Classics Week: A New Exhibit Honors Jane Austen

Summary

All Of It: Celebrating Jane Austen with Juliet Wells

Podcast Information:

• Title: All Of It
• Host: Alison Stewart
• Producer: WNYC
• Description: ALL OF IT is a show about culture and its consumers, aiming to engage thinkers, doers, makers, and creators in discussions about the what and why of their work. The show focuses on the diverse cultural landscape of New York City and beyond.

Episode:

• Title: Classics Week: A New Exhibit Honors Jane Austen
• Release Date: August 12, 2025

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Introduction to the Exhibit

In this episode of All Of It, host Alison Stewart delves into Classics Week, dedicating the discussion to celebrating literary classics, with a spotlight on Jane Austen. To mark her enduring legacy and 250th birthday, the Morgan Library and Museum is showcasing a special exhibit titled "A Lively Jane Austen at 250." This exhibition features rare manuscripts, personal items from Austen's home, and artifacts from private collections worldwide, running until September 14th.

Meet the Guest: Juliet Wells

Joining Alison in the studio is Juliet Wells, a Professor of Literary Studies at Goucher College and co-curator of the A Lively Jane Austen at 250 exhibit.

[00:09] Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. All week we're celebrating literary classics and today we continue with Jane Austen.

[01:21] Juliet Wells: Oh, it's a pleasure to be here.

Juliet Wells’ Journey with Jane Austen

Juliet shares her personal journey with Jane Austen, revealing how her interest sparked during her junior year of high school when she chose to read "Emma" for her AP English class.

[01:44] Juliet Wells: I was a junior in high school. [...] my AP English teacher gave us a choice of novels to read and I chose Emma and that was the beginning.

Her passion for Austen led her to author books on the subject and eventually co-curate the current exhibit.

The Relevance of Jane Austen in 2025

Juliet emphasizes the timelessness of Austen's work, highlighting its universal appeal across different ages and backgrounds. She appreciates how modern platforms like TikTok have introduced Austen to new audiences, bridging the gap between classic literature and contemporary culture.

[02:16] Juliet Wells: It's important to think about Jane Austen in 2025 because her works still resonate with readers around the world, readers of all ages, readers of all walks of life.

Modern Engagement: Austen on TikTok

Exploring Austen's presence on TikTok, Juliet notes the platform's role in popularizing various film and TV adaptations of her novels, thereby inspiring new generations to engage with her literature.

[02:40] Juliet Wells: There's some very smart TikToks out there. [...] Clueless, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. [...] those all still matter to people.

Understanding Austen Through Her Personal Life

Juliet discusses how understanding Austen's personal life enriches the reading experience, providing insights into the inspiration behind her realistic characters and settings.

[03:20] Juliet Wells: Jane Austen's realism to us can seem like another planet sometimes because it is more than 200 years away and geographically quite distant. But to her contemporaries, the characters they were reading about would have seemed like people that they knew.

Student Perspectives on Jane Austen

Speaking from her experience teaching, Juliet shares how her students approach Austen's work, often encountering challenges with her narrative style but ultimately finding value in her storytelling techniques.

[04:59] Juliet Wells: Some of my students are creative writers themselves [...] She often tells rather than shows. Sometimes she has challenging first chapters [...] but we talk together and it gets easier.

The Alberta Burke Collection: A Treasure Trove

A significant highlight of the exhibit is the Alberta Burke collection, donated to the Morgan Library and Goucher College in 1975. Juliet explains Burke's lifelong dedication to collecting Jane Austen memorabilia, including rare editions, translations, and ephemera.

[07:48] Juliet Wells: ...Alberta Burke died and bequeathed her massive, wide-ranging, very special Jane Austen collection to two institutions [...] original artworks on paper. [...]

Designing the Exhibit: Evoking Austen’s Home

The exhibit's aesthetic is thoughtfully designed to reflect Jane Austen's home in Chawton, England. Using historic reproduction wallpaper and design elements, the exhibit immerses visitors in the Regency-era environment that inspired Austen's writing.

[09:04] Juliet Wells: ...the green pattern that you see when you enter [...] evokes the outdoors that were so special to Austen. [...] bringing the outdoors in, I think.

