THE RECEPTION OF BRITISH AUTHORS IN EUROPE

JANE AUSTEN

Call for Contributors

In the light of the growing community between Britain and mainland Europe,
the need to recognise and analyse the intellectual history of Britain as
part of the wider European cultural heritage is becoming increasingly
urgent. The research project ‘The Reception of British Authors in Europe’,
initiated at the British Academy and directed by Dr Elinor Shaffer, has
taken an important step towards achieving this aim by establishing links
with numerous European Universities, Research Institutes, and colleagues,
thus allowing for the development of a common research programme. The
project is being published as an open-ended, multi-volumed series, each
volume based upon a particular author, by Continuum Books; electronic
publications including further research materials, based on an extensive
full-text database, will follow book publication.

As part of this series, Continuum will be publishing in 2006 a collection of
essays covering the European reputation of Jane Austen, perhaps the most
quintessentially ‘English’ of authors.

The editors invite proposals for essays to be included in the volume. Each
essay is expected deal with the reception of Austen’s works from the
nineteenth century to the present day within a single country or linked
group of nations. In cases where a longer Austenian tradition exists (e.g.
France, Germany), multiple essays covering different aspects of Austen’s
European reception will be considered.

The editors hope each essay will treat Austen’s reputation within the
specific national tradition, and the national perception of Austen’s
‘English’ and European qualities; whether Austen is understood to be
conservative or subversive; the impact of film versions of Austen’s novels;
Austen as a historian of her times (e.g. Regency England, Napoleonic Europe,
etc.); watershed dates, if any, in the history of Austen’s reception (e.g.
the two World Wars); the presence, or otherwise, of Jane Austen in school
and university syllabuses, treated chronologically. The essay should also
include, possibly at the opening, a chronological account of Austen
translations, commenting on their fidelity or otherwise to the English
originals, significant changes to the title and text , introductions or
notes, evidence of their circulation and any other points which contribute
to the ‘reception’ picture.

Essays to be not more than 6,500 words in length (inclusive of
bibliography), with first drafts due by 1 October 2003. This will be
followed by an International Colloquium in Easter 2004, which will discuss
the various issues arising in the light of these papers. Final drafts, which
we hope will reflect the interchanges made between contributors at the
Colloquium, will be due by 1 October 2004.

Proposals and enquiries should be directed to the editors:

· Mr Brian Southam, 3 West Heath Drive, London NW11 7QG
        E-mail: brian_southam_at_hotmail.com
· Dr Anthony Mandal, Cardiff University, PO Box 94, Cardiff CF10 3XB
        E-mail: mandal_at_cardiff.ac.uk

Further information about ‘The Reception of British Authors in Europe’
project can be found, via the Internet, at http://www.sas.ac.uk/Rbae.

_____________________________

Dr A A Mandal (mandal_at_cardiff.ac.uk)

Centre for Editorial & Intertextual Research (ENCAP), Cardiff University, PO
Box 94, Cardiff CF10 3XB, Wales (UK)
(http://www.cf.ac.uk/encap/ceir)

Editor, ‘Cardiff Corvey: Reading the Romantic Text’ [ISSN 1471-5988]
(http://www.cf.ac.uk/encap/corvey)

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Received on Wed Sep 25 2002 - 18:44:05 EDT