A New Jane Austen

Wells has done something quite unique in her newest contribution to Austen scholarship: written an incredibly engaging and unpretentious academic text. Despite an abundance of endnotes that speak to Wells’ depth of research, the tone is casual and welcoming. * Jane Austen Society of North America News * Wells's recovery and championship of these American enthusiasts is descriptive, laudatory and accessible in style ... She gives space and a second hearing to voices and approaches whose love for all things Austen, she believes, has much to teach us. * Times Literary Supplement * If you thought you knew how Jane Austen came to be viewed as the world’s greatest novelist, think again. Wells’s meticulously researched and beautifully written book introduces a fascinating group of individuals whose contributions to Austen studies have long been obscure. After reading this book, I came to care as much about Alberta Burke and Oscar Fay Adams as I do about many of Austen’s characters. -- Professor Jennie Batchelor, University of Kent, UK An insightful, illuminating and meticulously researched book. Wells animates her subjects with skill, energy and affection in a study that significantly deepens our understanding of early Austen experts and enthusiasts and their contribution to the field. * Lizzie Dunford, Director, Jane Austen's House, UK * Wells’s monograph will appeal to scholars interested in the lesser-studied facets of Austen’s reception, particularly the contributions of private scholars and collectors in the United States. However, the book will also be of great interest to a wider readership of Austen enthusiasts, as the inviting pink cover with romantic handwritten calligraphy and the appealing subtitle demonstrate. * Forum for Modern Language Studies *