I've spent practically my entire morning compiling a list of Austen sequels published since 1980. I have a good reason for doing it -- a class assignment. I do have to wonder, though, if the writers of these sequels have good reasons for writing what they have. The genre of Austen-based writings, you see, is much larger than I would have guessed.
To illustrate:
- my current bibliography lists 102 titles, all of which are specifically sequels to Jane Austen's works; they are not books that are simply based in the Regency period, books that retell Austen's tales in a more modern setting, or books that feature Austen herself as a crime-solver (not even joking)
- those 102 titles were written by 46 authors, some of whom are one-time Austen-sequel writers, others of whom seem to not write about anything else
- of those 46 writers, 3 are named Jane
- only 2 of the authors were actually related to Jane Austen and may have some vague claim to continuing her creative legacy
Apparently, we don't. Although I'm still waiting to see some "War and Peace and Space Aliens" or a book called "What Would F. Scott Fitzgerald Do?" The answer to that question, by the way, is: Drink.
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