Description

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The amount of fan-generated content about Jane Austen and her novels has long surpassed the author’s original canon. Adaptations like Clueless, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jane Austen’s Fight Club, and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries have given Austen fans priceless opportunities to enjoy the classic texts anew, and continue to bring new and younger fans into the fold. Now, through online culture, the amount and type of fan-created works has exponentially multiplied in recent years. Fans write stories, create art, make videos, and craft memes, all in homage to one of the most celebrated authors of all time.

This book explores online fan spaces in search of “Janeites” all over the world to discover what fans are making, how fans are sharing their work, and why it matters that so many women and nonbinary individuals find a haven not only in Jane Austen, but also in Jane Austen fandom. In relatable chapters based on firsthand experience, the authors explore how Austen fandom has and continues to build communities around women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. Whether Janeites are shrewdly picking up on the latent sexual tension between women in Emma or casting people of color in leading roles, Luetkenhaus and Weinstein argue that Austen fans are particularly adept at marrying fantasy and feminism.

About the Author

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Holly Luetkenhaus is a librarian at Oklahoma State University and resides in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Zoe Weinstein is a librarian at Brandeis University and resides in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Praise For…

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“Luetkenhaus and Weinstein devote this scholarly yet playful study to ongoing endeavors to broaden the world of Jane Austen from ‘petticoats to hashtags.’ . . . In showing the range and inventiveness of modern extensions of Austen’s timeless social commentaries, Luetkenhaus and Weinstein will delight old and new Austen fans.”—Publishers Weekly
 

“With a purposefully breezy tone to match their bold declaration that they approach this work as both fans and scholars, Luetkenhaus and Weinstein make it clear that Austenian fandom shows no signs of slowing down in the twenty-first century. . . . Thoughtfully written and fun, this is a can’t-miss dive into the ageless zeal of the Janeites.”—Booklist
 

“Austentatious is . . . nevertheless a fascinating celebration of the passion with which Austen’s works continue to be read, loved, and reinterpreted.”—The Idle Woman
 

“What shines brightest in this book is the authors’ exploration of the fanfiction and fan-made worlds. It’s bitingly original and done so gracefully.”—Bookish Rita
 

“If you love Austen’s novels, if the taste still lingers on your tongue after you read them and want more and wish to keep the story going via fanfiction, other published works, art, films, etc., this is the right book for you. As the authors say at the end: ‘Austen fans push boundaries and shatter ceilings’ in order to keep the heritage of the revolutionary author alive.”—Flybyreader, Goodreads