Reading Austen in America - Wells, Juliette

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Résumé :

List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Part 1: The 1816 Philadelphia Emma and Its Readers
Chapter One The Origins of the First Austen Novel Printed in America
What did it mean to reprint Emma?
Who was M. Carey, and why did he choose Emma?
When in 1816 was Carey's Emma published, and how many copies were issued?
How did the Philadelphia Emma compare to the London edition, and why have so few copies of the American edition survived?
How did readers first become aware of Carey's Emma?
How did Americans first learn of Austen's authorship?

Chapter Two Tales of Three Copies: Books, Owners, and Readers
Lovers of books, if not of Austen: the du Pont sisters of Delaware
A careful and curious reader: Jeremiah Smith of New
Hampshire
Unimpressed by Emma: subscribers to a Rhode Island circulating
library

Chapter Three An Accomplished Scotswoman Reads Austen Abroad:
Christian, Countess of Dalhousie in British North America
Plants, drawing, reading, riddles: girlhood education
A literary marriage
Encounters with Austen's novels during a transatlantic life
Reading tastes and book acquisition

Part 2: Transatlantic Austen Conversations
Chapter Four Enthusiasts Connected Through the Electric Telegraph of Genius:
The Quincy Sisters of Boston and the Francis W. Austen family of Portsmouth
Recommended reading and fertile imaginations
Admirers, rewarded with a relic, envision a society of devotees
Two families meet during Anna's literary pilgrimage
Americans contribute to Austen's international fame

Chapter Five Collectors and Bibliographers:
Alberta H. Burke of Baltimore and David J. Gilson of Oxford
Unusual approaches to collecting Austen
Balancing erudition with enthusiasm

Appendix: Census of Surviving Copies of the 1816 Philadelphia Emma
Bibliography