Margie Burns

'Ages and Stages: A Glimpse into the Lives of Women in the Academy' offers the perspectives of ten women academics, mostly but not exclusively from the United States, who share both their struggles and their successes in the world of higher education. Ranging from graduate students to those nearing retirement, the essay authors aim to write in conversation with one another and to bring readers into the conversation. Readers will find various perspectives on issues unique to women academics—including motherhood, societal expectations, and institutional assumptions—and will discover various methods of navigating the unique challenges of women academics.

Twelve research articles deal with aspects of religion in the plays of William Shakespeare, from early in the dramatist’s career to the end. Ordered by chronology, two chapters focus on history plays; three chapters focus on comedies and three on tragedies; one deals with "Troilus and Cressida," and three chapters deal with the late romances. The anthology does not cover all of Shakespeare’s plays and collaborations or the lyric poems. The collection is ecumenical and transnational. While the contributors all recognize that Shakespeare wrote in a Renaissance Christian universe, Christianity is not the only world religion dealt with. Approaches involve history and philosophy as well as theology, and individual perspectives vary. One thing the collection makes clear is that religion, in some sense, operates in every Shakespearean work, and its large spectrum ranges through plot and character from shallow to deep, self-interested to elevated, bloody to harmonious. Religion and religious differences were also part of the fabric and history of the playwright’s world, manifesting in the plays in situation, language, and iconography. From various perspectives, a common denominator is that the authors approach aspects of religion as one element in an informed analysis of the works.

Jane Austen was not born a global icon. It took years for her to break into print. Her first publication came after almost a decade of ups and downs, and her first novel out was not the first she sent to a publisher. Up to a point, lovers of Jane Austen probably know the publication history of Northanger Abbey—written first, published last. Austen wrote and revised the novel early, tried to get it published, then wrote all her other novels and ended up having Northanger Abbey come out with Persuasion, her last finished work. What we don’t know would fill a book—this book. The objective is to make her early publishing history clear, bringing to light information and original sources not drawn upon before. Beyond her lifetime, clarifying her publishing history also sheds light on an under-regarded novel. The early novel first titled Susan, then Catherine, then Northanger Abbey has sometimes been dismissed by critics, but it was never unimportant to Jane Austen herself. Publishing “Northanger Abbey”: Jane Austen and the Writing Profession is for all lovers of Jane Austen, in and out of universities, libraries, and fan clubs, including readers now staying home with their favorite novelists during the pandemic.