‘Labbe’s cogent, provocative, and challenging discussion offers an exciting, new
way of thinking about authorial interactions. Meticulous in locating so many
instances in which Austen and Smith speak to one another, Labbe persuasively
argues that critical recognition of the value of Austen’s writing needs, in turn, to
appreciate the forethinking present in Smith’s work.’
- Dr. Harriet Kramer Linkin, New Mexico State University, USA
‘A lively challenge to ideas of influence. It provokes and persuades. Written in a
refreshing and innovative style, it never fails to interest the reader. The works of
both authors are enriched by this study, which upends what we think we know to
reveal so much more than we realised.’
- Professor Sharon Ruston, Lancaster University, UK
‘Thought-provoking, insightful and accessible, offering a new approach to reading
women’s fiction of the Romantic period. Labbe makes a compelling case for ‘cowriting’,
for dialogue and exchange. This book not only sheds fresh light on and
Austen; it provides an innovative account of how women writers can productively
be read as engaging in conversation rather than competition.’
- Professor Fiona Price, University of Chichester, UK
This book explores what it means to read the six major works of Jane Austen, in
light of the ten major works of fiction by Charlotte Smith. It proposes that Smith
had a deep and lasting impact on Austen, but this is not an influence study. Instead,
it argues for the possibility that two authors who never met could between them
write something into being, both responding to and creating a novelistic zeitgeist.
This, the book argues, can be called co-writing. This book will appeal to students
and scholars of the novel, of women’s writing, and of Smith and Austen specifically.
This book explores what it means to read the six major works of Jane Austen, in
light of the ten major works of fiction by Charlotte Smith. It proposes that Smith
had a deep and lasting impact on Austen, but this is not an influence study. Instead,
it argues for the possibility that two authors who never met could between them
write something into being, both responding to and creating a novelistic zeitgeist.
This, the book argues, can be called co-writing. This book will appeal to students
and scholars of the novel, of women’s writing, and of Smith and Austen specifically.
Jacqueline M. Labbe
Afterlives Co-writing Modern novel Genre Intertextual
“This book presents a major re-evaluation of Charlotte Smith’s impact on Jane Austen that not only demonstrates how important Smith was to Austen’s development as a novelist, but also establishes the significance of Smith’s contributions to the development of the novel as an innovative genre at the end of the eighteenth century. Labbe’s cogent, provocative, and challenging discussion of the sixteen novels these paired writers published offers an exciting, new way of thinking about authorial interactions that pushes beyond the unidirectionality of influence theory to advocate for an interactive intertextuality that positions Smith and Austen in a complementary relationship which Labbe playfully describes as “co-writing.” Meticulous and marvelous in locating so many instances in which Austen and Smith speak to one another, Labbe persuasively argues that critical recognition of the value of Austen’s writing needs, in turn, to appreciate the forethinking present in Smith’s work.” (Dr. Harriet Kramer Linkin, Emerita Distinguished Professor, Department of English, New Mexico State University)
“This book offers a lively challenge to ideas of influence. It provokes and persuades. It is written in a refreshing and innovative style, which never fails to interest the reader. The works of both Charlotte Smith and Jane Austen are enriched by this study, which upends what we think we know to reveal so much more than we realised.” (Professor Sharon Ruston, Department of English and Creative Writing, Lancaster University)
“This book is thought-provoking, insightful and accessible, offering a new approach to reading women’s fiction of the Romantic period and, indeed, women’s writing more generally. Instead of proposing a simple model of 'influence' (which puts women writers in competition and perpetuates the canon as it stands), Labbe makes a compelling case for ‘co-writing’, for dialogue and exchange that works particularly well with the Romantic period novel. This book not only sheds fresh light on Charlotte Smith and Jane Austen; it provides an innovative account of how women writers can productively be read as engaging in conversation rather than competition.” (Professor Fiona Price, University of Chichester, Bishop Otter campus)