Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom

by Deborah Yaffe

For anyone who has ever loved a Jane Austen novel, a warm and witty look at the passionate, thriving world of Austen fandom

They walk among us in their bonnets and Empire-waist gowns, clutching their souvenir tote bags and battered the Janeites, Jane Austen’s legion of devoted fans. Who are these obsessed admirers, whose passion has transformed Austen from classic novelist to pop-culture phenomenon? Deborah Yaffe, journalist and Janeite, sets out to answer this question, exploring the remarkable endurance of Austen’s stories, the unusual zeal that their author inspires, and the striking cross-section of lives she has touched.

Along the way, Yaffe meets a Florida lawyer with a byzantine theory about hidden subtexts in the novels, a writer of Austen fan fiction who found her own Mr. Darcy while reimagining Pride and Prejudice , and a lit professor whose roller-derby nom de skate is Stone Cold Jane Austen. Yaffe goes where Janeites gather, joining a pilgrimage to historic sites in Britain, chatting online with fellow fans, and attending the annual ball of the Jane Austen Society of North America—in period costume. Part chronicle of a vibrant literary community, part memoir of a lifelong love, Among the Janeites is a funny, touching meditation on the nature of fandom.

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Memoir, History, Fandom, Travel, Pop Culture

245 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Deborah Yaffe, the author of Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom, has been a passionate Jane Austen fan since first reading Pride and Prejudice at age ten. She joined the Jane Austen Society of North America at sixteen; owns an impressive collection of Austen-themed coffee mugs, bookmarks, tote bags and DVDs; and spends way too much time hanging around the Republic of Pemberley (www.pemberley.com) arguing over whether Anne Elliot or Captain Wentworth is more to blame for their eight-year estrangement.

As a newspaper reporter in New Jersey and California for more than thirteen years, Yaffe covered education, the law, and state government. Her first book, Other People’s Children: The Battle for Justice and Equality in New Jersey’s Schools, initially supported with a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a gripping narrative history of the state’s efforts to provide equal educational opportunities to rich and poor schoolchildren.

Yaffe holds a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Yale University and a master’s degree in politics, philosophy, and economics from Oxford University in England, which she attended on a Marshall Scholarship. She works as a freelance writer and lives in central New Jersey with her husband, her two children, and her Jane Austen Action Figure.

Follow her on Twitter (@DeborahYaffe); visit her website, www.deborahyaffe.com; and drop by the Among the Janeites Facebook page (www.facebook.com/amongthejaneites).

Photo credit: Randall Hagadorn, Titusville, NJ

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp with the lovers of the marvelous Jane Austen, Among the Janeites kept me smiling throughout. I am not one of those who call themselves a Janeite. I don't refer to her as Jane, like I know her, so I'm not quite as obsessed as these fans. She is my favorite author though and I started reading her when I was around twelve, so it's been a lifetime of loving her books and wishing there were more, besides the six to relish.

I have three sets of the hardcovers and various other paperbacks of the six and one Jane Austen tee shirt. I own the Pride and Prejudice video series with Colin Firth, Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility, Clueless, and Bridget Jones's Diary. I have viewed Becoming Jane, Mansfield Park, Pride & Prejudice with Keira Knightley and the version of P&P with Greer Garson.

I have read many, many versions and spin offs of the original books by other writers and I realized I am not a fanatic after reading Among the Janeites. I am glad to learn that not only am I not that obsessed, but that others are and some have enough wealth and prestige to keep her in the public eye and continue the discourse for years to come. I enjoyed this read very much, not as much as reading Jane Austen, but nothing ever could come close.

[Dov Zeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple years ago, when I was in an MFA program at Umass, I was taking a walk with A, a fellow transmasculine person in the program, and talking about my love of Jane Austen. A said she'd never read Austen, grumbling that she'd always seen Austen as a "women's writer" or even worse, a writer for "girls."

I was dumbstruck. It had never occurred to me that reading Jane Austen was in any way un-guy-ish or a threat to one's intellectual masculinity. Of course, everyone expresses their gender differently, totes around a different understanding of what masculinity looks and feels like and means. Take Darcy and Bingley, for instance. They couldn't be more different in their tastes and comportment, their expressions of masculinity. I imagine that Bingley, if he liked reading a bit more, might deeply appreciate a Jane Austen novel, while for Darcy, reading Austen might be scandalous or insulting, and perhaps unmanly. Then again, I am probably wrong about Darcy. (Isn't he the guy people are wrong about?)

Austen is one of the most sharp-witted, spare, funny, structurally brilliant writers I've read. Her dialogue is exquisite, her characters sit on a uniquely fine and tense line between caricature and realism, there's never a place in her books where it seems a sentence should be added or taken away. I turn to her often for inspiration. So when A insisted Austen was not on her to-read list because she's, I don't know, a writer for female-identified folks? I just kind of shook my head and said something really articulate and intelligent like, "Dude, you've gotta read her. She's so good." I'm pretty sure A wasn't convinced. But after that conversation I made a special note: "Read more things marketed for girls/women." Which is how I got started reading quite a few wonderful books including (but not limited to): "Summer" by Edith Wharton, Smile (Telgermeier), Courtney Crumrin, and the Pheobe and her Unicorn adventures <3. (I don't regret it for a moment!)

As much as I love Austen, before reading "Among The Janeites" I had no idea that there were Jane Austen related associations/organizations/groups or that there is a whole world of Austen related spin-off novels (romance, mystery, horror, probably sci-fi and on and on) and non-fiction books-- (biographies, history of places, fashions, culture.) Blogs and youtube stuff and websites by the dozen. (As I think of all the online Janeite writers and bloggers mentioned in this book, I can't help but wonder if Kate Beaton has any Austen-related comics.) (Also, reading this really makes me want to take a seminar on 18th century women writers.)

Yaffe dedicates a section of the book later on to the Austen dot com renaissance. But early on in the book I learned of this: (in case you don't know about Jane Austen's Fight Club) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2PM0...

"Among the Janeites" is a beautiful introduction to a world of Austen love, obsession and fandom, a phenomenon which started not long after Austen's death, and which has been waxing and waning since. It reached a bit of an apex in the early 2000s, but it's still, in the scheme of things, quite vibrant.

Yaffe opens with a scene that takes place just before she starts working on this book. She's attending a Jane Austen Tarot seminar (what's not to love?!) at the JASNA annual general meeting (Jane Austen Society of North America, this meeting in Philadelphia, I believe in 2009), where she asks her deck of Austen Tarot cards whether she is up to the task of writing the book. The deck says something meaningful in return. Something that makes "the hairs on my neck prickle," says Yaffe. And, she moves ahead with her project. (To get the full story, read the book!)

