# Rejecting Jane

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{{Short description|2007 article by David Lassman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
right|250px|thumb|The 'Rejecting Jane' cover of Issue No. 28 of ''Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine''

"'''Rejecting Jane'''" is the title of a 2007 article by British author David Lassman.<ref name="thisissomerset.co.uk">[http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/blanksearch/Crazy-Jane-film-premiere-Austen-festival-Bath/article-335740-detail/article.html "Crazy for Jane film premiere at Austen festival in Bath"] Retrieved 1 April 2009</ref><ref>'How literary hoax turned into a global story for Austen fans'. ''Western Daily Press''. 12 September 2008</ref> The article, which was published in Issue 28 of ''Jane Austen's Regency World'' magazine,<ref>[http://www.janeausten.co.uk/regencyworld/index.ihtml ''Jane Austen's Regency World'' magazine]. Issue 28 July/August 2007, pp. 6–10</ref> is a critique of the publishing industry through their inadvertent rejection of [Jane Austen](/source/Jane_Austen).<ref>Morris, Stephen. [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jul/19/books.booksnews "The author and the Austen plot that exposed publishers' pride and prejudice."] ''The Guardian''. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2009.</ref><ref name=Bruxelles>De Bruxelles, Simon. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704211301/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2100306.ece "How A Laydee showed that First Impressions really are misleading."] ''The Times''. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2009.</ref>

==The idea==
Using the pseudonym 'Alison Laydee'&nbsp;– a play on Austen's original [pen name](/source/pen_name) "A Lady"<ref name=Bruxelles/>&nbsp;– Lassman sent out the opening chapters of ''[Pride and Prejudice](/source/Pride_and_Prejudice)'', ''[Northanger Abbey](/source/Northanger_Abbey)'' and ''[Persuasion](/source/Persuasion_(novel))'' to several major publishers and literary agents, with different titles but only minor changes to the text, such as character names and locations. The resultant article discussed how all but one of the publishers and agents failed to recognise her works, including [Penguin Books](/source/Penguin_Books) and [Bloomsbury](/source/Bloomsbury_Publishing), with the vast majority rejecting the attempt to gain a publishing deal. This was also despite ''Pride and Prejudice''{{'s}} opening line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," being left intact.<ref name=Bruxelles/>

==Reaction==
On its publication the article created worldwide media coverage,<ref name="thisissomerset.co.uk"/><ref name=Bruxelles/><ref>Morris, Stephen.[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jul/19/books.booksnews "The author and the Austen plot that exposed publishers' pride and prejudice."] ''The Guardian'', 19 July 2007. p. 3. Retrieved 1 April 2009.</ref><ref name=ABC>[https://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3397406 Jane Austen in Modern Day.] ABC News. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2009.</ref><ref name=Reuters>[https://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1941223720070719 "Publishers fail to spot plagiarized Jane Austen"] Reuters. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2009</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/20arts-NOCENSUREFOR_BRF.html "No Censure for Stolen Words"] ''New York Times''. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2009.</ref> which saw its author appear on radio and television programmes across the globe, including American news programmes and TV talk shows such as ''[Good Morning America](/source/Good_Morning_America)''.<ref name=ABC/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Cultural depictions of Jane Austen
Category:Journalistic hoaxes

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