Interview with
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Dr. Gene Koppel has shared much of his time and energy with JASNA over the years, from his stint as a member of the original JASNA Board of Directors to his service as an editor of its journal Persuasions. We count ourselves fortunate to have him as a member of the Southern Arizona Region as well, and appreciate the insight and humor he brings to meetings. During the 1998 JASNA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Quebec, Dr. Gene Koppel was honored at a special reception, along with co-editors Joan Austen-Leigh and Lorraine Hanaway, for his ten years of service editing Persuasions. In light of this JASNA milestone, we thought it would be interesting to find out how he was introduced to the world of Jane Austen and why he became a lifelong fan. Our thanks go to Edith Ketcham for conducting the interview. Dr. Koppel began teaching 18th Century Literature at the University of Arizona in 1962. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia, has a Masters Degree from Columbia University Teachers' College in New York City, and received a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. The topic of his thesis was The Moral Basis of Jane Austen's Novels. Dr. Koppel is also the author of The Religious Dimensions of Jane Austen's Novels, as well as a comparison of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Anne Tyler's Morgan's Passing, Dr. Koppel has always loved teaching Jane Austen so much so that even though he retired from the University in 1997, he still teaches one course a semester. Naturally, the course includes study of Austen's writing. Edith Ketcham: What was the first Jane Austen novel you read? Gene Koppel: Pride and Prejudice. I was working in New York City at the William Morris Agency and passed a bookstore which had a copy of Pride and Prejudice in the window. It was a novel I thought I "should" read. EK: What was it about Austen's novel that made you want to read more? GK: When I opened up the book and read the first line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife," I was hooked. Here was a novel that had width, depth, comedy, complexity, made you feel good, and gave you something to think about. EK: Why do you like to teach Jane Austen studies? GK: When I went to graduate school, I selected as my field the 18th Century, so I could teach Jane Austen. She introduces students to great literature and real entertainment, and gives them important insights into life. EK: What was JASNA like in the early days? GK: JASNA was great! Twenty years ago I was invited by Jack Grey to attend the first meeting held in Greenwich Village, New York City, and to serve on the Board of Directors. From then on, more and more chapters were formed here in the United States. Before JASNA was begun here [in the U.S.], I belonged to the English Jane Austen Society and attended meetings over there.
Dr, Gene Koppel is also the author of: 
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