From this point on, Yaffe takes us on a meandering path to the 2011 JASNA annual meeting in Texas, where there is English country dancing, many Austen-related talks - literary, historical, and otherwise, including a talk by screenwriter Andrew Davies, who has scripted a number of Austen adaptations. Yaffe talks balls (the wearing gowns and other Austen-period-related clothing and dancing in uncomfortable shoes type) and swag (including Bingley's Teas! http://www.bingleysteas.com/ Would you like Lizzie Bennet's Wit or Lydia Has More Fun?) and toward the books finale, she gives us a day by day account of the 2011 conference, on day 5 of which she says:

"We are a tribe, we Janeites. We name our children and our pets after people who never existed, treat an elderly screenwriter like a rock star, and seek twenty-first-century life lessons in two-hundred-year-old-books, or the tarot cards based on them..."

And indeed, it is true to a degree. They are a tribe. But also a various and ecclectic and often eccentric group of people in conflict with each other about what it means to love and appreciate Jane Austen. Yaffe considers what brings all of these people together, and meditates on the tensions between the more academic Jane Austen people: the ones always searching for something new to read into the texts. And the 'fandom' (not sure if that is the right word), meaning people who are more interested in repetitions: rehashing the stories over and over and appreciating what stays the same.

I've been savoring the book for the last month, reading slowly and carefully, underlining delightful and curious passages (of which there are many) and enjoying Yaffe's way of making every person she encounters and seeks out through her research fascinating and endearing. From Austen scholar Devoney Looser who joined a roller derby team in her 40s, choosing the roller derby name is Stone Cold Jane Austen; to Arnie Perlstein, who is not in academia, but who takes Austen interpretation to an unparalleled fervent talmudic level; to Joan Austen-Leigh, Jack Grey and Harry and Aberta Burke, founders of JASNA; to several writers of Austen-related spin-offs. One person looking for connections between Austen and Autism (seeking out representations of people with autism) and another writing about mental illness in Austen's characters.

By the end of "Among the Janeites"I felt like I'd met the cast of characters, and I also cared about their various lives and endeavors and would have been happy to continue reading about them.

It's interesting to me to think of the gender situation in this book. It seems that Jane Austen fans are primarily female-identified, but there are still a lot of male-identified people involved in academic (through a college or university) and non-academic study/fan-level appreciation of Jane Austen. Some gay men, some straight men, some men who involve themselves on their wives' behalves and others who who get there all on their own.

Some things that come to mind to look deeper into: queer fans of Jane Austen; religion and the fans of Jane Austen; gender-lines and the Jane Austen readership. And I am sure there is much written about the history of the (dynamic) relationship between female-identified people and novels -- as readers and writers -- and I would love to read something about this (the graphic novel version, if only it existed.)

I highly recommend this book to Jane Austen lovers and people curious about the cultures of Jane Austen appreciation and fandom, and also to people who love books and who want to read about the fascinating cultures of celebration and inquiry built around a beloved 200 year old writer whose work continues to feel precise, modern and relevant...

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are Trekkies and Potterheads and Twifans, but nothing in the pop culture universe can compare to the passion, dedication and eccentricity of a Janeite. I know this because I am one.

For the benefit of the un-indoctrinated, a Janeite is a fan of English author Jane Austen (1775-1817) who wrote six novels before her untimely death at age 41. Many have read Pride and Prejudice for a school assignment and then moved on. Others, like myself and former journalist Deborah Yaffe, were so enchanted by her humor, characters and Regency world that we read not only her major works, but everything she wrote: juvenilia, minor works, novella, fragments and letters. That was not enough. We were compelled to become her fans.

In Among the Janeites, a new nonfiction book to be released next week by Mariner Books, Yaffe boldly ventures into the land of Janeites to discover what makes them tick and why they “feel an intensely personal affection for the writer and her books…whom they often call “Jane,” as if she were a neighbor whose kitchen door they could knock on to borrow a cup of sugar.” Yaffe’s journalist background gives her the perfect training for such a task, striving to form an impression of what it is like to live with the obsession and “tease out some common threads that weave this diverse array of individuals into a community.” And tease she does, interviewing and meeting a wide range of her fans, traveling to England for a Jane Austen pilgrimage to her homes and haunts, and attending Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) Annual General Meetings in Portland, Oregon and Fort Worth, Texas.

After the lively introduction which explores her motivations for writing the book, it is broken down into three parts, much like dramatic structure of Austen’s three volume novels. Within the ten chapters one or two different personalities in the Janeite world are featured as an example of the diversity of Austen’s fans and how they express their passion. First we meet Regency fashion aficionados Baronda Bradley and seamstress Maureen O’Connor and learn all about corsets, pelisses and the lives of these two fashionistas. Multimillionaire Cisco founder and Chawton House Library creator Sandy Lerner has her share of the conversation in a chapter called “Sandy’s Pemberley,” writers Pamela Aidan and Linda Berdol are included in the chapter on Jane Austen fanfiction, and Austen scholar Devoney Looser rattles the ivory tower of academia by admitting to Austen fandom and expressing it with the roller derby persona “Stone Cold Austen” in “The Knowledge Business.”

While many of the chapters contain a combination of personalities, “The Jane Austen Code” contains only one: the unique and outspoken Arnie Perlstein, whose way-out theories on the “shadow stories” within Austen’s novels (an underpinning of subtext to sex, hidden pregnancies, and other sordid tidbits) litter Austen’s narrative. We understand. Who else could Yaffe possibly pair with such a character? In “Austen Therapy” we meet Christine Shih and Phyllis Ferguson Bottomer who are proponents of using Austen to help borderline personality disorder and autistic patients, then we learn about the creation of JASNA by founders Joan Austen Leigh and Jack Grey in “Talking Jane Austen,” and relive the creation of the Republic of Pemberley, the online haven for Austen addicts, with co-founders Myretta Robens and Amy Bellinger in “Austen.net.” The book’s denouement culminates at the 2011 JASNA Annual General Meeting in Fort Worth where the newly corseted author attends scholarly talks, shops in the Regency Emporium and exhibits her new frock while dancing to Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot.

“Janeites are rational people, perfectly capable of drawing firm lines between fiction and reality, and yet that distinction seems to melt into insignificance when they begin thinking about Jane Austen’s characters.” p. xxi

And think we do…and have our share of the conversation…and express our decided opinions in so many diverse ways. Like Austen and her finely drawn characters, Yaffe has chosen her cast of players in Among the Janeites so well. There are your Mr. Darcy-like heroes and Elizabeth Bennet-like feisty heroines, but there are also many poignant stories of individuals that make this book so much more than an opportunity to be Mrs. Elton name dropping and rubbing the right elbows. Yaffe is a talented writer whose lively eye and measured humor permeates like brandy in this Austen trifle cutting through the thick cloying cream. We are served up all of the quirks and eccentricities of what comes with obsessive fandom yet she never chides or looks down her nose at any faction. Her wit and humor really shine. In the second chapter entitled “Walking Where Jane Walked” she ventures on an Austen tour to England. Here we experience first-hand her observational skills and dry wit as she describes her reactions to the sites and people she meets in London, Lyme Regis, Bath, Chawton and Winchester, where Austen died and was buried in the great cathedral. As their group assembles for a solemn graveside ceremony conducted by an Anglican priest, JASNA president Iris Lutz hands each of the group a thornless (irony here) pink rose to be placed in a vase on a nearby wall. She was not moved, at all, feeling too crowded for reflection. ““This is a club?” asks an American tourist in a leopard-print coat. “Or what are you guys?”” p. 34 HA! Good question. You will have more than a passing notion after you finish this exploration of how Janeites are born and express their passion.

