ABSTRACT
In this essay, Gillian Dow and Kim Simpson share experiences and insights gleaned from their involvement with the development of a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the Future Learn platform: ‘Jane Austen: Myth, Reality and Global Celebrity’. Their course sought to situate Austen in her local Hampshire context, whilst examining what she means to a global audience today. They explore the ways that their course challenges some persistent myths surrounding Austen’s writing and her life, myths that concerned them in their public-facing roles at Chawton House working with the literary-tourist community. They reflect on the process of creating and curating material for the course in a way that differentiates between learners, is sensitive to the differences between the popular and the scholarly and non-specialist audiences, and that makes robust use of online mechanisms to engage an enormous audience.
