"A remarkably compelling and important book. The brilliance of this collection depends partly on its conception: to demonstrate that at every historical moment since the initial publication of Jane Austen's novels there have been diverse audiences that attached diverse meanings to the texts provided. In a sense, Janeites offers a cautionary tale for critics, reminding us by dramatic exemplification of the degree to which assumptions held determine significance found, and reminding us also, on occasion, of where our assumptions come from."--Patricia Meyer Spacks, University of Virginia
""Janeites" illuminates the reception of Jane Austen over the past couple of centuries, discovering along the way dimensions quite foreign to the quietest Regency theme park that middlebrow culture has recently made of her. The genealogy of this domesticated Jane is examined by several of the essays, but so are those of many other Janes as well. This collection will be a significant contribution to Austen studies, and it will be important as a history of the vagaries of literary reception, a study of the ways that cultural objects are enlisted to define, differentiate, and displace class and ethnic and sexual identities."--Jeff Nunokawa, Princeton University