Among the Janeites is a delightfully entertaining and perceptive romp with Jane Austen’s disciples. I laughed so hard I startled my cat, dropped a stitch in my knitting and turned over my cup of Captain Wentworth tea. Anyone who is amused by sub-culture insights and the human propensity for healthy (and not so) admiration/addiction will find themselves turning off their Candy Crush Saga game or the upteenth viewing of Downton Abbey and reading into the wee hours of the night. Yaffe is as an astute observer of human nature and its intricacies as the great master herself.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose.com

[Gary the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane lies in Winchester, blessed be her shade!
Praise the Lord for making her, and her for all she made.
And while the stones of Winchester--or Milson Street--remain,
Glory, Love, and Honour unto England's Jane!

Rudyard Kipling

I've been an admirer of Jane Austen since my sophomore year in college when I read Pride and Prejudice. Over the years, I've read and re-read all the novels, usually turning to them in times of stress when I crave structure and predictability. I've watched the movie and TV adaptations with varying degrees of satisfaction but I've always preferred the intimacy we shared-just she and I-as I succumbed yet again to the wry brilliance of her writing. She was my private refuge and I guarded the gate with a dogged determination. I've sampled some of the fan lit and found it mostly mediocre. Among the Janeites had been recommended to me by more than a few Austen acolytes, but it wasn't until Degrees of Affection shared the aforementioned tribute from Kipling's poem, Jane's Marriage, in a discussion group on BookLikes, that I felt compelled to dive into the world of Jane Austen fandom.

And what a world it is. According to Deborah Yaffe, there is something for everyone. Using her training as a journalist, she mostly succeeds at describing, explaining and celebrating a diverse group of inspired, and inspiring, Jane Austen groupies. She mostly skirts controversy, but she manages to provide a detailed description of what goes on under the skirts of Regency women, when she decides to attend a ball in costume at the annual convention of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She accompanies them to England for their yearly pilgrimage and introduces us to noted scholars, experienced Regency fashionistas and more than a few cranks. Of these, my favorite theory places Mr. Darcy on the autism spectrum. A close second, called the Austen Code, espouses shadow interpretations for the novels which are rife with sexual impropriety and gross misconduct. This all happens long before the zombies ever showed up at Longbourn. Ms. Yaffe uses humor effectively but she is careful not to mock her subjects. She honors them for their commitment, for their passion and for their productivity. Whether they are penning a sequel, tending a blog, or hawking tea cozies and t-shirts, they are all united in the belief, as was Sir Rudyard, that England's Jane deserves the world's respect and admiration. Which leaves me with a conundrum: which of my three cats - all male - has earned the name Emma?

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been a Jane Austen fan for a very long time, I was thrilled to receive a copy of this work of nonfiction about the fandom surrounding the beloved author.

Among the Janeites is a work of journalism, and as such Yaffe has written an entertaining and fun book. She uses a handful of stories about various Austen-lovers, including herself, to show the depth and variance of the love surrounding the author immediately associated with England's Regency era. She doesn't become pedantic by explaining too much that an Austen fan would already know--let's face it, if you're reading this book, you probably are one--and she has a nice relatable tone throughout. Yaffe's recounting of her experience at a Jane Austen Society of North America convention excites me for my own upcoming trip to one, my first ever, and I also realized how much more I want to read and talk about Austen. Mostly, though, after reading this book I felt happy that I was a part of a fandom that was so interesting. Janeites should definitely read this but anyone wanting an insight into how groups of people bond over a certain shared popular culture experience will find this book worthwhile.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Janeites: Somewhere between fun and travesty

“Among the Janeites” is in the fun category of reading and oddly enough it also seems to be in the controversial category as well. Is the love for Jane Austen a literary endeavor or a social one? Or both? That’s seems to spark debate. Yaffe first read Austen as a girl and went to her first Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) function when she was 17 in the 1980’s. Since then JASNA has changed mostly due to the popularity of movies and because of the BBC miniseries. People who have only seen the movies and series but never read the books now consider themselves Janeites. The travesty!

Yaffe takes us to a recent JASNA convention and a trip to Chawton House (Austen’s brother’s house who’s estate included Chawton Cottage where Austen lived for awhile). Yaffe also discusses the Austen inspired book spin offs and the internet forums. The forums have some quirky and sometimes downright bizarre members. One of the best chapters was about bibliotherapy where a nurse uses the books to explore borderline personality disorder and a speech therapist speculates on the possibility of some of Austen’s characters, namely Darcy (among others), being mildly autistic. Some people take issue with this because since how can we as 21st century readers fully know Austen’s intent. There were certainly no such terms as autism or borderline personality disorder however, personally, I find it to be a great starting point for discussing the damage a mentally ill parent can inflict on a child as well as normalizing Asperser’s Syndrome and helping those afflicted deal with their symptoms.

Then there's Fashion debate. I had to capitalize Fashion because some of the folks who consider themselves as serious Austen readers have issues with those who dress in costume at the conventions. Though I can’t imagine wanting to strap myself in a corset and put on a Regency gown I have no issue with any of these activities. They’re all a way of having fun, bonding with other like minded people, and, best of all, discussing Austen’s books. Let’s face it there are a lot worse things for people to get up to. Over all “Among the Janeites” was a fun and informative book.

This review is based on an advance reader’s copy provided by the publisher.
(Disclaimer given as required by the FTC.)

[Paul Waibel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must confess at the outset that I have never read one of Jane Austin’s novels. Neither have I seen one of the movies based on any of her novels. Perhaps I am missing something, but with only limited time, I choose to stay with those genres I know I like.

However, long ago I discovered the importance of knowing something about Jane Austin and her novels. I enjoy conversations with intelligent women, and I know that there is no better way to a lady’s mind than through Jane Austin. That lovely lady that a man wishes to know may have little, if any, interest in her admirer. But he need only mention Jane Austin or one of the characters in one of her novels, especially Mr. Darcey, and he has her admiring attention.