Exploring Austen’s Letters

A pivotal aspect of the exhibit is the display of Austen's letters to her sister Cassandra, offering a window into their close relationship and Austen's personal thoughts. Juliet highlights a particular letter where Jane writes:

[14:28] Juliet Wells: "I can no more forget S and S (Sense and Sensibility) than a mother can forget her sucking child." [14:28]

These letters reveal Austen's vibrant personality and her dedication to her craft.

The Craft of Letter Writing in Austen’s Time

Juliet provides an informative explanation of how letters were composed and sent during Austen's era, emphasizing the artistry involved in written correspondence.

[15:30] Juliet Wells: [...] you have a rectangular sheet of paper and you fold it in half like a greeting card. [...] sealed it with sealing wax or a wafer. [...] at the Morgan, all of these sheets now live flat. They've been conserved.

Collaborating with Chawton House

The collaboration between the Morgan Library and Chawton House ensured a diverse and comprehensive collection for the exhibit. Juliet discusses the logistics of loaning items from various institutions to create a rich narrative of Austen's life and work.

[17:05] Alison Stewart: The exhibit features items from Jane Austen's home in Chawton, England. How did you work with the Morgan and the Chawton house to decide what could be displayed?

[17:17] Juliet Wells: [...] we were authorized to request loans from a dozen different institutions.

Highlighting Iconic Austen Artifacts

Among the exhibition's most coveted items is the turquoise ring associated with Austen, which has never left the United States and was previously owned by Kelly Clarkson.

[17:33] Juliet Wells: [...] that is a thrill for Jane Austen lovers to see in person. That ring has never traveled outside the United States. It was briefly owned by Kelly Clarkson [...]

Ambition and Aspiration: Austen's Early Writing

Juliet underscores Austen's ambition, noting her dedication to writing even as a teenager. Austen meticulously crafted her works to resemble published novels, demonstrating her commitment to her literary aspirations from a young age.

[19:07] Alison Stewart: It was really interesting that you used the word ambitious.

[19:10] Juliet Wells: [...] What sets Jane Austen apart is that she was practicing being a published author even in her teenage years [...]

Jane Austen’s Personal Choices and Legacy

Austen's decision to remain unmarried is explored, highlighting how it afforded her the freedom to write without the constraints that marriage might have imposed during her time.

[20:40] Alison Stewart: She remained unmarried, though.

[20:41] Juliet Wells: Yes, she did. [...] had she married him, in all probability she would have been the mother of many children and she quite likely would not have had the time and freedom to do much writing. At all.

Adaptations: Fidelity to the Source

The conversation touches on various Austen adaptations, discussing their accuracy and the essence they capture from her novels. Juliet expresses admiration for adaptations like Clueless, which, despite being set in a different era and location, successfully convey the spirit of Austen's storytelling.

[22:03] Juliet Wells: The way you feel when you watch it and what you think about when you think about it maps on pretty well to Emma.

The Delayed Recognition of Austen’s Genius

Finally, Juliet addresses why Jane Austen’s work was not fully appreciated during her lifetime, attributing it to her subtle storytelling and focus on everyday life rather than sensational plots. This approach, while not immediately popular, has cemented her works as enduring classics.

[22:46] Juliet Wells: She was so subtle. [...] she concentrated on everyday events, realistic, recognizable characters. [...] it is a recipe for works that last.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Alison Stewart reiterating the details of the A Lively Jane Austen at 250 exhibit and encouraging listeners to visit.

[23:34] Alison Stewart: The exhibition is called A Lively Jane Austen at 250. It is on exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum until September 14th. Juliet Wells is one of the co-curators. Juliet, thanks for joining us.

Juliet expresses her gratitude before the episode transitions to an advertisement segment, which, as per guidelines, is omitted from this summary.

