward Austen Leigh. This was the carefully curated ‘biography’ that first set the tone for the perception of Austen as a demure novelist of manners focused on writing purely domestic stories.
The edition will be highlighted as just one of the ways Austen’s family ‘doctored’ her image after her death to create a picture of the author that fit with the moral norms of what was, by then, the Victorian age.
“It wasn’t unusual at the time to protect and preserve the family image in that way, but the fact is we don’t know as much about Austen as we otherwise would have, had her sister, Cassandra, not burnt most of her letters,” Associate Professor Curthoys said.
“What is clear is that she was socially and politically engaged and had a kind of early feminist politics. She was reading some of the radical thinkers of the time, likely including Mary Wollstonecraft.”
Following Associate Professor Curthoys’ presentation there will be a break during which attendees can walk to Reid Library to view the Austen treasures, displayed alongside early editions of works by Austen contemporaries including Anne Radcliffe, Fanny Burney and Hannah More.
The event will then feature a panel discussion which will explore Austen’s enduring influence – including the countless adaptations that continue to reinterpret her work.
Moderated by 19th century literature researcher and lecturer Dr Jessica Murray, the panel will see Associate Professor Curthoys and UWA Professor Emerita Imelda Whelehan – who has written widely on literature, film, feminism and adaptation – discuss what matters in Austen’s novels and why they are so often adapted and transformed into films, television shows, parodies and pastiches.
“We’ll ask what makes a successful Jane Austen adaptation and what it is about her writing that invites such diverse reimaginings,” Dr Murray said.
“Maybe each age produces its own version of Austen and that’s why she has survived so well, and you can kind of see that in the adaptations,” Associate Professor Curthoys said.
“We want it to be a fairly informal conversation that also involves the audience because we know the love and excitement that’s out there for the topic and for certain adaptations.”
The free event will be held in the Ross Lecture Theatre in UWA’s Physics Building from 9.30am to 1pm on November 17. People interested in taking part can view the program and register here to attend either in person or online.
To complement the event, The University Club Café is putting on a special Devonshire Tea for which bookings are essential (contact details in program).