Jane Austen was an amazing writer and woman for her time. She penned a total of six novels, all of which are still studied in classrooms to this day. Her keen insights into social customs paint a picture of life in the Georgian era and all the delights and pratfalls that life entailed. While not a famous name in her own time, her works made her a literary celebrity in the 19th Century, a status she maintains today. Have a look below at some things you may now know about this great author.
Big Family
Jane was one of eight children in the Austen family and the youngest girl, though not the youngest child. Despite all her siblings being literary, Jane was the only one who became a published novelist. She honed her writing skills mostly as a way of entertaining her family members. Her father, George Austen, was a clergyman and her mother Cassandra was from a higher social class. Her mother actually experienced a social fall in marrying George, but it did nothing to dampen her spirits.
Young and Accomplished
By the age of 23, Jane had already completed original versions of Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice.
Auto-Biographical
Many of Austen works reflect situations in her own life. When her father died, Jane, her mother, and her sister experienced a financial crisis similar to Sense and Sensibility. The family’s financial situation also led to a fall in Bath society. The novel Northanger Abbey portrays Bath society in a very positive light, but Persuasion, which was written after George Austen’s death, is very cynical, reflecting Austen’s attitude towards the socialites who shunned her.
Not a Fan
Mark Twain hated Austen’s works, once stating that that an ideal library is one “that does not contain a volume by Jane Austen. Even if it contains no other book.” Of course, this may have all been an attempt to troll fellow author and critic William Dean Howells, who was an ardent Austen fan.
Fan Nickname
Jane Austen’s fans refer to themselves either as Austenites or Janeites. Pemberley.com is one of the foremost fan sites, and across the Atlantic Ocean, there’s the Jane Austen Society of North America. JASNA holds an annual meeting in the fall in Canada or the United States.
Modern Adaptations
Though there are many period film and television adaptations of all six of her novels, there are several modern adaptations as well, mostly of Pride and Prejudice. Helen Fielding’s novel Bridget Jones’s Diary and its three sequels are based on it, even going so far as cast Colin Firth as Darcy expy Mark Darcy in the films. YouTube also has its own adaptation in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a video diary web series that ran for 100 episodes from 2012 to 2013. The film Clueless with Alicia Silverstone is actually an adaptation of Emma as well.
Home School
While Jane’s brothers all attended Oxford University, Jane and her sister Cassandra were home schooled by their father and mother. Because of his education, George Austen also educated other boys in the area and some of them lived with the Austen family.
Anonymous
Of the four novels published during her lifetime, none bore her name. Sense and Sensibility bore the byline “By a Lady” and Pride and Prejudice simply stated that it was by “The Author of Sense and Sensibility”. Her father had tried to get Pride and Prejudice (then called “First Impressions”) and Northanger Abbey published, but there was no success until Sense and Sensibility was printed in 1811.
In the Navy
Her brothers Charles and Frank both served in the British Navy and were a source of information for her to write Persuasion and the character of naval officer Frederick Wentworth.
Kennedy Connection
Jane suffered from a mysterious disease that was never diagnosed accurately, starting around 1816 until her death in 1817. Today it is believed that she suffered from Addison’s Disease, a rare chronic endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient steroid hormones that also affected President John F. Kennedy.
What’s your favorite Jane Austen novel? Share in the comments below!
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My favourite Jane Austin novel is by far “Pride an Prejudice”. Loved the story before but when the Colin Firth version came out loved it even more.
Me too, adore Colin Firth in Pride & Prejudice. Fabulous novel. Also love Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds.
Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds is my favorite. Love them all.
Same here. Absolutely!
Agree!
My thoughts exactly.
My Jane Austin favourite novel is the Sense & Sensibility. I love that novel.
My favorite too!!
Pride and Prejudice ..but it is on the English Literature syllabus for every education in Wales and England who study English Lit at A level…so a great intro into the world that is J.A>
She was acnoleged in het own time though. She actually dedicated her novel ‘Emma’ to the prince Regent who was the later king George IV, albeit unwillingly.
Will always love P&P as my first JA
novel, but Persuasion is my favorite.
i agree 😉 persuasion is my favorite…but P&P was my first <3
Mansfield Park
My favorite changes after every reread. But right now I would say my favorite is probably Persuasion. However, I can quote BBC P&P nearly word for word 🙂
So do I. I’ve never read Mansfield Park, but I’m not willing to read this novel, I just think it’s not as good as the others. So, my favorites are Emma, NA, P&P, S&S and Persuasion :D.
If you’ve never read it, why do you think it’s not as good as the others?
I am not a fan of Mark Twain. LIke many male authors, he seems to have little use for women. Not saying that he has to like Jane Austen’s books, but why be so nasty? Seems funny that he chooses to be so critical of one of the few successful female authors.
