The reception history of Jane Austen follows a path from modest fame to wild popularity; her novels are both the subject of intense scholarly study and the centre of a diverse fan culture. Austen, the author of such works as Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815), is one of the best-known and widely read novelists in the English language. During her lifetime, Austen's novels brought her little personal fame; like many women writers, she published anonymously. At the time they were published, her works were considered fashionable by members of high society but received few positive reviews. By the mid-19th century, her novels were admired by members of the literary elite, but it was not until the 1940s that Austen was widely accepted in academia as a "great English novelist". The second half of the 20th century saw a proliferation of scholarship exploring artistic, ideological and historical aspects of her works. As of the early 21st century, Austen fandom supports an industry of printed sequels and prequels as well as television and film adaptations, which started with the 1940 Pride and Prejudice and includes the 2004 Bollywood-style production Bride and Prejudice. ( Full article...)

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January 28

Players can recreate the lead guitar portions of many rock music songs in the music video game Guitar Hero II using a specially designed guitar-shaped controller (pictured), based on either a Gibson SG for the PlayStation 2 version, a Gibson Explorer for the Xbox 360 version, or else a standard console controller. There are 64 songs total in the PlayStation 2 version while there are 74 songs total for the later Xbox 360 version. The Xbox 360 version adds an additional 24 downloadable songs via Xbox Live Marketplace, bringing the total to 98 songs. The downloadable songs include songs from the original Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2. Most songs in the game are covers of the original songs performed by WaveGroup Sound, but there are some master recordings. All bonus songs are master recordings that are unlockable by using in-game money within the game's store. The song "Raw Dog" by The Last Vegas was selected as part of the "Be a Guitar Hero" contest for the release of Guitar Hero II. ( Full list...)