Those who admire Jane Austin’s novels to the point of what some might call “obsession” are the subject of Deborah Yaffe’s delightful book, Among the Janeites: A Journey through the World of Jane Austen Fandom (Mariner Books, 2013). They are both men and women who have read a novel or watched a movie or a miniseries based on one of the novels. They catch a kind of “Austen virus” for which there is no cure. So, they treat the symptoms by attending meetings of one the Jane Austin societies that can be found around the world. They dress up in regency costumes. They go on pilgrimages to sites associated with Jane Austen’s life, or even to sites associated with one or more of the movies or miniseries based on the novels.

Ms Yaffe introduces us to some of the many colorful characters who proudly identify themselves as Janeites. My favorite Janeite among the many that Ms Yaffe introduces the reader to is Sandy Lerner. Ms Lerner is a kookie, hippie sort of entrepreneur who made a fortune that enabled her to indulge her obsession without limits. She purchased Chawton House where Jane Austen once lived, sight unseen, for just under $2 million. She then spent an additional several million rescuing the house from collapse.

A newscaster once asked her if she was eccentric. “I am now that I am rich,” she answered, “I used to be just weird.”

Ms. Yaffe’s style of writing helps convey the fun and excitement of those lovingly referred to as the “Janeites.” She mentions again and again a scene from Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, in which Firth as Mr. Darcy appears in a wet shirt. It is a scene known to make many feminine members of the audience “all hot and bothered.”

The Janeites of which Yoffe writes, and of which she is a member, are not any different than those who fill the ranks of the Baker Street Irregulars who dress up in their deer slayer hats and carry around a Sherlock Holmes calabash pipe. They are individuals of all sorts who have fallen in love with a particular fictional character and wish to share their passion with others of similar taste. May they live long and prosper.

[Speckeh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't impressed with this book, which is a shame because I desperately wanted to like this book.

I loved when Yaffe described and told the stories of her fellow Janeites, but I really couldn't stand her narration. I don't know if it's because I'm annoyed by the "I'm an elite Jane Austen fan because of these reasons" or I just don't like the way she writes her narratives. Sometimes, you just don't clash well with a author.

I applaud her efforts to write this book, but I have to admit I was disappointed that she admitted she only focused on white North American Jane Austen fans. What a waste!! How amazing would it have been to have read more diverse fans? Hear about their efforts, their stories? Instead I found myself reading some of the same stories over and over again. I didn't even finish the last two chapters because everything was the same rhythm and nothing was interesting any more.

I wanted to put down the book many times, but found I couldn't whenever I read the stories of those who did amazing things with their Jane Austen passions. But other than that, kind of disappointed I brought this book on my trip to England. :/

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read essays and books with arguments to explain why Jane Austen is so popular, which inevitably touch on Austen fandom and the dichotomy that Austen is both beloved in lowbrow popular culture and highbrow scholarship. But I have never read a book until now that focuses on the fans themselves, which is who Yaffe’s book is about.

In her Introduction, Yaffe explains that she does not read Austen with political or historical intent and she does not aim to find “a single Big Theory that would make sense of Jane Austen’s appeal” (Yaffe xxv). She instead sets out on a year of travel and research to learn more about The Janeites, Jane Austen’s fans, and what Austen and her novels mean to them.

The book is well organized. Divided into three parts, Yaffe explores the physical, touring the places Austen lived in “Walking Where Jane Walked” and discovers the world of Regency dress in search of her own costume in authentic style. She then explores fan fiction, book therapy, and Austen scholarship in “Part II: Rereading, Rewriting.” The last part is dedicated to the communities of Jane Austen fans and how the first Austen listserv was created which has grown into the worldwide fan site The Republic of Pemberley, as well as thousands of spin-off blogs and social media accounts, and how the first North American Jane Austen Society was founded. Her book is made possible by the JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America), since she travels to England on the Jane Austen literary tour organized by the society and interviews many society members across America who each feel their own connection to Austen and her work and express varying degrees of fandom.

Yaffe’s writing reads well and she shows her skills as journalist and interviewer. She includes her observations of people in their environments as she tells their stories, and these small inclusions are well-timed like she is letting you in on their lives. I admire most her technique of placing interviews adjacent to each other to let you draw your own meanings, like laying stills of people’s lives side by side in a quilt.

By the end of the book, I was amazed by the diverse community of people who love Jane Austen. Although I don’t feel like I’ve crossed into the territory that requires a little dose of crazy to be a Janeite (they fight over characters’ lives post-novel, they refer to Austen as a moral guide, asking W.W.J.D ‘what would Jane do?’, they dress up in Regency era gowns at annual meetings), I did feel the love that Yaffe wants to share in writing this book. The book culminates with Yaffe’s experience at the annual JASNA conference and her first time dressing up in a custom-made empire-waisted gown to join the dancing at the evening ball. Surrounded by Janeites, including the familiar faces of those she interviewed, travelling to hear their stories and welcomed into their homes during the year, she concludes “What single theory could encompass” “the diversity of Austen-love”? (Yaffe 226). This love for Austen brings people together which creates another tier: a love which comes from the specialness of community. This community is what Yaffe’s book brings to the Austen bibliography; it’s not another theory on Austen in popular culture but a book about the people who love her.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must begin with full-disclosure: while not a professed Janeite, I have read the entire Jane Austen canon, in order, seen most of the movie adaptations (I even own the Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice, the awkwardly titled "Bride and Prejudice"), and like many a woman set the bar of marriage as the first boyfriend who can successfully sit through the five hour Colin Firth version of P&P without raising a complaint or a making a snide remark. I remain unmarried... ;)

Perhaps the most compelling part of the book is the many-angled look into the world of the Janeites. I confess that prior to Yaffe's book I did not know there was such a vibrant sub-cultural of JA aficionados. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, however. These days there is a "fandom" for just about anything with an international appeal: Star Trek conventions, Harry Potter theme parks, etc. Is it really so surprising that for every Twilight Fanfic that is penned, there is one posted about Elizabeth Bennett and her Mr. Darcy?

But I think what makes the Austen fans unique -- and this is something that Yaffe touches on as well -- is their incredibly modern response to a series of books nearing two hundred years old. Whereas Jane Austen penned her books on sheets of paper her devotees post blogs about Emma and Mr. Knightley from smart phones. To Austen's millions of fans over hundreds of years, Elizabeth and Darcy, Mary Ann and Col Brandon, etc have a staying-power that (God-willing!!) Bella and Edward do not. It's doubtful that two hundred years from now fans of Stephanie Meyer will pay to walk past a hotel she stayed in, whereas today, hundreds of eager Janeites make the pilgrimage to England to trek the path Jane might have walked to church or see the small room she briefly stayed in while traveling to Bath.

Yaffe explains such devotion by citing the universal appeal of Jane Austen, that each reader can identify in Austen's stories something that resonates with herself (or himself! there are male Janeites!) whether it be the romance, the whit, the feminism, the history, etc. JA offers something to everything and in this I cannot more agree more wholeheartedly.

