Join Austen expert Fiona Stafford for a fascinating exploration of Sense and Sensibility in relation to Romanticism.

Marianne Dashwood is well known by Austen lovers for her strong feelings and eagerness in everything.  But what about her mind?  This talk will explore the way Marianne thinks about the world, how she sees her surroundings and the people she loves (or doesn’t love).  ‘Marianne’s romance’ will be considered in relation to Romanticism.  By reading Austen’s first published novel in conjunction with contemporary poetry, Marianne’s passion for dead leaves begins to seem a sign of her good sense as much as her sensibility.

FIONA STAFFORD is a literary scholar, writer and broadcaster.  She is Professor of English at the University of Oxford, teaching Romantic literature, place and nature writing, and Archipelagic writing.  She has worked on Austen for many years, with books including Jane Austen: A Brief Life (2017), Emma: A Casebook of Criticism, and editions of Pride and Prejudice and Emma. She also writes on Romantic literature more broadly, and on the natural world,  landscape and seascape.  Recent latest books include Time and Tide: The Long, Long Life of Landscape (2024) and an Everyman edition of Byron’s Travels (2024).

Details:
Date: Sunday 4 May
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £12 

 Tickets for this event include House entry for this day only. 

This event is part of our Spring Fling: Sense and Sensibility Festival, running from 1 – 11 May 2025