“The Jane Austen of the South”
After reading our post about the new Harper Lee biography, Alert Janeite Lorraine sent a link to the 1964 interview in which Miss Lee said she wanted to be “the Jane Austen of south Alabama.”
As you know, the South is still made up of thousands of tiny towns. There is a very definite social pattern in these towns that fascinates me. I think it is a rich social pattern. I would simply like to put down all I know about this because I believe that there is something universal in this little world, something decent to be said for it, and something to lament in its passing.
In other words all I want to be is the Jane Austen of south Alabama.
Everything is better in context, isn’t it?
May 26th, 2006 at 7:43 pm
Hi Mags,
What a relevant topic! Today on Jeopardy, the Final Jeopardy question was what something like, “what author wanted to be known as the Jane Austen of south Alabama?”
(BTW-Austen was spelled correctly this time.)
~Meghan (Who doesn’t want to mention the fact that Harper Lee’s name WAS on the tip of her tongue…)
May 26th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
D’OH! And I missed it because I forgot to change my sneakers and had to turn around at the train station and go back!
So did anybody get the right answer/question?
May 27th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
That was the worst part! There were 2 guys and a girl playing, and the female was the only one to get it wrong! She wrote down Margaret Mitchell?!?! The answer/question said that the statement was made in 1964. At least I knew Miss Mitchell had been long deceased (1949) by then, and that she was from the Georgia not Alabama. Oh, well…
I LOVE Jeopardy, but I hardly get to see it anymore because it has been moved from 7:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the ATL. Time to invest in a TiVo. :>
May 28th, 2006 at 12:58 am
Here’s an article about the guy who won that mentions the Final Jeopardy question.
June 3rd, 2006 at 7:40 am
I would have said Truman Capote and got it wrong.
June 3rd, 2006 at 8:26 pm
I would have said Truman Capote and got it wrong.
LOL! But a very good guess!