But enough about Austen's books. What about Yaffe's? The author clearly did her research, in large part by fully immersing herself into the Janeite culture. Yaffe does, however, fall prey to one of the greatest threats faced by any anthropologist, ethnographer, or sociologist who tries to understand a culture, a people, or a civilization by living and working amongst them. And the Janeites can certainly be viewed as their own little world with mores (certain interpretations of JA are accepted and others not), language (a whole slew of acronyms to encompass books, plot points, and character couples), and traditions. In her study of this world, Yaffe became too emotionally connected with her subject and sometimes allowed her own opinions to crowd her observations. Granted, Yaffe made it clear from the outset that she entered the world of the Janeites as something of a Janeite herself, though not as ardent as some. Thus, perhaps, it couldn't be helped that Yaffe sometimes let her own ideas of what a true Austen fan should look like, but at times she doesn't even seem sure herself.

For example, in one moment during her Austen tour of England she sits through a lecture by an elderly English women whose only claim to fame is a distant relation to Austen. Yaffe notes with disdain that many of the woman's facts come from the internet and when the octogenarian misidentifies Austen as a Libra Yaffe writes, "I seethe quietly." But not two pages later Yaffe describes the giddy joy of her fellow tourmates (all middle-aged, white women) when they have the chance to dress up in Regency gowns and take pictures in a Regency era English manor house. The reader is left with a sense that Yaffe finds these actions by the women as a tad ridiculous. Yaffe gamely helps the women get dressed but refuses to don a costume herself, saying that while she might be willing to (briefly) wear a Regency ballgown during an upcoming Jane Austen conference (again, strictly for research) she had "no desire to star in Regency Halloween any other day of the year." So the reader is left to wonder, where does Yaffee see herself in the world of Janeite fandom? On the one hand, some Janeites were not "Janeite" enough while it seemed that there were others, in her opinion, who took the fandom too far. Is Yaffe trying to identify the "true Jane Austen fan" and if so, is she doing so by comparing them to herself?

Trying to parse out Yaffe's personal opinions was often distracting, but not so distracting that I didn't enjoy her other observations and the many colorful characters she uncovered. And I'll admit, as soon as I finished reading the book I logged onto the JASNA website to see about their next national meeting. Seems that they will be in D.C. in 2016 to celebrate my personal favorite Austen book: Emma. Interesting...

[QNPoohBear · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this slim volume, Deborah Yaffe muses on what Jane Austen means to the many Janeites, herself included. The book begins with Deborah Yaffe's own personal journey to writing this book, from her childhood spent sneaking classic novels onto the playground at recess and a visit to Chawton as a teen to the tarot card that told her to write this book. She also discusses her first foray into period costuming in preparation for the JASNA AGM in 2011. The final chapter in the first section tells of Sandy Lerner's journey from wealthy book collector to founder of the Chawton House Library. The second section is about writers and how they connect to Jane Austen. There's Linda Berdoll, author of steamy Pride and Prejudice sequels and Pamela Aidan, who used Jane Austen to escape an abusive marriage and found her own Mr. Darcy in the process. Then there are those with outlandish theories such as the one where Mrs. Austen and Mrs. Bennet are suffering from borderline personality disorder, or the theory that Mr. Darcy has autism and that's why he finds social situations difficult. The most outrageous idea germinates from a man who believes there are "shadow stories" behind the novels revealing a secret world of vice that no one has been clever enough to figure out until now. The third section details the founding of the Jane Austen Society of North America and the explosion of Austenania in the 1990s and early 2000s. Deborah Yaffe also discusses the Austen listservs, blogs and the Republic of Pemberley. If you follow or post on any of those, you may be interested in reading about their founders and the history of those sites. Yaffe examines the divide between academics who look for scholarly discussion and the fans who love dressing up in costume, sipping tea and discussing which Austen hero they would like to marry. Yaffe muses on the days before it was cool to like Jane Austen and the small, cozy community Janeites once were. She's a little wistful, wishing for the simpler time but acknowledges that dancing can be as much fun as scholarly discussion. I personally like both. I studied literature as an undergraduate, library and information studies and history as a graduate student so I can certainly hold my own in an academic discussion, but I also love tea parties and period costumes. I do understand how she feels though, having been part of fandoms from the beginning before the explosion of popularity made a once close-knit community into something too large to fathom. I liked reading the stories behind some of my favorite fan-fiction and blogs. I enjoyed reading about the different things Jane Austen means to different people. Most importantly, states Yaffe, Jane Austen serves as a reflection of ourselves. This book is a short, easy read for those who love Jane Austen and her world. I appreciate the lengths Ms. Yaffe went through for her research to make this book entertaining and fun when it could be dense and dull.

[Bry · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Are you a janite, or are you normal?"

Some people like Star Trek, others Star Wars. Me? I like Jane Austen. I am a Janeite.

This book is about Yaffe's exploration of the current fandom of Jane Austen because let's face it - if you slap Jane or Darcy's name or picture on something it has an immediate marketing power that other things lack. Sometimes this is awesome (frankly I love my Jane Austen action figure) and sometimes it's not (Jane porn where Lady Catherine brings Mr Collins to an orgasmic ending via a cat of nine tails).

Yaffe's interviews all kinds of a Janeites, reads several of the insane number of Austen spin offs, retellings, and fan fiction available on line and in print, and attends the Fort Worth, Texas Jane Austen Society of North America Annual General Meeting (which I also went to!)

For the most part I found the book entertaining and humorous. Other times I felt it went into WAY TOO MUCH personal detail about those she interviewed. I understand the effort was made to make the reader understand why the individual turned to and enjoyed Jane but still - TMI. Most times I enjoyed the authors information and the results of her research. Other times I didn't really care for her own personal feelings and thoughts because they had the air of a Jane Austen purist. And frankly I am a purist as well but also don't like to judge those who may be a but more Colin obsessed than I am because I am just thrilled that others enjoy Jane Austen as much as I do. I don't eel the need to keep her to myself like the author does. I would much rather share her as far and wide as possible so that everyone possible can come to enjoy her works.

Still I totally recommend this book for any Janeite (especially as you might recognize a friend or two within its covers!) it's an extremely quick read (I got my copy at the Minneapolis JASNA AGM this past Saturday and finished it Monday night!) and can be extremely humorous at times.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially assumed that "Among the Janeites" would be something of an ethnography: an examination of the demographics of Jane Austen fandom, with some entertaining stories thrown in.

Author Deborah Yaffe's description is much more accurate; it's a journalistic investigation. Yaffe interviews a cross-section of big-name fans, from former Cisco Systems president Sandy Lerner (who bought Jane Austen's former home, Chawton House) to Phyllis Ferguson Bottomer, a speech therapist who posits the not-at-all unbelievable idea that Austen's beloved Mr. Darcy just might have Asperger's Syndrome, to Baronda Bradley, famous for her Regency attire at various conventions. There are, of course, a good many more people and parts of Austen fandom examined, including the films (notably the 1995 version with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy) that caused an Austen explosion in popular culture. All interviewees are members of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA), which is where Yaffe found the grist for her work.

