Dr. Jocelyn Harris is Professor Emerita at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She has authored three monographs on Austen: Jane Austen’s Art of Memory, A Revolution Almost Beyond Expression: Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and Satire, Celebrity, and Politics in Jane Austen.
Harris has been active in scholarly and public conversations about Austen, women’s writing, and textual editing. She has also helped us rethink Austen’s return to writing in the “lost years” of 1805-1809.
In the selections below, Dr. Harris reflects on her longstanding career, Austen’s global reach as a writer, her work in satire, and her interest in celebrity, wars, and diverse global matters.
Dr. Harris Discusses Jane Austen’s Love of the Theatre and Its Impacts on Her Writing
Dr. Harris Reflects on Jane Austen as a Satirist
On Austen’s Method and Evolution as a Satirist
Dr. Harris Considers Austen’s Reading and Access to News and Information about the World
On the Great Importance of the Navy and Austen’s Brothers to her Writing and Thinking
Dr. Harris Explores Jane Austen’s Fascination with Celebrities
Dr. Harris Reflects on Austen’s Treatment of the Ordinary and Daily Experiences
Dr. Harris Reflects on the Intermixing of Joy and Pain in Persuasion
Dr. Harris Explores Issues of Luck and Hapiness in Persuasion
Dr. Harris Discusses the Joy and Pain of Persuasion as a Realistic Portrayal of Happiness