Reading Between the Lines of the Regency Novel

Ever since the novel was invented, women have used it as a platform for sharing ideas about sexual consent. Dr Zoë McGee reveals how Jane Austen, Frances Burney and their now-overlooked contemporaries used their stories to try to change society’s mind about rape culture – and to reassure survivors they were not alone. In an era that’s clamouring for a return to the values of the past, Zoe questions what that would really mean, and whether anyone actually liked it back then anyway.

Zoë takes us on a timely deep-dive into a series of classic novels in this Ethical Matters talk, comparing them with both historic court records and current events to show that our arguments about consent are not a new phenomenon. Reading between the lines unveils a quiet feminist movement that still resonates today – because every novel about marriage is also a novel about consent.

Zoë McGee has a PhD from Queen Mary University of London and an MSt in eighteenth-century studies from the University of Oxford. She has spoken at conferences internationally and now performs at very nerdy stand-up comedy nights. Among other things, she has worked as a university teacher, a bookseller and a professional board-game-explainer. She owns too many books and is a competitive ballroom dancer in her spare time.