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Key Takeaways:

• Austen’s Enduring Legacy: Jane Austen remains a beloved figure in literature, with her works continuously resonating with modern audiences.
• Exhibit Highlights: The Morgan Library's exhibit features rare manuscripts, personal artifacts, and contributions from passionate collectors like Alberta Burke.
• Modern Engagement: Platforms like TikTok have revitalized interest in Austen, introducing her to younger generations through creative adaptations and discussions.
• Personal Insights: Understanding Austen’s personal life and her relationship with her sister Cassandra enriches the appreciation of her novels.
• Design and Presentation: The exhibit's design meticulously reflects Austen’s Regency-era home, creating an immersive experience for visitors.
• Lasting Influence: Austen's focus on realistic characters and everyday life, while not immediately popular, has ensured her stories’ longevity and relevance.

Notable Quotes:

• "It's important to think about Jane Austen in 2025 because her works still resonate with readers around the world, readers of all ages, readers of all walks of life." — Juliet Wells [02:16]
• "The way you feel when you watch it and what you think about when you think about it maps on pretty well to Emma." — Juliet Wells [22:03]
• "This is not a recipe for fame and bestsellerdom, I think, then or now, but it is a recipe for works that last." — Juliet Wells [23:16]

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Visit the Exhibit: For those interested in exploring Jane Austen’s life and legacy further, the A Lively Jane Austen at 250 exhibit is available at the Morgan Library and Museum until September 14th.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. All week we're celebrating literary classics and today we continue with Jane Austen. Jane Austen is an English novelist best known for her witty commentary on English socialites and women's rights. When published anonymously at the time, she is now praised for her six completed novels, including including Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma and more. Her novels have been Adapted into several TV shows and films, like the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew McFadden. To celebrate her 250th birthday, the Morgan Library and Museum is hosting an exhibit called A Lively Jane Austen at 250. It features rare manuscripts and personal items from her home and shot in England, plus artifacts from private collections around the world. It will be showing at The Morgan until September 14th. Joining us in studio to discuss the exhibit is Juliet Wells, professor of literary studies at Goucher College and co curator of A Lively Mind. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, it's a pleasure to be here.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you listeners. We want to hear from you. What do you love about Jane Austen? What are your favorite Jane Austen novels? What's your favorite Jane Austen adaptation? What do you want to know about her? Call or text us at 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. When did your curiosity for Jane Austen begin?

[Juliet Wells]

I was a junior in high school. I was at a science and technology high school, which is not where you expect to be in consciousness.

[Alison Stewart]

That's strange.

[Juliet Wells]

I'm a failed graduate. Proud, but failed graduate. I went into literature and music. Anyway, my junior year AP English teacher gave us a choice of novels to read and I don't remember the other choices because I chose Emma and that was the beginning.

[Alison Stewart]

You've written books about her, most recently a new Jane Austen. You teach classes on her. Why is it important to think about Jane Austen in 2025?

[Juliet Wells]

It's important to think about Jane Austen in 2025 because her works still resonate with readers around the world, readers of all ages, readers of all walks of life. And I'm so grateful to my undergraduate students at goucher for keeping me in touc Jane Austen on TikTok and beyond and letting me know what Jane Austen's novels and Jane Austen's life story look like through their eyes.

[Alison Stewart]

That's interesting. What did you discover watching TikTok about Jane Austen?

[Juliet Wells]

There's some very smart tiktoks out there. You can integrate conversation or commentary on the adaptations, and certainly the one you mentioned, the 2005 film with Keira Knightley and Matthew McVidian, gets a lot of traction, but it's not only that. Clueless, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Unbelievably, the other 1990 great adaptations, Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ely and Colin Firth, and Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, those all still matter to people. And sometimes that's the gateway for reading, sometimes appreciation of the film and TV versions as its own thing for fans.

[Alison Stewart]

How does knowing her personal life, as we'll talk about a little bit more, help us understand the novels better?

