It is a truth not universally acknowledged that a novelist in possession of an impressive, centuries-old literary catalog must one day be the subject of a graphic novel.
Yet for Janine Barchas, internationally admired Jane Austen scholar and UT English professor, such a task was irresistible. Her lack of familiarity with the current state of the graphic genre – a deal-breaker for some – couldn’t dissuade her. “I love doing things that have a steep learning curve,” Barchas says. “These are opportunities so unusual, you cannot just say ‘No.’”
So when a literary agent in Berlin contacted Barchas and said she’d find an illustrator to pair her with, the idea of a graphic treatment of Austen became a reality – timed conveniently for Austen’s 250th birthday year. (She was born Dec. 16, 1775.) The result? The Novel Life of Jane Austen: A Graphic Biography (out April 29 via Black Dog & Leventhal), a meticulously researched and delightfully drawn treatment of the literary icon.
“You don’t choose your academic specialties based upon anniversaries,” Barchas says. “But Jane Austen is having an anniversary, and I happen to be living through that. So I want to participate in every way possible.”
To educate herself, Barchas studied, among other Austen adaptations, Arthur Miller’s 1945 radio broadcast of Pride and Prejudice for ideas on scene construction and dialogue, screenplay-style. She also immersed herself in graphic novels, including Isabel Greenberg’s Glass Town, an imaginative work that explores the childhoods of the Brontë siblings, Charlotte (Jane Eyre) and Emily (Wuthering Heights) included. To Barchas’ delight, Greenberg agreed to come on board as illustrator for the Austen project.
The biography, rich with historical detail and visual reconstruction, is divided into three distinct sections of Austen’s life: “Budding Writer,” “Struggling Artist,” and “Published Author.” Barchas, intent on sticking to the historical record, supplied Greenberg with a scaffolding of sorts: prints of storefronts, fashion, houses, and castle and landscape views from Austen’s lifetime. “We’d imagine a drawing room, people talking,” Barchas notes, “but we didn’t want it to look as if they’d been shopping at IKEA.”
For the illustrator, working with Barchas’ vast and detailed visual archive was a highlight of the project. “Janine provided me with material I’d never have found on my own,” the London-based Greenberg says. “That enabled me to add visual richness to the text – and an authenticity – which, I believe, sets this apart from other graphic biographies.” To complement the research, the pair even visited relevant locales together – “our field trip,” Barchas terms it – like the house in Hampshire, England, where Austen wrote her classics.
As with the graphic novel, Barchas’ earlier Austen projects might be labeled non-academic pursuits. These include The Lost Books of Jane Austen (Johns Hopkins, 2019), a richly illustrated exploration of how inexpensive, mass-market editions of Austen’s novels helped establish her literary fame, and the website What Jane Saw, which offers a digital reconstruction of two significant art exhibitions Austen likely attended in London.
And why would a celebrated scholar – one who’s published a book with Cambridge University Press and articles in a host of academic journals – embrace such unconventional diversions? “It’s wonderful not to write for the same 12 people in your discipline,” Barchas quips. “That’s part of the challenge, the daring – to bring Austen, potentially, to a new audience … or at least a slightly expanded audience.”
Even, evidently, when that might require venturing into unfamiliar literary terrain. “The most fun to be had,” Barchas says, “is when there’s an aspect of abject terror in the offing.”
The Harry Ransom Center hosts a book launch for The Novel Life of Jane Austen on Thursday, May 1. Barchas also appears at BookPeople’s Jane Austen Day event on Sunday, May 4.
This article appears in April 25 • 2025.