# data[].attributes.body
My favorite Jane Austen's character is Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility, beause I feel like she and I are the same. Ms. Dashwood isn't scared of showing her feelings and emotions, and she not only express them with actions, but also with words.

"Marianne could never love by halves"

# data[].attributes.body
If you're looking for something to watch and maybe bring you to the Austen World you can and should begin watching Pride and Prejudice (2005) - a.k.a the best book adaptation of all time. The filmography is amazing, the soundtrack is amazing, everything's amazing. And, also, you get to watch the ~the hand flex~ scene for the very first time. https://youtu.be/1dYv5u6v55Y?si=MiLF6_WMcCdOrStl

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jane Austen Explained in Five Minutes | Biography | Bite Sized History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We rounded up the best Jane Austen quotes on love and life from Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion and Emma.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Ever since I used that absolutely brilliant quote to explain a grammatical concept I don't even remember in a classroom presentation, I have been using Pride and Prejudice to explain - ok, not everything - but a lot of things.

For instance, I have a theory that every classic romantic comedy out there follows the same plot points of Pride and Prejudice. I also have a theory that Elizabeth Bennet's behavior throughout most of the novel is a perfect example of a cognitive bias called Confirmation Bias. And what better way to exemplify the concept of tragedy within a narration than discussing how Mr. Darcy (our hero) describes Elizabeth (our heroine and the woman he is going to marry) as tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt [him].

And have I also used pictures from the 2005 movie for my product design mockups? Yes, yes I have.

Now, is Jane Austen my favorite author? I'm afraid not. Do I think her novels are absolutely brilliant and deserve all the attention they get (and more)? Yes, yes I do.

See, every two or three years I read one Jane Austen novel (I can only consume them in small doses), so over the years I've managed to get through Pride and Prejudice (of course), Emma, Northanger Abbey and, more recently, Persuasion. So here's why I think you should give at least one of them a go.

Her stories are universal

There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves. - Emma

I know they were written a long time ago, but somehow they still feel surprisingly modern. While her characters tend to find themselves in very claustrophobic environments where what others want for you is more important than what you want for yourself, the sense that everyone is watching, judging and discussing your private matters feels eerily familiar.

While you read her books you can feel the awkward silences, the stares, the forced smiles, the whispers. Because a lot of things cannot be said there are a lot of things that are being thought, and as a reader you get to see that first hand in the mind of the main character. They will observe, they will assume and they will judge others based on what they see and think.

And then, of course, there is the romance, which in Jane Austen's world is always linked to financial and social status. Even though male and female characters don't get to interact much in her books, somehow it's easier to understand why hero and heroine have the hots for each other and believe in their love than in many of today's so-called epic romance stories.

Everything fits nicely together in the end

Life is messy, and I'm not talking about year 2020 here. Life was very messy before then, and it will continue to be messy after this whole pandemic nightmare is over.

There is no such a thing as closure in life; people leave or die without having given you the opportunity to say your last words to them. Bad things happen for no logical reason and things don't always get better. And that can sometimes be very distressing to some of us, leaving us feeling like there is some unfinished business out there that will remain unfinished. Forever.

Not in Jane Austen's world. In Jane Austen's world everything fits perfectly at the end, like a finished puzzle or a complete crossword. The goodies win and end up in situations that benefit them and make them happy. The baddies don't end up so well (but also they don't die or anything terrible like that) and they learn their lesson. And that can be very satisfying.

Characters learn from their mistakes and evolve

Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief. - Emma

Jane Austen's main characters tend to be mostly likable, mostly nice and friendly people, but somewhat flawed in a very relatable way. Elizabeth is prejudiced, Catherine is naive and lives in the clouds, Emma is arrogant, oblivious and stubborn, and Anne is... kind of a doormat.

But that's ok because we've all been there at some point in our lives (and maybe we still are), so if we look deep inside and consider their behavior from a place of empathy and understanding we will like them and we will celebrate their small wins towards a better version of themselves.

Every Jane Austen heroine has been given her own character arch. They all learn something from their trials and tribulations and come out wiser on the other side, and that's very interesting to see.

They focus on the journey, not the destination

Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. - Pride and Prejudice

In the end they always get married.

I'm sorry if I spoiled it for you, but my guess is that everyone knows by now that they get married. In fact, there is something in the way every story is set that informs you - from the start - that everything will be alright in the end (aka they will get married to the right person).

