Sisters Jane and Anna Maria Porter were wildly popular writers–among the most widely-read writers in Regency England. (Yes, more popular than Jane Austen!) Their novels were on every British bookshelf, their poetry was popular and acclaimed, and Jane Porter’s historical novel The Scottish Chiefs would retain its popularity for nearly 150 years. So how did these bestselling icons of British literature end up nearly penniless and living as “professional houseguests” without a home to call their own? And why did the eternal fame they expected elude them in the end?

Guest Devoney Looser is the author of the award-winning book The Making of Jane Austen (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017). She was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2018 for her work on a book about the Porter Sisters. She is Professor of English at Arizona State University and the author or editor of six other books on literature by women. Her recent writing has appeared in The Atlantic, the New York Times, Salon, The TLS, and Entertainment Weekly, and she’s had the pleasure of talking about Austen on CNN. Looser has played roller derby as Stone Cold Jane Austen and is on Twitter @devoneylooser and @Making_Jane

Music featured in this episode by Amanda Setlik Wilson, Allison Kim, Peter Ryan, and Half Pelican.

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