While there is always great potential for a book like this to be more arid than the Sahara, or to focus only on the most peculiar aspects of a fandom, Yaffe avoids both of these pitfalls tidily. Each of the interviewees, regardless of their perceived eccentricity, is treated sensitively and their positions examined through a gentle lens.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, even though I am what one of the JASNA members decried as "those people who've only read 'Emma' and 'Pride & Prejudice.' )Two down, four to go!) I would recommend this book to any Austen fan, or anyone interested in tales set during the Regency.

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delight to read, with plenty of gentle humour, some moments of sheer laughter, and a serious look at the world and varieties of people who love Jane Austen and her work. There's costuming, the movies, fan fiction, a roller derby queen, the woman who bought Chawton House, tours a la Jane Austen, and plenty more. I had a great time with this one and can happily recommend it. Yes, I fully intend to reread this one in the future. Five stars overall.

For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/among_...

[Margaret Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a Janeite, and this book made me happy, because it is at the same time the most thorough and most respectful review of the modern fandom I've seen. We needed an insider to do it right, and Deborah Yaffe did a terrific job. I couldn't put it down.

I've posted a longer review on AustenBlog. TL;DR: Read this book, even if you're not a Janeite.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

My August Rewind (up late, but better late than pregnant... Err, never. Better late than never.
 
THE BOOKS:
The Fairest of Them All | Carolyn Turgeon [review]
Mansfield Park | Jane Austen (obvs)
Among the Janeites | Deborah Yaffe [review]
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. | Adelle Waldman [review]
Austentatious | Alyssa Goodnight [review]

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but partway through I've decided to give up on it. Three stars as it's quite well written; I'd recommend it to those who are interested in Jane Austen, but as someone with only a passing interest and looking for more general reading this one just didn't work.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would actually give this a 3.5.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may not come as a surprise to you that I bought this book for the title (and also, the cover is cute). While I may not be a hardcore Janeite, I am a fan of Jane Austen and I find books about her so interesting.

Among the Janeites is an exploration of the Jane Austen fandom. It uses a quasi-memoir style, where the author mixes in her experience as a Janeite with more information about the fandom, tying all the chapters together with the tale of how she commissioned a regency dress for a JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) meeting. Along the way, the author talks to a multitude of people and learns about Jane Austen tours in England, how Sandy Lerner restored Chawton House and made it a place for study of early women’s writing, why people might write Jane Austen fanfiction, the history of Republic of Pemberly, and the founding of JASNA.

I think this book is at its best when Yaffe is interviewing people about why they love Jane Austen (and how it led to that particular niche in the fandom). It’s fascinating to see how and why people fall in love with Jane Austen, and it reminded me that there’s no ‘right’ way to be a fan.

That said, the book did feel a bit lacking in some parts. One main one is the fact that this is very America-centric. Even the chapter on the Jane Austen tour was done because of JASNA and it felt like most people interviewed were American. I think Jane Austen has a much wider appeal and I would have appreciated it if the book also talked to fans in other cultures – especially in non-Western cultures where it might not make intuitive sense as to why Austen is appealing.

Another thing to consider is that the book is a product of its time and therefore doesn’t contain the latest developments in the fandom. I was a bit confused as to why the use of social media like Instagram (and maybe Facebook?) didn’t appear in the chapter of being an Austen fan online, until I checked the copyright page and realised that it was published in 2013. I suppose Instagram was still in its infancy while the book was written but it would have been interesting to see if social media intensified what it means to be a fan or let people be much more casual about it.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting read. While the book isn’t very current or global, it did show me more about the Jane Austen fandom and I appreciated reading about the experiences of other fans.

This review was first posted at Eustea Reads

[Connie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Yes, I absolutely love Jane Austen and have read all her books multiple times....but I do not belong to any of the groups described in this book. Deborah Yaffe writes an extremely readable book about official Jane groups, Jane bloggers, Jane Austen rewriters, Austen tour groups, Austen fashion designers, and Yaffe's experiences with all of them. If you like Austen, this will be particularly interesting, but if you don't, this will help you understand the Austen phenomena too.

[Lisa Gemert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deborah Yaffe, I will help you get into your corset anytime.

I loved this book! Of course, she had me at "Jane Austen," but beyond that, she did an amazing job exploring so many facets of Jane Austen fandom.

This book made me want to:
- Attend a JASNA AGM (I'm a member but haven't attended any events)
- Buy a corset
- Re-read the books (and letters) again
- Go back in time so I could participate in the Republic of Pemberley discussion boards
- Show up at the author's house because I *know* that we would be friends IRL

If you're a Janeite, you will love it. If not, well, there's still hope.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's okay to like the movies

[Anna]

Nearly 200 years after her death, Jane Austen, her novels, and her unforgettable characters remain immensely popular. She wrote only six novels, yet hundreds of sequels, re-imaginings, and modern-day re-tellings have been published. There are battles over which film adaptation is the best and which actor is Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightley, etc. Fans dressed in Regency attire attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA), learn the dances of the period, and even tour Jane Austen’s England. In Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom, Deborah Yaffe explores the fandom of Jane Austen, literary genius and pop culture phenomenon.

Yaffe was 10 years old during the summer of 1976 when she read Pride and Prejudice for the first time. Initially enjoying her solitary, isolated love for Austen, as the years went by, Yaffe discovered a community of other Janeites that goes beyond the JASNA conference and The Republic of Pemberley website. Yaffe explores this varied and far-reaching community while she prepares to go all out for the ball at the 2011 JASNA AGM in Fort Worth by having a Regency gown made and assembling all the other authentic articles of clothing necessary to complete the experience. This was a big step for Yaffe, who never felt a desire to dress up but wanted to be an active participant in this aspect of the Austen fandom.

Interspersed with Yaffe’s own journey in Austen fandom are profiles of the people she meets along the way. Yaffe interviews Baronda Bradley, who has accumulated an entire wardrobe of Regency gowns and wears them throughout the JASNA AGM, and Sandy Lerner, the co-founder of Cisco Systems who sunk millions into the purchase and restoration of Chawton House, once owned by Edward Austen Knight, to create a library dedicated to the writings of English women from 1600-1830. The book also features several authors of Austen-inspired fiction, Austen bloggers, academics whose scholarly careers have been devoted to Austen, several Austen fans with interesting and controversial theories about Austen’s novels and characters, and even a woman who uses Austen’s novels in a therapy group for people whose relatives have borderline personality disorder. Even if you don’t believe Mr. Darcy had Asperger syndrome or that each Austen novel has a subtextual story rife with sex and other shadiness, Among the Janeites is a fascinating book about the global fascination with a literary great.

