INSIGHTS Lecture: What are books for? Jane Austen investigates by Professor Fiona Stafford
Jane Austen’s novels are full of books. We see characters reading, we hear them talking about their reading, and we even see books being tossed aside in favour of more exciting activities. But what is the author up to when she draws the attention of her own readers to the readers in her books? Marking the 250th anniversary of her birth, this lecture will consider Jane Austen’s investigation of the many roles played by books in her fictional worlds.
Biography: Professor Fiona Stafford, University of Oxford
Fiona Stafford is Professor of English at the University of Oxford. She is a lecturer, writer, and broadcaster, with special interests in Jane Austen and the Romantic period. Her books include Jane Austen: A Brief Life, an edition of Pride and Prejudice (Oxford World's Classics) and the New Penguin edition of Emma. She is also a place and nature writer, whose recent books include Time and Tide; Byron's Travels; A Brief Life of Flowers; The Long, Long Life of Trees. She is a regular contributor to Radio 3's The Essay, and has written and devlivered walk and talk documentaries on place and poetry, including The Volcanic Verses and Keats Goes North.
Book from 20 November