I am an incurable Jane Austen addict, having fallen in love with Henry Tilney at eleven years old, but I admit to being unfaithful to him with Mr Darcy, Captain Wentworth and Mr Knightley. I taught English at Exeter University's Department of Lifelong Learning and tutored courses on Jane Austen for the thriving Summer Academy programme, which attracted students from all over the world. My adult residential courses on Jane Austen have been running at various locations in the UK since 1996.
I read Jane Austen, collect the books she and her contemporaries would have read and write contextual studies on her life and times:
- Jane Austen and Marriage (Continuum, 2009). This draws on Jane Austen's novels and letters and contemporary texts such as diaries, newspapers and conduct books.
- Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen’s Darling Child (Lansdown Media, 2013) written with Maggie Lane
- Jane Austen's Journeys (Hale, 2014) A study of travel in Austen's works, it provides the context for the rage for travel, drawing on a wide range of archives and contemporary printed material, as well as on Jane Austen's own letters and novels.
I live near Exeter and would be pleased to hear from you if you wish to discuss booking Jane Austen talks or walks or have any thoughts on new venues for my courses.
You can contact me by clicking here .
