Washington and Lee University
In an 1816 letter to her nephew, Jane Austen described her writing work as "the little bit (two Inches wide) of Ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush, as produces little effect after much labour." For nearly two centuries this has been the perception of Austen's novels: the exquisitely crafted, meticulously produced, privately created, deftly ironic, and in some ways constrained work of perhaps the most beloved female novelist in the English language.
But at the same time, Austen offers tremendous insights into the larger historical and social world that surrounded her apparently enclosed fictions. She examines the burgeoning British Empire, which was approaching its zenith during her lifetime; she probes with incisive wit the growing movement of Romanticism; and she examines the vast range of the British class system, from its wealthiest landowners to its petty curates, with an awareness of the implications of wealth, power, and economic reality that few novelists have realized. 
Austen was much more than a novelist of manners, marriage, and the drawing room. Her keen insight into human psychology, her delight in the foibles and pretentions of society, and the warmth of her love of family and honor elevate her work beyond conventional contexts. Raised in a pious though intellectually lively household, she was keenly aware of the religious and ethical issues of her time, as well as the need to maintain one's usefulness in the day-to-day cares of this world.
In this Alumni College program, we'll focus on two of Austen's greatest novels, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, along with an investigation into the history and culture of her period. We'll also discuss several recent film versions of her work, all in an effort to appreciate the writer who has so brilliantly described, in the narrow space of her six novels, the range and depth of the English character.
Teaching in The World of Jane Austen will be Marc Conner and Theresa Braunschneider from the English department, Pam Simpson from art history, and Taylor Sanders from history.
