Claire Harman, Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World
Critic and biographer Claire Harman's critical biography Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World traces the publishing hurdles that met much of Austen's work and the place that her novels have held in the cultural consciousness since their publication. At this March 2, 2010 event, Harman reads an excerpt from Jane's Fame and discusses the growth of the "Jane Austen phenomenon"--that is, the growing influence and visibility of her work and, in particular, the phrases therein--and how contemporary Austen references pop up everywhere from Barack Obama's presidential run to Zinedine Zidane's World Cup headbutt. She also speaks to Austen's unique popular and academic appeal, touches on cinematic adaptions of her work and delivers a brief history of Austen admirers, detractors and plagiarists (48 minutes).
RELATED PROGRAMS
Channel 192
RADIO SERIES
Channel 192 is curated by Jack Macrae, editor of the Henry Holt imprint Jack Macrae Books, who says that most bookstores, especially the leviathan Borders and Barnes and Noble, are not interested in books. So he and his wife, gallerist Paula Cooper, opened their own, 192 Books on 10th Avenue in Manhattan. Like bookstores of old, 192 houses a collection that is a very personal reflection of its owners. Programs appearing below were recorded during public readings at 192 Books or Paula Cooper Gallery.
