Janeite
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Jane + -ite, coined by English literary critic George Saintsbury in his introduction to Pride and Prejudice published in 1894 (see quotations at Janite).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Janeite (plural Janeites)
- (usually derogatory) A fan of the author Jane Austen, especially one without a background in literary criticism.
- 1924, Rudyard Kipling, The Janeites:
- “Every dam' thing about Jane [Austen] is remarkable to a pukka Janeite!”
- 2010, Edward Copeland, Juliet McMaster, The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, page 236:
- Unlike virtually all academic readers of Austen since the 1950s, Janeites in foxholes do not think Austen's novels are about courtship and marriage.
- 2012, Henry Hitchings, “How to flummox a Janeite”, in Who's Afraid of Jane Austen: How to Talk About Books You Haven't Really Read:
- The 'regulated hatred' angle will work a treat. After all, Janeites don't want to hear about that sort of thing, because it's the opposite of what they adore in their heroine's writing.