And that's ok; that's not where the excitement lies. What it's interesting is how they will get to that point. It's like watching someone taking something - like a toy, or a computer - apart and then putting it back together. It's like saying, 'It was great seeing you break this thing, now fix it!'

Sometimes you're reading a book and you wonder how on Earth she's going to make it all good again. Sometimes it almost seems impossible! And yet dear Jane goes and does it again. She just goes and fixes it.

Her wittiness is very funny

I mean, read Jane Austen even if it's just for the chuckles. Her social commentary is spot-on.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Irene Alegre | Why you should read Jane Austen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
William Morris is probably best known as one of the most famous pattern designers of Victorian England

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Jane Austen died on July 18, 1817. Celebrated for her sharp wit, descriptions of domestic life and subtle criticism of England's economic and class structure, Austen's works continue to be dissected and analyzed in classrooms and beyond.

To commemorate the anniversary of her death, CBC Books has compiled a list of 70 facts you might not know about the celebrated English novelist.

1. Jane Austen was born on Dec. 16, 1775 in Steventon, U.K.

2. She was a Georgian-era author who depicted English country life throughout her work.

3. Her parents were George and Cassandra Austen. Her father was a rector and her mother belonged to the gentry as part of the aristocratic Leigh family.

4. The Austen family loved the arts and enjoyed reading aloud to one another.

6. Austen was the seventh of eight children. She had six brothers, James, George, Charles, Francis, Henry and Edward, and one older sister, Cassandra.

7. The make-up of Austen's family was markedly different from those of her characters. Only two of her protagonists have elder brothers.¹

8. Austen's sister Cassandra was her biggest confidant. They were extremely close throughout their lives.

9. Austen's mother breastfed the children for three to four months and then they were abruptly weaned and sent into the village. There, children were looked after by "the good women," whose identities are not known. They learned to walk, speak and use the bathroom while in the care of these women. They were raised there until they reached 18 months to two years, at which point they were returned to the family home - except for George. He was fostered by another family and is believed to have had an intellectual disability.

11. Austen grew up in a family that valued education. Although it was not compulsory for Jane to attend school, her parents sent both her and her sister to a girls' boarding school.

12. During their first stint at boarding school in Reading, Jane and her sister nearly died of typhoid fever.²

13. Austen completed formal schooling at age 12. She then found comfort in the family library, where she began to read.²

14. Austen was a voracious reader. She was a fan of Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson's moral essays. She read French romances and Gothic novels.²

16. Her first four novels were published anonymously, but by Mansfield Park her name was known. Her brother Henry, in particular, was partial to spilling the beans.¹

17. Sense and Sensibility was originally titled Elinor and Marianne and was signed " By a Lady." Her follow-up, Pride and Prejudice, was originally titled First Impressions and was signed "By the author of Sense and Sensibility."

18. The title change to Pride and Prejudice was inspired by the novel Cecilia by Fanny Burney. The phrase is mentioned three times in the final paragraph of Burney's book in capital letters.

19. Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published together in December 1817. They included a "Biographical Notice" written by Austen's brother Henry, identifying Austen for the first time as the author of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma.¹

21. A name that frequently comes up when considering Austen's love life is Tom Lefroy. The Irishman had relatives from a village close to where Austen lived. She described him to Cassandra as "a very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man." Scholars debate whether their relationship was a mild flirtation or a deep love.¹

22. Andrew Norman, biographer and author of Jane Austen: An Unrequited Love, theorizes that the Austen may have also found love with a clergyman named Samuel Blackall, whom she met on vacation in Devon. Norman says Austen mentions this man in various letters. The biographer also suggests that this relationship formed a temporary rift between Austen and her sister, as both were vying for his love.

23. In 1802, in her late 20s, Austen briefly accepted a proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither, the younger brother of two of her close friends. She rescinded it the next morning. Neither Austen nor her sister would ever marry.

24. Austen believed that a woman shouldn't get married if she wasn't in love. She once advised her niece Fanny Knight that, "Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without Affection."¹

26. Britain was frequently at war during Austen's lifetime and some of her brothers served abroad. Austen rarely referenced war directly, but incorporated it in her writing by describing the vibrant redcoats of military men and the excitement generated when dashing officers arrived in town.

27. The Austen family was well-connected but not very wealthy. Austen's father was always in debt, worked as a farmer and ran a boys' school in addition to being a rector.

28. Austen's work is available in approximately 40 languages.

29. Among her famous critics was Charlotte Brontë, who said, "I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant and confined houses."

