Paper Jane reflects Austen’s heady reputation as a revered canonical author, even while her books are simultaneously enjoyed as “chick lit.” Jane Austen’s growing fame is measured at fifty-year intervals: in 1825, 1875, 1925, 1975, and 2025. In the semi-quincentennial year of Jane Austen (1775-1817), she is arguably the best-known author in the English language after Shakespeare. However, this reputation was hard-won and was many years in the making. This book traces Jane Austen’s ascendence as a literary celebrity through print–from fine first editions to mass-market paperbacks, supplemented by manuscripts, movie posters, graphic novels, theater bills, play scripts, and paper currency. The temporal dimension makes this not only the story of Austen’s growing fame but also traces the changes in readers and reading culture over the last two centuries and a half. It demonstrates that cheap books are, in fact, the force that made “Miss Austen” canonical. Paper Jane accompanies an exhibition at The Grolier Club, drawing from private collections by Janine Barchas, Mary Crawford, and Sandra Clark.
