Awkward
Ouch. This is an ugly one. Well-known Jane Austen scholar Kathryn Sutherland has accused biographer Claire Harman, author of the upcoming Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World (Laurel Ann previewed it on Austenprose), of copying ideas from Professor Sutherland’s more scholarly take on a similar subject, Jane Austen’s Textual Lives: From Aeschylus to Bollywood, published in 2006.
Sutherland uncovered evidence that the punctuation inserted on Austen’s manuscripts shows how she was turned into a more acceptable and organised kind of creative genius. Her novels serve today as the basis of lavish costume dramas and Bollywood screenplays.
“My book was hailed as ground-breaking, but not many people outside the circle of Austen scholars have seen it,” said Sutherland. “I had used three informal family biographies of Jane written by her nieces which were then ignored in the version of her life that was put out to the world by her nephew and publishers.”
In Sutherland’s view, Harman’s book will now end her own hopes of a wider readership: “The commercial and academic worlds are obviously different, but there is a cross-over. In academia, you cite every source to prove your scholarship, while in a commercial book, you don’t.” She claims that readers who follow up Harman’s footnotes and read her book will see the similarities.
Another article covers much the same ground. Thanks to Alert Janeites Maria L. and Lisa for the links.
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So, Sutherland is complaining that Harman has read her book and cited it in footnotes? This is normal academic practice. How can this have ended her ‘hopes of a wider readership’ ? Sutherland is a a famous scholar: if she wanted a book contract, she could get one. All she needs is the ability to write for a wider audience, which, as anyone who has struggled through her books and reviews will know, she sadly lacks.
Gee, Angharad, don’t hold back; tell us what you really think.
At first when I read the article it seemed like Harman had used ideas from an unpublished ms.–but as you said, she was citing a published work, so it does seem kind of odd. It’s unclear if Sutherland was planning to write something for a more commercial audience, and that’s why she is distressed.
Whoa – sounds like Sutherland got a whole bagful of sour grapes at the store, unless I’m missing something.
I had to read Sutherland for my graduate studies, so I write with feeling! Harman’s articles, on the other hand, are always a pleasure. What’s all this about Harman being Sutherland’s student? It must have been a hell of a long time ago- Harman’s been publishing for twenty years. Sutherland’s making out like she was her TA and raided the filing cabinet. Yep, Kelly, sour grapes is about right!
I though that the whole point of ground-breaking research was that people who writes about the same subject will have to dedicate some part of the book to looking at your ideas, because they are just so ground-breaking…