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, knowing about her own life can help us understand the novels better because we get a sense of what sparked her imagination, what were the raw materials that she used as an author who is so committed to realism, making a world on the page that seems like the world that her contemporaries knew. I mean, Jane Austen's realism to us can seem like another planet sometimes because it is more than 200 years away and geographically quite distant. But to her contemporaries, the characters they were reading about would have seemed like people that they knew. Jane Austen didn't base characters directly on anyone in her life. But the more you know about how she grew up, who her brothers and sister were, her parents, where she traveled, what she read, what she knew, you can see these. These fragments that made it through to the finished novels. I think Jane Austen's life story is also inspiring in its own right because she had to persist for such a long time in order to achieve publication. She was a talented wr. As a young teenager, she was warmly supported by her father and her family, and she had to wait and wait and wait to see her novels in print. She was in her 30s, and then she was tremendously productive in what she didn't realize was the last decade of her life, between 1811 and 1817. So there's lots of inspiration there. Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

Before we leave today and we talk about Jane some more, what do your students want to know about Jane Austen?

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, well, some of my students are creative writers themselves, and so they sometimes take a writing workshop critique approach to Jane Austen's novel. That's interesting. She does things that you are taught not to do as a creative writer today. She often tells rather than shows. Sometimes she has challenging first chapters with lots of backstory and detail and characters with very similar names, all these things. And my students find something of a roadblock at first, but we talk together and it gets easier.

[Alison Stewart]

And how did you get involved with the Morgan in being co curator of this exhibit.

[Juliet Wells]

Well, I was one of many who attended the Morgan's previous Jane Austen show in 2009, 2010, a woman's Jane Austen's Life and Legacy. And that was really how I became acquainted with the manuscripts there. And it was the kind invitation of a former curator, Christine Nelson, back in 2018 in the initial conversation where we said, Look, 2025 is coming up. It's around the corner. In only seven years we could start planning.

[Alison Stewart]

Start planning. You did. I'm speaking with Juliet Wells, professor of literary studies at Gosher College and co curator of the exhibit A Lively Jane Austen at 250, which celebrates the life and work of Jane Austen. The exhibit will be shown at the Morgan Library and Museum until September 14th. Listeners, we'd love to hear from you. What do you love about Jane Austen? What's your favorite Jane Austen? No. Or perhaps an adaptation? What do you want to know about her? Call or text us at 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc. A lot that we see in the exhibition. It was crowded, by the way.

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, good to hear.

[Alison Stewart]

There were so many people there.

[Juliet Wells]

Good to hear.

[Alison Stewart]

It was great, actually. Alberta Burke in 1928 of Goucher College, graduate of Goucher College. She was a big collector of Jane Austen artifacts. Tell us a little bit about her.

[Juliet Wells]

Yes. So this exhibition celebrates Jane Austen's big birthday and also a much lesser known landmark date, which is 1975, the date that Alberta Burke died and bequeathed her massive, wide ranging, very special Jane Austen collection to two institutions, the Morgan Library and Goucher College. The Morgan received the manuscripts, the handwritten documents in Jane Austen's handwriting, her sister Cassandra's handwriting that Alberta owned, a dozen such documents as well as original artworks on paper. And quite a lot of those are in the show. Alberta Burke also collected first editions, rare editions, translations, illustrated editions, ephemera, popular culture material, pretty much everything she could lay her hands on from the 1930s to 1975. And so I and my students have the privilege of working with that material and exploring that collection in Baltimore at Goucher.

[Alison Stewart]

When you first saw the collection, what were a few items that got you a little excited?

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, I get very excited by the set of 10 scrapbooks. Alberta called them notebooks, but we can understand them better as scrapbooks in which she kept track of every mention of Jane Austen anywhere in the world that she came across or her friends or her family came across beginning in the 1930s. So New Yorker cartoons that have a Jane Austen joke. Crossword puzzles with a Jane Austen clue, Playbills, anything you can imagine. And, you know, there's no way to find that stuff in a database, so it really is extraordinary.

[Alison Stewart]

How did she go about acquiring all this? Did she just make it her mission?

[Juliet Wells]

Yes. Mission, passion, project, obsession, life's work, labor of love. Choose your phrase. She didn't. She had a master's degree. She earned a master's degree in literature from University of Wisconsin, Madison. And then she did not want an academic job, she did not want a public profile, and she just did her thing, which was deepening her knowledge and using it to collect and using the collection to deepen her knowledge.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk about the exhibit a little bit. As you walk through, you see these turquoise walls, this sort of distinctive leaf pattern. First of all, why did you choose that coloring?

