What are books for? Jane Austen investigates by Professor Fiona Stafford, University of Oxford: Newcastle University

Jane Austen’s novels are full of books. We see characters reading, we hear them talking about their reading, and we even see books being tossed aside in favour of more exciting activities. But what is the author up to when she draws the attention of her own readers to the readers in her books? Marking the 250th anniversary of her birth, this lecture will consider Jane Austen’s investigation of the many roles played by books in her fictional worlds.