‘What Jane Saw,’ an Online Exhibition for Austen Fans – NYTimes.com
But now, precisely 200 years later, an ambitious online exhibition called “What Jane Saw” will allow modern-day Janeiacs to wander through a meticulous reconstruction of the exhibition and put themselves, if not quite in Austen’s shoes, at least behind her eyes.
“It’s the closest thing to time travel on the Web,” said Janine Barchas, an associate professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin, who led the project.
Such time travel is on a lot of Austen fans’ minds in this year of global celebration of the 200th anniversary of “Pride and Prejudice.” And “What Jane Saw,” which went live just before midnight London time on Thursday, can be seen as a scholarly answer to extravagant bicentennial reanimations like the Netherfield ball, the BBC’s recent staging of the dance where Darcy and Elizabeth shared some pivotal banter.
