English

Noun

Janeite ‎(plural Janeites)

1. (usually pejorative) A fan of the author Jane Austen, especially one without a background in literary criticism.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Rudyard Kipling to this entry?)

   • 2010, Edward Copeland and 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.

Synonyms

• (fan of Jane Austen): Austenite

Derived terms

• Janeiteism