Reception history of Jane Austen their class, instead of their moral failures being presented as a product of the social system. Writing about the work of Johnson, Irvine wrote that for her, Austen was a radical because it is women like Emma Woodhouse, Mrs. Elton and Mrs. Churchill who really run Highbury society, undercutting traditional gender roles, but Irvine questioned whether this really made Austen into radical, noting it was the wealth and status of the gentry women of Highbury that gave them their power. Irvine argued it was just as possible to see "Emma" as a conservative novel that upholds the superiority of the
The Jane Austen Argument 2012. Dickins and Kingwell met in 2009, during a cigarette break whilst working at a student union discovering mutual interests such as Regina Spektor and Nick Cave. Dickins at the time was planning a cabaret show, but was in need of a pianist, whereas Kingwell, a skilled pianist, was in need of a partner. The two began playing together in 2009, and in 2010 decided to make their musical partnership official. After initial difficulty settling on a name, the pair decided on The Jane Austen Argument, in reference to a long-running difference of opinion over the works of Jane Austen.