Not everyone wants to read a story about a little boy. (I felt this way about Twain long before I read about his negative comments about Jane Austen)
You know? I had a literature teacher who loved Twain and he was always making jokes about sensible, smart and successful women. I think the influence of those books was not good at all.
I think you both are wrong. Mark Twain painted a portrait of a very different society from the viewpoint of a male living in it. It’s not as intimate because the focus is different. They both are wonderful with language and very funny. MT a chauvinist, maybe, but I think he reflects his times. A book from Darcy’s point of view might be similar in its dismissive tone.
Emma is my favorite.
Sense and Sensibility ☺
Mansfield Park is my favorite.
My favorite is Persuasion. It has something the other novels just don’t have. Something very similar to nostalgy. And I love that atmosphere.
I agree with you! There’s something more in persuasion! It’s inexplicable. I think that it’s the end, it’s so passionate, the letter is my favorite part of all the Jane Austen writing!
YES!!! I agree Persuasion is my favourite book of all time! I can literally quote the letter by heart. All her other novels as much as I love them, the endings are a little rushed for my liking, but persuasion….just wow.
Persuasion is my favorite! It is the best novel ever!
I like all Jane Austen’s novel from her First book to the last book she wrote.
I love them all but Iwould have to put P&P first and Persuasion is very close second
Pride n prejudice ….it is my favorite past 41 years. Thanks to Jane
Persuasion is my favourite, sometimes i like northanger abbey or all sometimes i like them all.
My favourite is Pride and Prejudice, then Persuasion. The first television version of Pride and Prejudice starred David Rintoul as Mr. Darcy and no one could ever do it better.
I have found that whomever I first see in a role, I always prefer them as they first opened up the role to me. I have this with Jane Eyre with Orson Welles. And the first time I ever saw P&P, it was the last one which was televised, which has remained my favorite. But I love the story of S&S, just as I love the 1995 version with Alan Rickman best of all.
Let’s not forget, along with The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, “Pemberly Digital” on YouTube, also has an adaptation of Emma, entitled Emma Approved.
I love all her books for different reasons, but like so many before me, Pride and Prejudice is my favorite.
Same here 🙂
Loved the BBC TV series.
Same here!Love all her books,but it was P&P which first endeared me to her writing.
Persuasion. There’s just something about a love that can survive even the deepest hurt. <3 The most romantic faery tale <3
Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austin book. I completely agree that Colin Firth made the movies based on this book and Bridget Jones Diary most wonderful.
My daughter’s favorite is “Emma”. My favorite is “Pride and Prejudice” with “Persuasion” being a close second. My Aunt, a huge Austen fan, used to watch her tape P & P with Colin Firth over and over. Before her passing when she was age 89, the community she was living in showed the new adaption with Keira Knightley and Mathew Mcfadyen. I convinced her to attend. She did not like it at all, saying they were “not well dressed”, which I understand. Firth was the original. I love both movie adaptations, though the later is my favorite. I’m a huge fan of Emma Thompson. Mcfadyen made quite an impression on me. I love that my Aunt ventured out at the end of her life and that the two of us had special time together as Austen readers. Though we differed on the movies, we both loved her books. Jane Austen is also a distant cousin, which I discovered in time to share with my Aunt before she died.
Very sweet
the first was with laurence olivier and was very camp but colin is the best
Persuasion,
I love them all!!
Jane and Cassandra both went to school for a brief time in Reading so they were not completely home schooled.
P&P but I do love Northanger Abbey too 🙂
Very fond of Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice and I need to read Persuasion.
I am not a member of the Cult of Colin. (Although I loved him in The King’s Speech.)
I liked the Matthew MacFadyen Darcy although I don’t like Keira Knightley. I thought the rest of the cast was marvelous.
Persuasion. I love the renewal of hope for a life with true love, after all seemed lost.
Pride and Prejudice is my all time favorite book. Mansfield Park is the second runner up! I read the whole works of Jane Austen at least once per year! Love her!
For me ,pride and prejudice ,
Now I may , like to read persuasion.
I’m with you. I love P & P, think Emma is her masterpiece, but Persuasion is my favourite – & also my favourite of the film adaptations.
I really like “Persuasion” the most, followed by “Sense and Sensibility”. As a guy, I find myself relating to both Captain Wentworth and Colonel Brandon, by way of age and circumstances. A college class I took of her work, was such a pleasant experience. If only the rest of my sex would understand the qualities of character these men exemplify, ladies would have less (with right reasons) to complain about us.