[Juliet Wells]

So the wonderful exhibition design firm Pure and Applied, worked with the Morgan on this show, and our colleague there, Paul, was very excited to learn about the historic reproduction wallpaper that had been made for Jane Austen's house, the museum in Chawton, England. In the building where she lived and wrote beginning in 1809, the museum has rediscovered three different fragments of wallpaper patterns. And the wallpaper has been hand block printed by an English company.

[Alison Stewart]

Wow.

[Juliet Wells]

Yes. So the green pattern that you see when you enter, which has kind of green leaves on it, evokes the outdoors that were so special to Austin. And then there's a yellow pattern. Later on, we used two of the patterns. And then the dark green walls that surround everything give us a sense of bringing the outdoors in, I think.

[Alison Stewart]

And there's also windows.

[Juliet Wells]

There are windows.

[Alison Stewart]

You can look through the other side.

[Juliet Wells]

You can see people's heads. Yes. Yes. We wanted to evoke Jane Austen's house in her lifetime. It was known as Chawton Cottage. It was a household of creative women. Jane lived there with her sister Cassandra, their widowed mother, and their family friend, Martha Lloyd. And that is where that place is where Jane Austen had the space and the freedom and the time as an adult to concentrate on her writing. And so certainly she was looking out of the window and people were looking in the window. So we're giving you a little sense of Chawton in New York.

[Alison Stewart]

I wanted to ask you about the letters to Cassandra, her sister. How would you describe Cassandra?

[Juliet Wells]

Mm. Cassandra had a wonderful sense of humor, as Jane did. Cassandra was an eloquent writer, as Jane was. As you can experience for yourself by reading the Cassandra letters that are in the show, including the beautiful, moving letter that Cassandra wrote describing Jane's last days and the moment of her passing and Cassandra's grief. It's clear that Cassandra was really a wonderful writer as well. Cassandra was Jane Austen's main person. She was the support. She was the emotional support. As far as we know, Cassandra was the first listener and reader.

[Alison Stewart]

Her first reader, right?

[Juliet Wells]

Yeah. So the two of them were as close as human beings can be.

[Alison Stewart]

What did those letters say about Jane Austen?

[Juliet Wells]

Those letters say that Jane Austen was just full of excitement about everything that was happening in the world all around her. And she was so, so thrilled to share even the tiniest tidbits with her sister when they were apart. Jane was not thinking, I am an important writer and I am writing important things for posterity. Far from it. She was chatty, she was intimate. Sometimes she was a little bit unvarnished, unkind even to Cassandra because she knew that Cassandra would understand.

[Alison Stewart]

I understood. I learned from the exhibit that Cassandra burned many of the letters that Jane sent her.

[Juliet Wells]

She's thought to have.

[Alison Stewart]

Thought to have burned them.

[Juliet Wells]

Burned them, yeah, with emphasis on thought to have. It turns out there isn't really strong documentation for that. But the idea that Cassandra protected her sister's legacy by putting letters into the fire has been reinforced in the popular imagination by many a television and film scene, including Ms. Austen, which aired on PBS in May. And beautiful. Keely Hawes is putting letters in the fire. But you're not so sure if there isn't more documentation. I don't feel confident in saying that Cassandra did that. I feel confident in saying that Cassandra preserved many of the letters. Okay. And I feel confident in saying that most of the brothers did not keep most of the letters. Whether they destroyed them on purpose or just kind of let them go along the way, we don't know.

[Alison Stewart]

We got this great text. I'm such a Jane Austen nerd that I collect old Cliff Notes and English lit reviews so I can laugh at how they were written and how people understood nothing about her genius.

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, yes, yes. Some of that material is in Alberta Burke scrapbooks as well. And the utterly humorless approaches of academics of the past. I mean, you feel for all the students. Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

What did they constantly say about her or consistently say about her?

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, I can't even bring it to mind. I forget it as soon as I look at it.

[Alison Stewart]

All right. My guest is Juliet Wells. She is a professor of literary studies at Gossier College and co curator of the exhibit called A Lively Jane Austen at 250 will be brought back with more.

