Can you describe Jane Austen’s contemporary literary reputation?

What makes authors great is the fact that they continue to
be  relevant across different periods of time. This is because their work  has literary
merit and deals with basic and perenial concerns of life. Jane Austen is  part of the
literary canon and included in  literature courses  across various universities even
today, precisely for this reason.

On the other hand, people
like Mark Twain's disdain of her work are widely quoted. There has been this tendency to
belittle her work as being nothing more than soft romances but serious study shows a
perceptive mind that was adept at mirroring human nature, 'warts and all". Her books are
as relevant social critiques of society today as they were of her time. Her basic themes
of how money makes the world go round and how financial security overrides pasion can be
applied to modern day society with equal
justification.  

Her contemporary reputation is only
growing, evidenced by the way more and more TV serials and film makers are using her
novels as a base for their work. For example, the very successful "Bride and Prejudice"
made by Gurinder Chadha is a rivetting rendition of Pride and Prejudice. Similarly
Paramount Pictures "Clueless" and Bollywood's "Aisha" are adaptations of Emma. There are
references galore to some of her charaters like Elizabeth Bennet, Mrs Bennet, Darcy and
Emma being the most popular. As in the Hollywood movie, "You Have Got Mail",  Darcy
comes up for discussion between the lead pair.

Jane
Austen's contemporariness was in the news recently again! It appears that Kate
Middleton, the new wife of Prince William and now the new Duchess of Cambridge is a
descendant of the writer. To qoute Anastasia Harman, lead family historian for
Ancestory.com,    "Catherine is the modern Jane Austen herione: a middle class girl
marrying the future King of England."

That is one more
reason to negate the view that Jane Austen is dated. As Elizabeth Langland, dean of
ASU's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences says, "If you strip away the
costumes and time period, you will see your own world
in Austen."