“We all encounter Austen differently and from the position of where and when we read her. How we read her changes as the world changes around us. And it is perhaps above all this relentless change that keeps us going back to Jane Austen. She knew that every life was a series of events – some planned, many not. She knew that life was messy and that human relationships bear the weight of the world. Who better, then, to help us navigate that life than Britain’s best-loved novelist?”
– Jennie Batchelor, Introduction
Across two and a half centuries, Jane Austen’s legacy continues to resonate through this vibrant collection of essays, fiction, criticism, and poetry. How have encounters with Jane influenced people’s lives?
Katherine Reay read Jane Austen during a critical time in her life and changed her career from businesswoman to novelist. Rudyard Kipling turned to Austen’s works to bring comfort to his family as they grieved the loss of their son during World War I. Katie Lumsden found friendship around the world through a shared love of Austen, writing:
“One of the great joys of being a Jane Austen fan is that there are so many other Jane Austen fans.”
Poets, BookTubers, novelists, sculptors, theatre directors, and screen adaptation critics all share their personal encounters with Austen in this book.
Why is Jane such a universally beloved author?
I especially loved the quote by Jen Francis in Austen’s Onscreen Evolution:
“Though Jane Austen wrote about a very particular world – white, upper-middle-class Regency England – her stories have long since outgrown those narrow lanes. Across continents and cultures, her themes of love, family, class, and societal pressure have proven universal. In fact, the very things that seem most ‘British’ about Austen – the rigid social hierarchy, the silent judgments at dinner parties, the coded language of romance – are easily recognisable in many parts of the world.”
I read this book during my UK trip last week, a few pages each day, and felt so close to Jane. I’ve only read two of her novels so far – am I eligible to call myself a Janeite?
Are you a Janeite?
Book: Encounters with Jane Austen: Celebrating 250 Years
Edited by: Jennie Batchelor (Introduction), Julia Quinn, and others
Publication Date: October 15, 2025
Thank you to Aurora Metro Books @aurora_metro, Supernova Books, and NetGalley for this eARC.