Some film and tv adaptations of Jane Austen's novels might give the impression that the stories are little more than Mills and Boon-type romances in empire-line frocks. This talk will introduce fictions whose representations of the path to marriage is anything but starry-eyed and rosy-coloured, and an author who is anything but 'dear sweet Aunt Jane'. Dr Sandie Byrne is a University Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing.