ABSTRACT
In this essay, Juliette Wells explores the expectations that introductory and intermediate level students bring to Austen’s novels and that help to shape their interpretations. She draws on experience informed by nearly two decades of teaching, research, and public-humanities work on Austen in popular culture, Austen’s reception, and Austen’s historical readers. Her essay provides a practical guide for navigating the real-life challenges and opportunities for connection that arise in secondary and undergraduate classrooms once students are comfortable speaking freely about how they interpret Austen. Addressing two especially ‘hot-button’ topics—race and socioeconomic status—sheoffers brief overviews of contexts in history, biography, intertextuality, adaptations, and readers and fan communities, each pegged to a question or questions that students frequently ask.