31. In November 1797, Austen's father sent a charming letter to Thomas Cadell of the London publisher Cadell & Davies, offering an early version of Pride and Prejudice. Cadell turned it down, sight unseen.

32. Sixteen years later, in 1813, publisher Thomas Egerton had a much different reaction. Having already published Sense and Sensibility, Egerton predicted that Pride and Prejudice would be a bestseller.

33. Austen sold her copyright for Pride and Prejudice to her publisher for £110. It was priced at 18 shillings and was an immediate hit.

34. Austen referred to Pride and Prejudice as her own "darling child," in a letter to her sister Cassandra after receiving the first print of the novel.

36. When Austen's father died in 1805, the family encountered some financial woes. The women spent the next few years moving around, staying at the homes of various family members and other rented homes. In 1809, they found permanent housing inside Austen's brother Edward's cottage in Chawton.

37. Chawton Cottage is where Austen wrote all of her six novels, though she may have written early drafts in other homes. In 1947, it was opened to the public as Jane Austen's House Museum.

38. As a child, Austen would pastiche 18th century romance novels. It's a genre she satirized in her own book Northanger Abbey, published in December 1817.

39. Austen wrote a short play called Sir Charles Grandison. She worked on it just before finishing Lady Susan, an epistolary novel she finished writing in about 1794. Sir Charles Grandison was not published until in 1875, well after death.

41. The novel was made available to the public several years after her death in 1925. Austen had written 11 chapters and started a 12th.

42. As Austen's health declined, she created a will and listed her sister Cassandra as her heir. She also mentioned her brother Henry and his late wife's secretary Madame Bigeon. Austen and Cassandra also moved to Winchester College to be closer to her doctor.

43. Austen died at the age of 41 from a disease that was never diagnosed. Theories about her cause of death have been swirling for years. While the most popular has been Addison's Disease, scholars have also suggested that it was tuberculosis or a form of cancer. Most recently, the British Library published a blog post indicating that Austen had died from cataracts caused by arsenic poisoning.

44. Austen's final composition was a poem, dictated to her sister Cassandra three days before her death. The poem was a humorous ditty on England's rainy weather.¹

46. Austen's total assets were reportedly valued under £800 when she died.

47. Austen's novels have been turned into several films, including Sense and Sensibility written by and starring Emma Thompson, the BBC's beloved Pride and Prejudice miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth and the Joe Wright-directed Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley.

48. Austen's works have also inspired modern storylines, like the novel and film series Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding, who took inspiration from Pride and Prejudice, and the Alicia Silverstone-led film Clueless, based on Emma. Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese's 1990 film, is said to be a dark adaptation of Mansfield Park.

49. American singer Kelly Clarkson caused an uproar in 2012 when, at an auction, she purchased a gold and turquoise ring owned by Austen for £152,450. Britain's culture minister put an immediate export ban on the ring, preventing Clarkson from taking it home to the U.S. Two years later, Clarkson withdrew her ownership.

51. Austen earned nothing until she turned 36. She mostly depended on pocket money provided by her parents. She began to earn when Sense and Sensibility was published.

52. Austen had to cover the publishing costs of Sense and Sensibility. Her brother Henry Austen and his wife Eliza de Feuillide helped foot the bill.

53. Sense and Sensibility received positive reviews from critics for its "naturally drawn characters" and its plot: "the incidents are probable, and highly pleasing and interesting."

54. Austen didn't become a household name in her lifetime. Just after her death, her publisher destroyed the copies of her two final books, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. It was in the Victorian era that she began to receive acclaim for her work and was recognized as a great novelist.

56. Although A Memoir of Jane Austen revived the buzz around Austen, it has been described as a sanitized retelling of her life. Austen-Leigh depicted her as a quiet, domestic and happy woman. He also cited the Austen family as coming from a higher social background. As a result, she became inaccurately associated with the upper middle class.

57. According to historian and Jane Austen expert Claire Tomalin, if you take her six major books, which would be equivalent to about 15 years of work, the money she earned before her death was between £600 and £700, averaging out to £40 a year. Austen never lived above the poverty line, which was set at £55 a year.

58. The British Library currently houses several of Austen's manuscripts, including copies of her writing as a teenager, drafts of experimental or discarded novels and the novel she was working on the year she died.

59. While Austen is known for her storytelling and polished writing, Kathryn Sutherland, a professor at Oxford University who has studied Austen's original handwritten works, suggests the pages of her original drafts were riddled with spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and poor punctuation.

