In December 2014, we launched the Emma in America campaign. The campaign’s goal is to raise money for an open-access digital copy of Jane Austen’s 1816 Philadelphia edition of Emma housed within an interactive educational website. By digitizing the book in its entirety and providing historical context, users will be able to better understand the book and its history.

Due to Jane Austen’s broad appeal, we felt that giving Austen fans “ownership” of the digitized book was important. The campaign utilized crowdfunding as a way to have as many people as possible participate. The huge appeal that Jane Austen has is not just a scholarly one and the goal is to have readers and fans of all levels be able to take part in Emma in America.