As I have said in countless places already, my London trip this year was the trip of a lifetime for many reasons- I crossed off several bucket list items. (I guess I will need to come up with more…) I saw Paddington the Musical in previews, one of the best musicals I’ve ever seen. We toured the East Wing of Buckingham Palace (more coming on that). And I saw some amazing exhibitions, including Marie Antoinette Style. But one of my standout moments was seeing one of my favourite Austen scholars in conversation at Waterstones. I thought I would share some of my highlights of the Jane Austen talk with Devoney Looser and Zoë McGee!
Jane Austen talk with Devoney Looser and Zoë McGee
On my last night in London, I made my way to the Tottenham Court Road Waterstones to see Devoney Looser and Zoë McGee chatting all things Jane Austen and the Regency period. Devoney is my favourite Austen scholar, and I think I can definitively say, has been my biggest academic influence. She does such a spectacular job of digging into Austen’s works, the past, and her legacy to find new information and theories, and importantly, to make it all accessible. I do everything I can to make history and culture accessible, and that is largely inspired by Devoney.
A good mix
The host balanced lighter questions with heavier ones, which made for both a fun and thought-provoking evening! We had several topics covered from everyone’s favourite Austen novel and heroine to accuracy in period dramas to how we respond to novels and social movements today.
A little highlight for me: Devoney spoke on Austen adaptations and explained that she doesn’t need intense accuracy, as an entertaining period drama will bring in more people. Given that I’ve written about that very topic here, I was thrilled to see one of my favourite authors and researchers share my approach. (Interestingly, she said that she thought the 2022 Persuasion was fun- perhaps not that Persuasion that Austenites are familiar with, but fun nevertheless!)
Zoë McGee’s Courting Disaster
I will admit, I had not planned on buying Courting Disaster. I was doing my best to stick to a budget, and the very brief synopsis I read had me on the fence. However, as soon as Zoë starting chatting, I knew I would be buying it on the spot. Her work focuses largely on what is unsaid- Courting Disaster takes us through several different novels and looks at what would have been understood in the Regency period without it being explicitly stated. And while most people don’t know my own methodology, I focus a lot on what isn’t said- that sold me on the spot.
As she very rightly points out, the topic of consent and all of the related gender issues is not a particularly light or easy thing to discuss. However, there is a lot of humour throughout the book, and she is an entertaining speaker. (The humour is appropriate, if you were concerned.) These are very real issues that women everywhere deal with on a daily basis, and I think she handles them adeptly without moving into a very dark trajectory.
I was able to speak with Zoë after the talk, and she was incredibly kind and interesting. (She has a few different potential books planned- she is certainly an author to keep an eye on.)
Devoney Looser’s Wild for Austen
I had already read Devoney’s new book, Wild for Austen, but I am so grateful that I was able to hear her speak further on it. If you have watched any of your interviews, you will know that she is a great speaker, but it was even better to see her in person! (Keep an eye on her social media- she has more Austen-related appearances over the next several months all over the place.)
If anyone is an Austen encyclopedia it is Devoney, and I loved hearing her thoughts on everything.
She made a great point that although some novels are excellent, we are not called back to them and that is perfectly okay. (I find with Austen and many other nineteenth century writers, it is expected that you will continually re-read them and you are a failure if you don’t.) Literature is not a tortured and dark path for Devoney but rather one of engagement and wit, and seeing her in person truly drove that home.
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As we celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday on 16 December 2025, you can expect Jane Austen on each Tuesday in December!
