Jane Austen and the Reformation

Drawing attention to the medieval churches and abbeys that appear frequently in Jane Austen's novels, Moore argues that these sacred spaces are not merely picturesque backgrounds but tangible reminders of the past that raise important social and economic questions and align her with a long tradition of nostalgia for the medieval sacred landscape. Moore's juxtaposition of Austen's novels with sixteenth- and seventeenth-century texts reveals Austen's engagement with the long national conversation about the meaning and consequences of the Reformation.