Yaffe covers so much ground in the book, so many different viewpoints and degrees of Austen obsession, that I found it difficult to put down. This is no dry academic study; Yaffe gets in the trenches and really gets to know these people so her readers can do the same. And despite the differing opinions and the battles that have emerged within the fandom, she shows how all Janeites are united in their love for Austen and the novels that have captured our hearts, and in some cases, taken over our lives.

Among the Janeites is a fantastic study of Janeites, from the most subdued to the most radical, and I found myself frequently nodding in agreement and laughing out loud. As my husband watches my collection of Austen novels expand to include the annotated editions and my collection of Austen-inspired fiction grow to epic proportions, I must admit I was delighted to read him passages from the book and say, “At least I’m not that obsessed.” Yaffe’s sense of humor and adventure shine through, making her personal journey fun to follow, and it was nice to see names I recognized from the blogosphere mentioned. Among the Janeites is highly recommended for all lovers of Austen — from those content to stick to the original novels to those who can’t get enough of all the Darcy-related trinkets — and would make a perfect gift for the Janeite in your life.

Review posted on Diary of an Eccentric

I received a free copy of this book for review.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suddenly I find myself wanting to order a tailor-made Regency gown, re-read every Jane Austen novel and spend a week on the fan sites and blogs about her.

I want to go to JASNA! (Please imagine me crying this out in this manner) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8O8Cm...
More accurately (just didn't have the same ring to it) I want to go to the Jane Austen Society of North America's next Annual General Meeting, which is more of a blast than it sounds, if Deborah Yaffe's description is in any way accurate.

Oh boy oh boy, this book was such a treat. Yaffe started the book describing how her own love of Jane Austen started and the rest of the book was the research, interviews and travel she did in the year leading up to the JASNA AGM in Fort Worth, Texas. She interviewed Janeites of every stripe, from professors to fan fiction authors (and of course she had to read a lot of Jane Austen fan fiction too—it made me so happy that she didn't poo-poo it), from obsessive bloggers to collectors of Austen memorabilia (one lady bought a lock of Austen's hair!). She went on a Jane Austen tour, visiting where she had lived and sites of film adaptations (I also want to do this, by the way, if anyone's looking for the perfect birthday gift for me). Every chapter was interesting, well-written and respectful of the different ways people understand and appreciate Austen. Her words in her last chapter sum this up nicely.

We are a tribe, we Janeites. We name our children and our pets after people who never existed, treat an elderly screenwriter like a rock star, and seek twenty-first century life lessons in two-hundred-year-old books, or the tarot cards based on them. Our love for Jane Austen unites us, and yet sometimes it seems that we all love something, or someone, different...We make our Austen into a reflection of our own preoccupations, a teller of our own stories...The rich diversity of responses to Austen captures something real about her—the depth and complexity of her writings, which like diamonds held up to sunlight, reflect something different from every angle.

I spent a summer reading Jane Austen while I was hiking The Camino de Santiago in France and Spain with my husband in 1996. Like many, I caught the fever after watching the BBC miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. I remember getting it one or two tapes (yeah, I'm that old) at a time with a friend and doing a small cheer when the library had the last couple on hand right when we were ready for them. I read Northanger Abbey before my hiking trip and finished Sense and Sensibility about the time we realized we were going to have to skip most of the French side of the route. An Australian couple we met on the hike traded us a guide to the Spanish route for our copy of Sense and Sensibility . In cities along the route, I would pick up my next Jane Austen book, read it when we'd stopped for the day, and when I was done, I would leave it behind in one the pilgrim refuges where we stayed. I wonder how many people passed those books around as they hiked the Camino. Maybe they're still in circulation. At the end of the trip, I had a surprise treat. We spent a couple of nights in England before flying out of London for home. An unplanned excursion to Winchester Cathedral landed me where Austen was buried. What a special way to end my summer of Austen. Reading about other Jane Austen fans and their experiences brought this all back to me, and will probably cause anyone who reads it to smile and remember too.

[Anmiryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable and easy-to-read romp through the various manifestations of Jane Austen fandom. Maybe closer to 3.5 stars?

I have always struggled with my attraction to the communities that build around cultural experiences and my sense that investing so much into a single show or author is absurd and faintly ridiculous. Or, maybe I'm just a chicken? In any case, I've tried to attend various fan-based cons over the years, but on the rare occasion I've made it to one (was that a Star Trek Convention or a Dr. Who convention I tried to attend in 1985 in Madison, WI? I went in with a friend and we turned around and left because we felt so alien amongst all the aliens) I haven't felt like I was truly a member of the tribe.*

Yet, I enjoy books like this one that give me a glimpse into the a particular fandom (see also The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie). Jane Austen fan communities are from utopian, but as much as I disagree with the approaches of some of the fan elements Yaffe explores, it's great that people have found a hobby that is intellectually stimulating and provides so much enjoyment.

Plus, I have to admit to that long simmering curiosity also prompted me to pick up this book. My father revealed the existence of Janeites to me around the time I first read Pride and Prejudice at age 13 (which means it was a very long time ago). At that age I would have joined the JAS (JASNA which is the focal point of most of this book hadn't yet been formed), the Baker Street Irregulars or any other group that took books I loved seriously. Alas, in those pre-internet days it was no simple task to discover how to join these groups, and I am easily discouraged (even more so when I was in the throes of middle-school angst) so I never bothered to pursue card carrying membership. As I grew older and found other communities (aikido, knitting, work, parenting), I drifted away from these impulses, but it's fun to read about those who stayed true to that which interested them.

*That said, I head to knitting conventions and book industry gatherings with aplomb and no discomfort. That said, I'm planning on heading to Readercon this year, but am fully prepared to feel like an idiot on the sidelines and hope no one tacks a sign to my back that reads "Faux Nerd".

[Jaylia3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who delight in all things Jane Austen, or those who are fascinated by obsessive subcultures, this book is a treasure chest of fun. Gather a group of Janeites and you'll find yourself in a varied assembly. From obsessive Colin Firth fans to staid scholars, from solitary readers to passionate online discussion group participants, from those who hold conservative values to those who love bawdy P&P sequels, Janeite-ism is a large tent kind of phenomenon and Deborah Yaffe explores it all, taking readers along for a thrilling ride.

I am a long time, regular re-reader of Austen's novels, but still this book managed to reinvigorate my enthusiasm. The accounts of Janeites arguing about issues of great importance, like the relative merits of characters in Mansfield Park or Sense and Sensibility, make me want to go back to the books yet again. Like the author I never considered myself the type of person who'd enjoy dressing up in Regency attire, but after her account of preparing for and then attending the Jane Austen Society of North America's annual ball in a beautiful gown I'm reconsidering. Reading about the founders of that organization, and the Janeites who started websites--most of which I had perused before but as an added bonus some were new to me--was an utter pleasure. Also profiled is a woman who uses Austen's novels for therapy-like sessions, a very determined man who feels certain he's uncovered sinister hidden meanings for all of the books, and a college professor who competes in the rough and tumble sport of roller derby under the alias Stone Cold Jane Austen.

