I agree that Jack is essentially right about the popularisation of history, and if anyone is interested, the phenomenon he describes is a very fertile field of academic study in itself- the combination of National mythmaking and inherited culture is potent indeed. It's not for this board, though.

One could ascribe many motivations to Dr Polyna's actions. Jack has been charitable- lets keep it that way. Again, this board isn't for investigating motives of historians, really.

Linden said " JA herself tended to let other pens dwell on guilt and misery, and omitted reference to much of the nastier side of life. But the popular recent conception of JA carries this tendency even further."

It depends on what you mean by "the popular recent conception of JA". Again an awful lot of academics -mainly lit critters, in this case- have written reams on why the 'public perception of JA' is incorrect. Much of it brings into my mind a comparision of the blackness of pots and kettles, and also of eyes, motes and planks of wood. Personally, I find that many Pemberleans have a very good instinctive understanding of the "reality" of JA's corner of history. Perhaps Pemberleans are not typical of the people surveyed by lit critters? Donald asked an interesting question the other day- about whether JA's work showed the world as she saw it, or as she thought it could have been. There are no masectomies in JA's created worlds, likewise no plague, no murders, and no nasty smells, either! Personally, I don't blame anyone for wishing for a world like that.

Linden also said, "People on this particular board spend a lot of time fighting this rosy-eyed view; we tell those who wished they lived in JA's period all about Fanny Burney's mastectomy without anasthetic." I'm not convinced that there is actually much to fight. The questions asked on this board are usually asked by people already wanting to know the reality of life back then- they come ready to be convinced that there are guilts and miseries not mentioned by JA. Not everyone is knowledgeable, but the intelligence and empathy displayed by Pemberleans in general is absolutely breathtaking. Again, this board is not designed to "correct" anyone's views on history- it is designed for clarifying Jane Austen's life, and interpreting the meaning of her writings- no more, and no less.