61. For 12 years following Austen's death, her work was out of circulation.

62. Austen fervently admired Thomas Clarkson, a prominent campaigner against slavery. The author's views on slavery are hinted at in Mansfield Park when Fanny Price inquires about the slave trade in Antigua and is met with silence.¹

63. Many of Jane Austen's original manuscripts of her published novels are lost. They are said to have been thrown away after being printed.

64. In 2011, the fragmented manuscript for her unfinished novel The Watsons was auctioned off for £1 million, purchased by Bodleian library at Oxford University.

66. A part of the original manuscript for Persuasion has survived. Austen was unhappy with the original ending of the novel and so she wrote two new chapters to replace what is now considered the "cancelled chapter." The original ending of Persuasion is said to have been retrieved by her and preserved in the way she kept other pieces of writing. Other remaining manuscripts were intentionally preserved by Austen and passed down the family, including writing from her youth, poems and unfinished manuscripts.

67. Since the 20th century, the term Janeite has been used to describe devotees of Austen. The name was coined by English writer and literary critic George Saintsbury.

68. Rudyard Kipling wrote a short story in 1926 entitled The Janeites, in which soldiers from the First World War come together and form a Masonic Lodge based on their shared love for Austen's novels.

69. Austen was critical of her own work. Upon finishing Pride and Prejudice she was worried that the novel was too frivolous. She described it as "rather too light and bright and sparkling."

¹Stafford, Fiona. Jane Austen: A Brief Life. 2008. Published by Yale University Press.

²Scheinman, Ted. Camp Austen. 2018. Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
70 facts you might not know about iconic British novelist Jane Austen | CBC Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jane Austen died on July 18, 1817 at the age of 41. To commemorate the anniversary of her death, here are some surprising and interesting facts about the iconic author.

# data[].attributes.headline
Playlist to listen to while reading Jane Austen 

# data[].attributes.subject
Playlist to listen to while reading Jane Austen 

# data[].attributes.headline
Meet Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility)  

# data[].attributes.subject
Meet Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility)  

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Marianne and Elinor Dashwood Introduction | Sense And Sensibility | Jane Austen | Austoons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Hampshire cottage where Jane Austen lived and wrote her novels

The most treasured Austen site in the world

Step back in time to 1816 and follow in Jane Austen's footsteps

Book Your Visit

Jane Austen's House is the most treasured Austen site in the world.

This inspiring Hampshire cottage was Jane Austen's home and the birthplace of her six beloved novels.
Find out more and book tickets...

plan your visit

What's On

Jane Austen's House From Home

Display Highlights

The Collection

Want to hear more?

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

Charity Number: 1156458

© 2023 Jane Austen's house

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking "Accept", you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jane Austen's House Visit Jane Austen's House Jane Austen museum Jane Austen's House Hampshire museums

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Visit Jane Austen's House - the Hampshire cottage at which Jane Austen lived and penned her novels, including the timeless Pride and Prejudice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jane Austen meme / reaction photo | Pride and prejudice, Pride and prejudice book, Book memes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oct 15, 2024 - This Pin was discovered by Chrisi Hornback. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
FREE TEMPLATES for agile and kanban. CRM, marketing, real estate, and many more Excel and Google Sheets spreadsheets. FREE DOWNLOAD.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.
Jane Austen, Emma

So begins Jane Austen's novel Emma, the last to be published in her lifetime. It is the only novel by Jane named after its heroine, and the only heroine who is under no pressure to marry.

So Emma has everything. She is intelligent, beautiful, and the youngest and fondest daughter of a wealthy father who indulges her every whim. The only person who ever expresses any criticism of Emma is Mr Knightley, who owns the nearby Donwell Abbey and estate.. and you can guess the rest.

Unlike Jane's other heroines who need to marry for status or money, Emma is only concerned about boredom (the word used by some critics upon its publication).

Despite this, Emma as a heroine is usually voted second only to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. Emma appeared on the 23 December 1815 and sold the most copies of any of Jane's novels at that time, and has only been surpassed by Pride and Prejudice in recent years.

1. EMMA WAS WRITTEN IN ITS ENTIRETY WHILST JANE LIVED AT CHAWTON

According to Cassandra, Jane started writing Emma on 21 January 1814 and finished it on 29 March 1815. She was then 39 years old.

Unlike three of Jane's earlier novels which she started writing in her teens ( Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey), Jane wrote Emma in its entirety whilst living at Chawton Cottage. She started writing it once Mansfield Park was published and sold out which must have spurred her on!