With an echo of Austen's skill as an author, Deborah Yaffe writes in a way that allows readers to feel like they're almost experiencing her adventures in Janeite-ville themselves. Highly recommended for those with discriminating tastes.

[Karen (Living Unabridged) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never joined JASNA. I only toured Bath on a trip four years ago and have never gone to England on a Jane Austen related tour. I have never worn a Regency costume, much less danced at a ball or assembly. I'm not active on the Republic of Pemberley message board and I only check Austen Blog and Austenprose on occasion instead of every day. I haven't written Jane Austen fan-fic, well, OK, I haven't published any Jane Austen fan-fic. Yet.

Despite those things, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is my tribe, these are my people. (Well, not Arnie. I don't think there are any other people like him.)

Yaffe has written a fun, witty, readable introduction into the world of Jane Austen fandom (obsession?). If you love Austen, you'll probably enjoy this book although it might not break any new ground. If you don't, this might help explain those of us who do. Maybe. Explaining why some of us love Austen so deeply is hard to do. Yaffe tries, but even she knows that is an impossible task.

Recommended for: fans of Austen.

[Mary Pagones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and delightful little tour through the subculture of Jane Austen superfans. More illuminating for its profiling of the the modern day Janeites than actual Austen. I never knew that one of the founders of Cisco was a passionate Janeite, and a particular fan of the 1980 BBC version. Pride & Prejudice is one my favorite novels of all time but this book did make it clear to me that I'm not really a Janeite--I don't idealize the era Jane lived in as a purer time, and while I love Lizzie and Darcy, I'm not as much of a fan of her other romantic pairings (Emma and Mr. Mansplaining Knightley kinda irritate me). But regardless of where you fall on the Jane Austen appreciation spectrum of tolerable to tempting to ardent love, this sparkling, effervescent little book is well worth a read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice overview of the current depth and breadth of the fan-dom that is comprised of "Jane-ites".

Like Yaffe, I probably fall somewhere in the middle of the Jane-ites: not over-scholarly, but not overtly enthusiastic either (though, when I make it back to the UK someday, Chawton et al. is on the list of places to visit along with Gads Hill and Haworth).

And I'm still thinking she thinks that one dude is a loon (dudes, I think he's a loon - Jane Fairfax got knocked up by Emma's brother-in-law before the start of the novel? uh, no)

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be a male and straight fan of Jane Austen's books with an interest in her writing before that BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice' puts one into a tiny minority when considering the fandom that Yaffe describes in 'Among the Janeites'. Whilst I may never write a sequel to 'Emma' and the possible sexual proclivities of the much older Mr Knightly with his much younger wife, argue online with unknown provocateurs against their disdain for Colonel Brandon, or attend a conference where one can join an assembly and eat a cold collation, I care for Austen's stories and characters. I'm passionate enough to pour opprobrium on the latest Netflix take on 'Persuasion' whilst not having the need to re-read each book and devour all Austen's corpus incessantly. Thanks to Yaffe's wonderful book I can both appreciate those who are so driven to love Austen and her writing, yet also find some degree of amusement at the excessive aspects of many who are extreme fans. 'Among the Janeites' is both a salute to Austen and those who lover her and her writing perhaps a little too much, and a reminder that fandom is a bizarre modern cultural practice.

That the author is able to reconcile the risible with the serious, the academic with the populist, the crass with the cultured in her travels into Jane Austen's fandom is a real achievement. Perhaps this comes from Yaffe's own attitude to Austen and her writing. The fascinating mixture of excitable adoration and cultivated learning is always front and centre in Yaffe's narrative. She is aware that whilst there is curious laughter to be had as she travels and meets those featured in this book, there is also a lot of respect to be shown at the emotional and intellectual meaning Austen has for these same people. Yaffe is sufficiently self-aware to realise her own vanity, her own sense of superiority and her own prejudices about Austen and her reception, yet she also submits to the sheer fun of being a fan. Perhaps another reviewer might argue that Yaffe is trying to emulate Elizabeth Bennet; I'll just leave that thought bubble out there and move on.

One thing that struck me as I read 'Among the Janeites' was how the fans as described in this book have so many similar traits as to those who invest so much of their lives in the fandom experience. As Yaffe recounts the theories, the fan fiction efforts, the actions of these Austen 'super fans' it reminded me of those who are heavily into (for example) 'Star Trek'. Cosplaying, debating cultural, political or sexual aspects of the respective phenomena, merchandising, adapting the source of such fandom into everyday relationships; Janeites and Trekkers are more similar than dissimilar. Yaffe's book reminds one that many people today have configured their lives and their meaning into a schemata developed by popular culture. 'Among the Janeites' is both a book of its own context, yet it has wider social and cultural anthropological interest.

Another interesting aspect of this book is that Yaffe has identified and discussed what might be considered to be a gender, age and demographic structure that is most unique. The Janeites depicted in this book are invariably white women, educated, middle aged, middle class and perhaps somehow scarred by certain aspects of their non-Austen experience. Throw in the (mostly) American nationality of the fandom explored by Yaffe and the reader will see that the Janeites in this book are expressions of a specific social sub-strata that is very separate from the wider community. There is a feminist positivism to these Jane Austen fans that Yaffe is very successful in exploring and explaining.

'Among the Janeites' has some serious academic chops, and as outlined in the previous paragraphs of this review it provokes some valid intellectual considerations. However it is also fun and funny. The reader will hopefully laugh here and there at the more absurd or silly moments that Yaffe records, such as how one Janeite blogger described Matthew MacFadyen in a movie adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice'. Yaffe never veers into ridicule, except perhaps of herself, and the jocularity of her book is almost always affectionate. Again, she understands the overriding sense of community and shared pleasure that being a Janeite brings.

Finally, it is interesting to see how Austen's reception was irrevocably changed through the production and circulation of the 1995 Andrew Davies written BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice'. It might be argued that Davies is the man who is most responsible for the spreading of Jane Austen's popularity, and at the more extreme end of this spectrum, the increasing numbers of Janeites. It is wonderful to see Davies get a chance to appear in Yaffe's narrative near its ending; he epitomises that fascinating mixture of literary focus and populist enthusiasm that carries over into the Janeites themselves.

'Among the Janeites' will be warmly welcomed by anyone who has a love of Austen's works, her words, and what has come from them in recent years. It's also going to be enjoyed by anyone who is fascinated by fandom, by popular culture, by literary reception, by passionate people in love with something that creates meaning for them. It is a celebration of the author's work and of reading in general, but it's also good fun. Even if all you know about Austen is that Colin Firth got his shirt wet in a show made from one of her books I'd like to think Yaffe will entertain you and also make you think. A great read.