The reception history of Jane Austen follows a path from modest fame to
wild popularity; her novels are both the subject of intense scholarly
study and the centre of a diverse fan culture. Austen, the author of
such works as Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815), is one of the
best-known and widely read novelists in the English language. During her
lifetime, Austen's novels brought her little personal fame; like many
women writers, she published anonymously. At the time they were
published, her works were considered fashionable by members of high
society but received few positive reviews. By the mid-19th century, her
novels were admired by members of the literary elite, but it was not
until the 1940s that Austen was widely accepted in academia as a "great
English novelist". The second half of the 20th century saw a
proliferation of scholarship exploring artistic, ideological and
historical aspects of her works. As of the early 21st century, Austen
fandom supports an industry of printed sequels and prequels as well as
television and film adaptations, which started with the 1940 Pride and
Prejudice and includes the 2004 Bollywood-style production Bride and
Prejudice.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reception_history_of_Jane_Austen>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1547:
Nine-year-old Edward VI became the first Protestant ruler of
England, during whose reign Protestantism was established for the first
time in the country with reforms that included the abolition of clerical
celibacy and the mass.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VI_of_England>
1821:
Alexander Island, the largest island of Antarctica, was
discovered by Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Island>
1922:
Snowfall from the biggest recorded snowstorm in Washington,
D.C. history caused the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre to collapse,
killing 98 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbocker_Theatre_(Washington,_D.C.)>
1933:
Choudhry Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet entitled "Now or
Never" in which he called for the creation of a Muslim state in
northwest India that he termed "Pakstan".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Declaration>
1982:
After having been kidnapped by the Italian Red Brigade 42 days
earlier, General James L. Dozier of the United States Army was freed by
the anti-terrorist force NOCS.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_L._Dozier>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
penumbra:
A partially shaded area around the edges of a shadow, especially an
eclipse.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penumbra>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To a poet, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one.
--Colette
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colette>