Sydney meeting
‘Her solace was visiting and news’: Gossip in Jane Austen
Amanda Jones

‘My dear Mr Bennet, have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?” Many of us were socialised to think of gossip as a bad thing, which we should avoid, but ‘gossip’ drives and furthers many of the plots in Austen’s novels. Perceived or unperceived, reliable or questionable, as an important means of communication, the characters and the books would be poorer for its lack.

Amanda Jones, JASA member, delves into the importance of gossip in the writings of Jane Austen.