SWOSU President presents research at Weatherford Public Library

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  • SWOSU President presents research at Weatherford Public Library
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Kimberly Lippencott

WDN Reporter

“The walls seem like they were a lot higher,” SWOSU President Dr. Diana Lovell said as she recalled coming to the Weatherford Public Library as a small child. Dr. Lovell presented research about the beloved British author Jane Austen Wednesday morning at the Weatherford Public Library’s Books in Review. Before she discussed Austen, Dr. Lovell reminisced about her excitement over the new library.

Dr. Lovell was five when the library was built. “I was just learning to read. I was in Weatherford’s first public kindergarten class ever. I could read just a little bit, and I thought the library was so special. After we would do our grocery shopping every week, my mom would bring me here and I could check out a book,” she said. “This is a special place for me, and libraries are just so important.”

After discussing her personal connection with the Weatherford library, Dr. Lovell shared about two of her favorite topics: British history and Jane Austen.

A self-professed “Janeite,” an enthusiastic admirer of Jane Austen, Dr. Lovell said Austen is “one of the greatest British authors of all time.” Dr. Lovell said in every list she has seen of great British authors, Austen is always in the top 10.

One quality of Austen’s that is particularly fascinating to SWOSU’s president was the isolation of Austen. The author is renowned for her timeless works of literature, yet Dr. Lovell says there is no research showing she ever interacted with another author in writing or conversation.

Dr. Lovell discussed the history of Austen and her family, and Dr. Lovell also shared some of her own research from her trips to Europe. While exploring a village in England, Dr. Lovell learned of a family who possessed a large amount of historical “documents.” When she inquired about the documents, she found a multitude of letters from the Regency Era, the era of Jane Austen.

Some of the letters she found tell a love story very similar to that of the tale from 

a love story very similar to that of the tale from Austen’s novel Persuasion. Dr. Lovell believes the real-life authors of the letters may have met Austen and inspired the story for the famous novel.

Dr. Lovell ended her talk by emphasizing the importance ofexploration as research, not just reading in libraries. In 2019, she even presented this idea in a Ted Talk in 2019. To watch her speech and learn more about the letters she found, go to YouTube and search “The Best Discoveries in Life are Outside of the Library.”

Dr. Diana Lovell shares research about Jane Austen’s life.

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SWOSU President Dr. Diana Lovell presents at Books in Review Wednesday morning at the Weatherford Public Library. Dr. Lovell shared about her research of Jane Austen, “one of the greatest British authors of all time,” noted Dr. Lovell.