[Juliet Wells]

More this Is all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I'm speaking with Juliette Wells, professor of Literary studies at Gosher College and co curator of the exhibit called A Lively Jane Austen at 2:50, which celebrates her life and work. The exhibit will be showing at the Morgan Library and Museum until September. September 14th. Listeners, we want to hear from you. What do you love about Jane Austen? What are your favorite Jane Austen novels? What's your favorite Jane Austen adaptation? Our Phone number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. When you go to the exhibition, there are quotes on all of the walls. Tell me about them a little more.

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, it was a delight to choose those because in some cases we wanted to draw out a sentence from one of the letters on display. And just to say, Jane Austen has very legible handwriting. If you are comfortable reading cursive, which not everybody is anymore, but once you acclimate her letter forms are very consistent. You can settle in and read. But in some cases, we wanted to single out quotations that are from other documents that live in other libraries that we didn't get as loans for the show. So one of them, a quotation that I love. And the letter lives in the British Library in London, where it's currently on display. It's Jane writing to Cassandra, and she writes, I can no more forget S and S sense and sensibility than a mother can forget her sucking child. And Jane Austen was not herself a mother, but she had seen mothers and babies among her sisters in law and others. She certainly knew that a mother of a breastfeeding infant was thinking about that infant all the time. And she chose that image to think about her forthcoming novel.

[Alison Stewart]

The letters are so interesting because the way we see them in the frame isn't the way they were sent. Yes, it's really interesting. Would you please explain how she sent her letters?

[Juliet Wells]

Okay, so you have a rectangular sheet of paper and you fold it in half like a greeting card. And then imagine that you're starting to write on the front of that greeting card and that's your page one. And then you open it up and then you write page two on the left and page three on the right. And then you fold it because at this time postage was charged by the sheet of paper by distance and paid by the recipient. It really mattered whether you fit everything onto that one sheet or not. If your recipient, like Cassandra Austin, was not a wealthy person. So you left space on your fourth page for the address panel. And then if you were Jane and you had lots to say all the time, you wrote all the way around that empty space, and then you folded your letter and you tucked it, and you sealed it with sealing wax or a wafer. And then that folded packet was the whole letter. And it got stamped, not with a postage stamp, but stamped by the post, the receiving post office, and then sent. So your recipient opened up the letter, broke the seal, opened it, unfolded it, read it. And at the Morgan, all of these sheets now live flat. They've been conserved. They will not be folded again. But it's fun to take a sheet of paper yourself and fold it up and make a letter that way.

[Alison Stewart]

The exhibit features items from Jane Austen's home in Chawton, England. How did you work with the Morgan and the Chawton house to decide what could be displayed?

[Juliet Wells]

Well, the big difference between this exhibition and the one 15 years ago is that 15 years ago, the Morgan displayed items from its own collection. And I think one letter from New York Public Library. And this time, we were authorized to request loans from a dozen different institutions.

[Alison Stewart]

Interesting collections. Oh, wow. That many.

[Juliet Wells]

Yeah. And Jane Austen's house in Shawton really hopes that New Yorkers and those visiting the city will want to come to England and visit the real place in future years. And so the director and collections manager were very helpful in thinking through what they could spare in this exciting summer. And the turquoise ring set in gold, which Jane Austen fans often wear replicas of. You can't see it on the radio, but showing you mine. Yes. I wear it with pride this summer. That is a thrill for Jane Austen lovers to see in person. That ring has never traveled outside the United States. It was briefly owned by Kelly Clarkson, who had the winning bid at auction in 2012.

[Alison Stewart]

First of all, I love that Kelly Clarkson is a Jane Austen.

[Juliet Wells]

Yes. And it'd be great if she wanted to come see the exhibition. Hint, hint, hint. Just putting that out there. We would welcome her with open arms. But to have that in person is wonderful. Also to have silhouettes of Jane Austen's parents.

[Alison Stewart]

Her parents. That was so interesting.

