As a historian and unashamed fan, Professor Amanda Vickery is fascinated by how Jane Austen, an anonymous minor novelist in her lifetime, is 200 years later recognised as a unique British literary genius whose fame rivals Dickens and Shakespeare.

From a convention centre in Texas to Princess Diana's family home, and from the trenches of World War I to the silver screen of Hollywood, Vickery explores how and why generations of readers have been won over by just six classic novels. Show less