In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in 2025, we will explore her life, works, and legacy from a fresh perspective. Both seasoned readers and those new to Austen will appreciate experiencing the story of her authorship through images of original documents and artifacts. Austen began writing fiction in her teenage years, warmly supported by her family, especially her clergyman father. Yet she had to wait until she was in her thirties to see her first book in print. In this course, we will discover what happened in between, as well as how a household of creative women made it possible for her to focus on her writing and achieve publication. We will consider how and why her literary reputation grew after her death, and we will take a tour of the contemporary adaptations and retellings that continue to broaden her readership.

Instructor: Juliette Wells is a Professor of Literary Studies at Goucher College, known for her groundbreaking research on Jane Austen. She has authored A New Jane Austen: How Americans Brought Us the World’s Greatest Novelist, Reading Austen in America, Everybody's Jane: Austen in the Popular Imagination. In 2025, Dr. Wells will co-curate A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250 at The Morgan Library & Museum. She has also edited anniversary editions of Persuasion and Emma, with Mansfield Park forthcoming in 2025.

Course Dates: Mondays, March 31 to May 5, 5:00 - 6:30 PM (Eastern)