[Juliet Wells]

Yeah. The Morgan's collection of letters, Wilde, the largest in the world. 51 Jane Austen Letters, that collection and the fiction manuscripts, Lady Susan, the novella being the most important. Those don't help tell the story of Jane as a girl. And we really wanted to start with that talented teenager, ambitious to publish. And so the artifacts from Jane Austen's house and the volume of Jane Austen's teenage writing on loan from the British Library were really key pieces for telling that part of the story.

[Alison Stewart]

It was really interesting that you used the word ambitious.

[Juliet Wells]

Oh, she was.

[Alison Stewart]

Please explain that because it comes through in the show.

[Juliet Wells]

Yeah. So many, many women were writing novels at the time. Some of them wanted to publish, some of them did publish. Many teenagers. Many young women, Teenagers were writing. What sets Jane Austen apart is that she was practicing being a published author even in her teenage years when she copied over for her own reference the stories and sketches and pieces that she wrote in her teens. She made what looked exactly like published books. She made title pages, she made tables of contents, she made dedications. So she was giving herself a three volume set that looked just like the three volume novels the way they were published at the time, in her own handwriting, before she knew she was ever going to see her works in print. And the volume that we're displaying, the second of these three on loan from the British Library, we're showing the table of contents page with the dedication at the top to Jane Austen's father, where she has written in Latin that the book was his gift to her. The book that was blank that she then wrote in books were expensive. This was a real investment in her from her father and truly the best thing you could have if you were an ambitious, talented young woman in Regency England, or she wasn't the Regency yet, it was the late 18th century, when she was a teenager. The best thing you could have was a supportive father. I mean, it's great if you had a supportive mother, but the father was the one who really would have made a difference to you.

[Alison Stewart]

She remained unmarried, though.

[Juliet Wells]

Yes, she did. Family stories tell us that she had at least one proposal of marriage, but we don't have anything recorded in her own hand about that experience. The story is that she received a proposal when she was almost 27. 27 being the year of danger. Charlotte Lucas and Pride and prejudice is 27. Anne Elliot in Persuasion is 27. Anyway, Jane Austen herself was almost 27 and the brother of family friends, who was a wealthy man, stood to inherit quite an estate, offered her marriage. And the story is she accepted and then slept on the decision, woke up the next morning, changed her mind and said no. So had she accepted him, she would have avoided all of the financial insecurity that plagued her and her sister and her mother when her father died unexpectedly in 1805. However, had she married him, in all probability she would have been the mother of many children and she quite likely would not have had the time and freedom to do much writing. At all.

[Alison Stewart]

We've got a text here that says Metropolitan by Whit Stillman is still the best Pride and Prejudice adaptation.

[Juliet Wells]

Okay.

[Alison Stewart]

Which is interesting because you do. There was a selection in the exhibition that shows, I guess, how the media presented her. Was the presentation accurate?

[Juliet Wells]

The pictures that we see so often Not. I mean, there's a way of conveying, I think, the spirit of Jane Austen. And that's why I and so many love Clueless. Clueless is about love it for you, Amy Heckerling every time and, and all the actors. There's so little about that heightened, hyped up version of Beverly Hills that has anything to do with Highbury, England. And yet the way you feel when you watch it and what you think about when you think about it maps on pretty well to Emma.

[Alison Stewart]

Most of her work was never truly recognized until she died. Why do you think it took so long for people to realize what Jane Austen had achieved?

[Juliet Wells]

She was so subtle. You know, the way to be a best seller in Jane Austen's lifetime was to write historical thrillers and romances, page turners, those kinds of things. And she opted not to do that. She concentrated on everyday events, realistic, recognizable characters. You know, some people say that nothing ever happens in her novels, which is absolutely not true. But it is true that what happens is not earth shaking. And so once you acclimate to that as a reader, then you see how much artistry she's bringing to every aspect of the presentation. A lot of that artistry you really can start to appreciate only when you reread. This is not a recipe for fame and best sellerdom, I think, then or now, but it is a recipe for works that last.

[Alison Stewart]

The exhibition is called A lively Jane Austen at 2:50. It is on exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum until September 14th. Juliet Wells is one of the co curators. Juliet, thanks for joining us.

[Juliet Wells]

Thanks so much.

[Alison Stewart]

Can I take a picture of your ring before you go?

[Juliet Wells]

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