Wednesday 26th April 2023
Venue: Online
A Conversation with Devoney Looser
7-8.30pm BST
Every letter tells a story
Novelist Jane Porter was born just 2 weeks before Jane Austen, but unlike her contemporary, has not enjoyed the credit she deserves. Her younger sister Anna Maria Porter was also a prolific novelist, publishing her first book at just 14. Between them, they published 26 books, pioneering the historical novel and enjoying global fame and recognition in their lifetimes. Their letters provide a detailed picture of their inner lives – their writing practices, their romances, and their money problems.
In this online event, the first in the Quills and Characters digital programme, biographer Devoney Looser discusses the fascinating lives of these trailblazing sisters, who paved the way for Austen, Mary Shelley, and the Brontë sisters.
About the Speaker
© Arizona State University
Devoney Looser is Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University and the author of a 2022 double biography of the Porter sisters, Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës (Bloomsbury). She is also author or editor of nine other books on literature by women, including The Making of Jane Austen and The Daily Jane Austen: A Year of Quotes. Her writing has appeared in the Atlantic, the New York Times, Salon, the Times Literary Supplement, the Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, and she’s had the pleasure of talking about Austen on CNN and in a series of video and audio lectures for The Great Courses. Looser, who has played roller derby as Stone Cold Jane Austen, is a Guggenheim Fellow and a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar.
Tickets: £6
This is an online event. The cut off to purchase tickets is midnight on the day before the event. Ticket holders will be emailed a Zoom link on the day of the event. If you do not receive joining details by midday (UK time) on the day of the event, please email info@chawtonhouse.org with your order number. The event will be recorded and emailed out to those who cannot join synchronously within 3 days. Access to working internet is required. Please note this event will take place live. All times are UK BST.