Wild For Austen 2025 Release: A Bold New Spin on the Iconic Author

I’m literally counting down the days until the Wild for Austen 2025 release! This bold, rebellious spin on Jane Austen’s life and legacy hits the shelves on September 2, 2025, and I couldn’t be more excited! With so much anticipation surrounding this release, let’s take a closer look at why this book has everyone talking.

This post will guide you through all the juicy details of Wild for Austen book, celebrating Jane Austen’s wild side with Devoney Looser’s fresh insights.

“Devoney Looser takes us on a refreshing and entertaining romp into some of the most wild—and bewildering—aspects of Regency history, with Jane Austen as her companion…” – says Tilar J. Mazzeo, bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot.

Did you know 2025 marks Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary, celebrating our favourite queen of wit and creator of the most fascinating obstinate headstrong heroines? There’s honestly no better time to dive into the Wild for Austen, Devoney Looser’s rebellious, subversive take on the real Jane

Wild for Austen Book 2025 Synopsis

Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane

Publishing for Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, this unmissable book offers an incisive and entertaining look at her life, writing, and legacy.

You may have thought Jane Austen was a quiet spinster, but Devoney Looser puts that myth to rest. Tracing the author’s life and legacy across 250 years, she reveals an Austen far wilder than the one we know.

Looser takes a deep dive into Austen’s work, offering fresh insights into her six completed novels, as well as her juvenilia, unfinished fiction, essays, and poetry. She also reveals new information about Austen’s relationship to the abolitionist movement and women’s suffrage.

Examining the author’s legacy, she turns up extraordinary stories about ghost-sightings, Austen novels used as evidence in court, and the eclectic members of the Austen family, whose own outrageous lives are wilder than fiction.

Written with warmth and humour, and filled with remarkable details never before published, Wild for Austen is the ultimate tribute to one of the world’s most beloved novelists.

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What Makes the Wild for Austen Book 2025 Release So Exciting?

According to the most recent official reviews of the book, here are some very good reasons reasons to be excited for Wild for Austen:

1 – Jane Austen’s Wild Side Comes to Life
As Rebecca Solnit puts it, “Jane the prim and proper is laid to rest here, so that Jane the satirist, Jane the subversive, Jane the wild can rise and make her trouble.” This fresh take on Austen sheds the outdated image of the quiet, reserved author and unveils a dynamic and rebellious Austen, one who’s much more daring and adventurous than we’ve ever imagined.

2 – Discover Austen’s Untold Legacy and Unlikely Connections
One of the most thrilling parts of Wild for Austen is the exploration of Austen’s personal history and the unconventional relationships that shaped her life. “From controversial relatives and acquaintances (accused shoplifters! International spies!) to Austen’s brother’s abolitionist efforts.” writes Natalie Jenner, bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society, she says that Looser uncovers hidden connections and details that challenge the way we understand Austen’s legacy. Her work reveals surprising facts about Austen’s family dynamics and the historical influences that shaped her novels, giving us a much richer picture of Austen’s world.

3 – An Expert Scholar, But Always a Fun Read
As Lucy Worsley, bestselling author of Jane Austen at Home, puts it: “I’m wild about Devoney Looser. No one else wears such deep Austen scholarship so lightly.” Looser’s combination of meticulous research and refreshing humor creates a perfect balance that makes this book accessible to fans of all backgrounds. Whether you’re a lifelong Austen aficionado like me, or a casual reader.

4 – Finally, A Book Cover as Bold as Austen Herself
Now, here’s one more reason I’m completely obsessed with the Wild for Austen book 2025 release: the book cover is just perfect! It’s bright and bold, and the wink feels playful, rebellious, and full of personality. In addition, it’s the kind of cover that makes any bookworm want to proudly display their copy on the bookshelf.

How to Get the Book?

Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser, is set to be published on 2 September 2025 by St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan, and honestly, I can’t wait to dive in!

The book is available for online pre-order in several major retailers, including:

Buy Wild for Austen in UK:
Amazon | Waterstones | Manchester University Press

Buy Wild for Austen in US:
Amazon | Macmillan Publishers | Barnes and Noble

Author Biography

Devoney Looser, Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University, is the author of Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës and The Making of Jane Austen. A Guggenheim Fellow and an NEH Public Scholar, Looser has written for The Atlantic, New York Times, Salon, Slate, and The Washington Post. She is a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and played roller derby under the name Stone Cold Jane Austen.

Devoney Looser Official bio at Goodreads

I’d love to know — are you as excited for Wild for Austen as I am? Leave a comment below; I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

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Publisher information

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin’s Press (2 Sept. 2025)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250361338
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250361332
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.56 x 2.54 x 23.5 cm

All information, including the cover design, was sourced from the official website of Manchester University Press (2025).

Where to Next?

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