My all time favourite is Pride and Prejudice, I am currently reading it for I don’t even know how many times I have read it, to this day Mr. Darcy stays the most enigmatic character that was ever portrayed, and I have always been in love with him!
I love pride and prejudice. I’ve read the book many times and watch Ms Bennet and Mr Darcy by Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Oh how i love it very much. Thanks Jane Austen for the wonderful story..
Sense and sensibility is my favourite but I love all of them. Have every tv and film version on DVD too!
I adore and love all the Jane Austen novels but if I had to select one then it would have to be P & P purely because I started reading this aged 11/12 and have been rereading it ever since! Never get tired of reading it over an over, have been reading it now for 31 years and can’t begin to think how many times over and over it would be! A close second would be Persuasion though, purely because patience and time proves worth the wait! The Lake House is a good film for me to compare Persuasion to. But like I said at the beginning I love all Janes novels.
Best novelist of all time!
P & P, which I have read every year since it was on my high school curriculum in 1955.
S & S runs a close second. I liked Mansfield Park, but the first two will always be the winners in my heart.
Pride & Prejudice was the first Jane Austin novel I have read in the evenings with my English guardian in order to learn English, then Persuasin, Emma, Sense & Sensibilities, Mansfield Park.
I adore P& P then Sense and Sensibility. My least favourite was Emma
I just want to add that i really detested P D James death comes to Pemberly . I thought the storyline was pathetic and it was very boring I don’t think Jane would have liked it either
Love Jane Austen and love Mark Twain! I’m sure Samuel’s daughters read Jane Austen’s stories over and over. He’s a satirist. He makes fun of people and situations. I think Ms Austen would have found him intriguing.
Emma is my favorite! I think is her greatest master piece.
I’ve been thinking and thinking, and I cannot come up with a favorite novel. I think one will be it, and then another pops in and says “but what about….”. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Emma are all so perfect and so different, it’s cruel to have to pick. Sorry, but for some reason I could never really get into Northanger Abbey. I do enjoy the films and different versions of the stories told in movies, but there’s nothing like sitting back and reading the novels in Jane’s own words. Thank you Miss Austen!
My favorite Jane Austen novel is Pride and Prejudice. And yes, a perfect role for Colin Firth.
My favorite books by Jane Austen are “Persuasion” and “Pride and Prejudice”. I absolutely adore the romance and tension in P&P but really enjoy the undying love of “Persuasion”. To me “Persuasion” was smart and witty, I will never get forget how I felt when Captain Fredrick Wentworth marches into the social hall and asks for Anne’s hand in marriage in front of Anne’s family. Absolutely wonderful. I honestly could go on and on about P&P but I am sure how ever I feel has been felt by everyone else as well.
Emma is my favourite, though P&P is not far behind. The film with Colin Firth is the greatest among all the films on JA’s novels.
I love “Wuthering Heights”
Pemberley digital (producer of the Lizzie Bennet’s Diaries, now also a book) has produce also Emma approved, an adaptation of Emma, which is honestly very very funny…love all of the novels, though I am presonally more keen on P&P, S&S and Emma. They all contain wonderful female characters.
Asking which Jane Austen novel is my favourite is like asking a mother which of her children is her favourite!!! I adore Jane Austen and I enjoy each of her novels in their own right!
Pride and Prejudice is my favourite. The 2005 movie adaptation was the best (with Keira Knightley).
Emmma was my least favourite.
My favourite Jane Austen novel is Emma! <3
I will always love the 1980s television miniseries of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Mr. Darcy was simply gorgeous!
I also love how Colin Firth didn’t need to change his own character portrayal slightly in both Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice!
I love Jane´s Austen books. What a surprise to know that Mark Twain hated Austen’s works. I understand now why I did not like his work. I read “The diary of Adam and Eva” and I got bored… I coud not finished. Nothing in commparison with Jane Austen. I have re-read her novels many times and I still love them. She was unique and a real artist.
Pride and Prejudice….love the Keira Knightley movie version…
My favorite is Persuasion. I never thought so many would agree, but it makes sense because it is such a timeless and lovely story!!! There is something so endearing in their relationship as it moves forward and that letter!! I had to go to Bath and see the Crescent and then to Lyme Regis and walk on the sea wall because of that book. I may have to go read it again, like now!!!
love persuasion then p&p , lest fav was sense and sensibility and the books are so much better than any of the films.
All of the movies were great. I especially like Pride and prejudice. I want to read the books.
When I read P&P when I was in the sixth grade, it completely changed my life! I came from a non-reading family with no higher education, and it opened up a world to me that I had never imagined!!! In spite of my upbringing, I earned a history degree, married a historian who was prominent in his field, and he and I made five lengthy visits to England where we spent only four nights in London!!!!!
I like Sence and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.