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Listen "Janine Barchas, "Jane Austen on the Cheap," Rendell Lecture, 4 June 2025"
Episode Synopsis
This recording of the 2025 Kenneth W. Rendell Endowed Lecture by Janine Barchas was part of Rare Book School's 2025 Summer Lecture Series. You can watch the full recording of the lecture on YouTube at https://youtu.be/BQNQuKHBdD4?feature=shared.
๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐น๐ธ:
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, cheap and shoddy reprintings of Jane Austenโs novels performed the heavy lifting of bringing her work and reputation before the general public. Inexpensive reprints and early paperbacks of Austen were sold at Victorian railway stations for one or two shillings, traded for soap wrappers, awarded as book prizes in schools, and targeted to Britainโs working classes. At just pennies a copy, Austenโs novels were also squeezed into tight columns on thin paper. Few of these hard-lived books survive. Yet such scrappy everyday versions of her novels made a substantial difference to Austenโs early readership. These were the books bought and read by ordinary people. And these are the books that, owing to their low status and production values, remain uncollected by academic libraries and largely unremarked by scholars. About 15 years ago, Janine Barchas began hunting for these lost books of Jane Austen. This is the story of how private collectors, eBay, and some lucky breaks came to the rescue.
๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ:
Janine Barchas is Chancellor's Council Centennial Professor in the Book Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. In ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ (2019), she championed the importance of humble and error-filled reprintings to reception history. What a ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด reviewer termed her โsmart detective workโ owes much, Barchas admits, to her student days at Rare Book School. In addition to curating public exhibitions for the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Harry Ransom Center, and Jane Austenโs House Museum, Barchas is also the creator of the e-gallery, โWhat Jane Sawโ (www.whatjanesaw.org), a digital heritage project that reconstructs two popular art spectacles witnessed by Austen in 1796 and 1813. Barchasโs most recent book is a graphic novel, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ (2025), with London-based illustrator Isabel Greenberg.
๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐น๐ธ:
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, cheap and shoddy reprintings of Jane Austenโs novels performed the heavy lifting of bringing her work and reputation before the general public. Inexpensive reprints and early paperbacks of Austen were sold at Victorian railway stations for one or two shillings, traded for soap wrappers, awarded as book prizes in schools, and targeted to Britainโs working classes. At just pennies a copy, Austenโs novels were also squeezed into tight columns on thin paper. Few of these hard-lived books survive. Yet such scrappy everyday versions of her novels made a substantial difference to Austenโs early readership. These were the books bought and read by ordinary people. And these are the books that, owing to their low status and production values, remain uncollected by academic libraries and largely unremarked by scholars. About 15 years ago, Janine Barchas began hunting for these lost books of Jane Austen. This is the story of how private collectors, eBay, and some lucky breaks came to the rescue.
๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ:
Janine Barchas is Chancellor's Council Centennial Professor in the Book Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. In ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ (2019), she championed the importance of humble and error-filled reprintings to reception history. What a ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด reviewer termed her โsmart detective workโ owes much, Barchas admits, to her student days at Rare Book School. In addition to curating public exhibitions for the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Harry Ransom Center, and Jane Austenโs House Museum, Barchas is also the creator of the e-gallery, โWhat Jane Sawโ (www.whatjanesaw.org), a digital heritage project that reconstructs two popular art spectacles witnessed by Austen in 1796 and 1813. Barchasโs most recent book is a graphic novel, ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ (2025), with London-based illustrator Isabel Greenberg.
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