Inger Brodey‘s book, Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness, was recently reviewed in The Wall Street Journal.
Brodey is a professor in the department of English and comparative literature and an associate dean in the School of Civic Life and Leadership.
Writer Elizabeth Lowry writes: “Can reading Jane Austen give us unrealistic expectations of life? If Austen’s denouements (spoiler: everyone gets married) have left you with a longing for either (1) your own happy ending (2) protagonist energy or (3) the perfect mate, the Austen scholar Inger Sigrun Bredkjær Brodey suggests you might be suffering from Austenitis. Austenitis can be as insidious as any disease, but whereas a disease merely takes over your body, ‘Austen’s ideas overtake your mind and your expectations.'”