2. JANE HAD DECIDED THAT EMMA WAS NO ELIZABETH BENNET!

Whilst Jane had described Elizabeth Bennet, 'as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print', she had told Cassandra that she was going to write about someone less perfect. 'I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.'

As it turned out, many Jane Austen fans love her Emma and she is one of Jane's most popular characters.

3. JANE REFERRED TO HER NOVELS AS HER CHILDREN

Jane referred to her novels as her own children, and had called Pride and Prejudice her 'Own darling child'. She wrote in a letter to her niece Anna in 1815 (whose new daughter she had not yet seen), 'As I wish very much to see your Jemima, I am sure you will like to see my Emma.'

4. EMMA WAS THE ONLY HEROINE IN JANE'S NOVELS THAT WAS NOT UNDER PRESSURE TO MARRY

Jane wrote the opening line of the novel, ' Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition ..and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.' Emma is the only heroine of Jane's that is not under pressure to marry - for love, security or status.

5. JANE WAS NEVER KNOWN AS THE AUTHOR OF EMMA OUTSIDE HER CLOSE FAMILY

Only Jane's family and close friends knew Jane was the author of Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. When Emma was published the title page simply reads, 'By the Author of "Pride and Prejudice, etc etc'.

Although Emma went on sale on 23 December 1815, the title page reads 1816 as it was so close to end of the year.

6. JANE'S FAME INCREASED IN THE LAST TWO YEARS OF HER LIFE

It was clear that Jane's fame was increasing as the dedication inside Emma is to the Prince Regent. Whilst Jane was in London nursing Henry through a serious illness, his doctor was a friend of the Prince Regent's librarian James Stanier-Clarke, and it was he who made the introduction.

Although Jane disliked the Prince Regent who was known to gamble and have many mistresses, she must have been flattered that he admired her novels and had copies in each of his residences. She sent a specially bound copy to Carlton House for the future King which is now in the Royal Household in London.

7. JANE'S NOVEL EMMA WAS ADVERTISED IN THE NEWSPAPERS

Much to Jane's delight, the Morning Chronicle announced the publication of Emma on 23 December 1815.

8. JANE WAS WORRIED AS MOST AUTHORS ARE ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF EMMA

In a letter to John Murray written on 11 December a few weeks before Emma was published, Jane shared her worries about the public reception of her new novel. 'I am very strongly haunted by the idea that to those Readers who have preferred P&P. it will appear inferior in Wit, & to those who have preferred MP. very inferior in good Sense.'

In receiving feedback and reading the reviews, it seems that the literary critics of the day enjoyed Emma and wrote positive reviews. Sir Walter Scott wrote in the Quarterly Review that he thought Emma was part of a new trend in fiction, 'Which has arisen almost in our own times, and which draws the characters and incidents introduced more immediately from the current of ordinary life than was permitted by the former rules of the novel. '

9. JANE MADE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY FROM EMMA ALTHOUGH IT WAS HER MOST SUCCESSFUL

Written in 1814, Emma was ready in March 1815. Egerton was Jane's previous publisher and he delayed publishing whilst he negotiated with Murray, another successful publisher. John Murray was a prominent London publisher of many famous authors and The Quarterly Review, which Jane read and admired which may be why she chose him.

They eventually agreed that Jane would publish at her own expense and as the first editions of her previous novels had sold out, it was decided to print 2,000 copies of Emma. Murray received 10% of the profits and Egerton made a healthy £450 (around $600 USD) from this transaction.

The accounts show that Jane made much less at £222 (around $300 USD) from the initial sales. After the reprint of Mansfield Park was deducted, her royalties were £40 (around $55 USD) which she received in February 1817.

Although Emma was Jane's most successful novel in the way of sales, it made her the least money.

10. JANE SHOWS YOU CAN BE HAPPY BEING SINGLE

Jane shows that you can be happy being single and marriage is not the key to happiness. (As long as you have a wealthy father, lots of shopping trips, great friends that forgive you, and a warm fire!).

FOR MORE EMMA:

You can read Emma for free through

Find Emma themed events on our Events page, including a monthly themed walk around London or join a walk and talk in Chawton to hear about Jane's second most popular heroine.

Although a little dated you can hear a BBC 4 Radio program on Emma

You can read about the Royal Household copies of Emma in Jane Austen 200

Gwyneth Paltrow is still one of the best actresses that played Emma.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ten Wonderful Things about Emma - Jane Austen Quickstep Travel Guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jane Austen Emma published 23 December 1815. Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home.. reported Morning Chronicle