Jane Austen in the 21st century

Would Jane Austen get published in the 21st century? That's the question that David Lassman, director of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, wanted answered. So, he sent out slightly modified excerpts from several of Austen's most well-known works, starting with Northanger Abbey. When none of the publishers accepted or recognized this submission, he turned to a slightly better-known work--Persuasion. Still no luck. So, in a final attempt, he sent off Pride and Prejudice.

With only superficial modifications--changing the Bennets to the Barnetts, and Netherfield manor to Weatherfield--still only one publisher recognized the submission for what it actually was. And that was with the first line of the novel completely unchanged.

For those of you who aren't Austen fans or English majors, this first line is one that if you're in the business of literature, you should know: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." It ranks right up there with "Call me Ishmael" and "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Lassman was pretty appalled at the results of his little experiment, and rightly so. But I think it's even more interesting to think about why these results happened. Three reasons come to mind:

1. Most of the editors/agents didn't even read the submissions. This seems pretty likely, since many of them are frantically backpedaling now that they've been called out as companies that can't even recognize Jane Austen. Several of the companies have even admitted that although their form letter might have said the work seemed "original" or "interesting," they probably didn't even read it. For many authors, this confession is probably even more depressing than the idea that publishers can't identify Austen's work--how are they supposed to get their brilliant novel published if it won't even be read?

2. Another possibility for these results is that the publishers, in fact, did not recognize Jane Austen's work. This is pretty appalling, since publishers are supposed to be able to judge literature with some sort of authority, and without having a solid basis in really great novels from history, how will they be able to do that?

3. Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, is the possibility that Jane Austen would actually not get published if she were alive today. It seems entirely possible that the generations of readers that enjoyed and had time for reading the kind of novels that Austen wrote have passed. I mean, let's face it. These books aren't exactly thrilling adventures. And there's not a lot of actual sex, although it's implied. Austen's novels are more about subtlety, ironic humor, and complicated relationships between human beings. The National Endowment for the Arts has done this study about how reading, specifically reading novels, is on the decline. I don't see this as a necessarily terrible thing. Literature changes. The novel wasn't always in existence, you know. It came to prominence as a literary form only a few hundred years ago. So there's nothing to say that it has to last forever. Particularly with the rise of the cinema and the internet, people are absorbing their stories and doing their reading in ways that aren't traditional, but aren't necessarily bad. What would concern me is if we, as a society, are no longer interested in the types of stories that Austen told. It takes a bit of patience to get into them, but once you do, they're rich, rewarding, and a lot of fun.

Let's hope this isn't the case. Since movies such as Pride and Prejudice and even Becoming Jane, which is a biography of Austen's life, keep getting made, it seems that there's hope that we still love these stories, just in the media of the 21st century.

But on the other hand, if you have time this summer, pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice--the book--and give it a chance. You won't regret it.