Britain’s Regency Era, opens a new window produced some of its greatest authors and thinkers, and one of the best loved of them today is Jane Austen. Although all her works were published anonymously during her lifetime, her name became known and gathered literary acclaim in the decades after her death. Her six finished novels remain beloved by readers, and you can find all of them in the library’s collection! This article is a celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday anniversary and a look back on her life and the time in which her novels and other works were written. Read Austen's works and learn more about her life with titles in the Library's collection!
Before the Classics: Austen’s Early Life
Jane Austen’s early life was defined by her large and close-knit family. She was born in Steventon, opens a new window, a village in Hampshire, England, on December 16, 1775. She was one of eight children born to George Austen, opens a new window, a rector in the Church of England. Of all her family, she had the closest bond with her sister Cassandra, opens a new window, and many of the details we know of Jane’s life come from her letters that Cassandra had saved. She was also close to her brother Henry, opens a new window, who proofread and edited her books and wrote prefaces for some of them. Jane Austen’s formal education, opens a new window was relatively brief and ended at the age of nine. Her literary skills developed from long exposure to books and reading in her father’s library, and she even wrote and performed plays for her family. Jane’s love of reading and performing quickly grew into an interest in writing more ambitious works.
Before Jane Austen began her full-length novels, she wrote a series of shorter works that parodied the novels that were popular during her childhood. Austen’s juvenilia, opens a new window were written down in several notebooks, three of which survive today. Her earliest works recorded in the notebooks were written in 1787, when she was 12, and the latest was from 1793, when she was 17.1 The first of Austen’s juvenilia stories were short, not particularly detailed in terms of characterization, and were mainly comedic in nature. Frederic and Elfrida, opens a new window is a parody of the sentimental novels, opens a new window of the late 18th century, in which character emotions are deliberately overwrought. Charlotte, the main character, is so committed to pleasing everyone that she agrees to marry two men and abruptly flings herself into a river to end her suffering. Her death is treated as black comedy, as the body floats down the river back to her home parish.2
During her teenage years, Austen’s juvenilia writings grew longer and more detailed. By her later juvenilia, she had begun to develop the style she would use as a published author. In Catharine, or the Bower,, opens a new window she had already started to use a third-person limited narrator to anchor the book within the viewpoint of the main character.3 This writing style would be used in many of Austen’s adult novels. The tone is much more realistic, opens a new window and grounded than Frederic and Elfrida, opens a new window and her other early works, and the focus is on getting the reader to feel genuine sympathy for the main character rather than laugh at absurd situations. Since Kitty is an orphan, opens a new window with a difficult aunt rather than a person with an idealized, flawless life, there is more at stake in her life and more weight to the narrative. Catharine, or the Bower, opens a new window is the bridge between Austen’s earlier comedic stories and her adult novels.
The Path to Austen’s First Published Novel
Austen started work on the first major work she would complete at the age of 18. Lady Susan, opens a new window was a novella rather than a full-length novel, but was longer and more ambitious than any of Austen’s earlier work. Unlike any other Austen novel, Lady Susan, opens a new window actually has a surviving complete draft; all the complete drafts of her other novels were destroyed at some point. As an epistolary novel, the narrative of Lady Susan, opens a new window consists entirely of letters written between the novella’s characters. It tells the story of Lady Susan Vernon, a callous and clever woman who betrays and manipulates her family, especially her daughter Frederica. During her career of immorality, she seduces multiple men, commits adultery with her sickly husband, and tries to marry off her daughter to advance her own status. Unlike many of Austen’s later protagonists, Lady Susan is an unsympathetic and villainous character, making the novella feel very distinct from her later works. Lady Susan, opens a new window was finished between 1794 and 1795 but was unpublished during Austen’s lifetime; it was first published in 1871, opens a new window by Austen’s nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, in Memoir of Jane Austen., opens a new window
After finishing Lady Susan,, opens a new window Austen met the first man she was attracted to. Tom Lefroy, opens a new window, a law student, was taking a break from his studies in December 1795 and decided to stay with his aunt and uncle in Ashe, opens a new window. While staying there, he met and danced with Jane at several parties over the Christmas season. Their encounters are documented in three letters which were sent from Jane to Cassandra during December that year. In the second letter, written in January 14-15, 1796, Jane anticipated going to a dance with Tom, telling Cassandra that “I look forward with great impatience to it (the dance), as I rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of an evening.” Their relationship did not last long, as neither Tom nor Jane had much money to offer in a marriage at the time. In a later letter, Jane claimed to have heard, opens a new window that “there is a report that Tom is going to be married to a Lichfield lass” and that their brief romance would soon end. Lefroy would go on to marry, opens a new window Mary Paul, a wealthy woman, on March 16, 1799 and had eight children with her; Jane Austen never married. Whether Lefroy had broken Austen’s heart by ending the brief relationship or merely made her temporarily unhappy remains a topic of debate among literary scholars. Lefroy never saw Jane Austen again, even when he returned, opens a new window to Hampshire in 1798.
Jane Austen was already working on the text that would become her second novel during her brief romance with Tom Lefroy. At some point between 1795 and 1797, she had written another epistolary book that she called Elinor and Marianne, opens a new window. Jane was a very devoted, opens a new window writer and tried to write new pages in her novel every day. Her texts were written in small booklets divided into eight pages each. The pages were very small because paper itself was still expensive, opens a new window at the time. She most likely worked about a year on Elinor and Marianne,, opens a new window which she considered only a first draft of a novel. Austen allowed her family members to read the first draft (the book was mentioned in her letters to Cassandra), but did not submit it for publication.
Austen ultimately would have the novel published, but it would take over a decade and an extensive rewrite before readers outside her family could enjoy her work. Austen began rewriting Elinor and Marianne in 1797, but work on the revisions slowed down in the early 1800s. George Austen’s death, opens a new window in 1805 robbed Jane of one of her strongest advocates and made the family’s financial situation difficult for several years. Austen finally returned to the manuscript in 1809-1810, changing the epistolary format to a narrative and changing the title to Sense and Sensibility, opens a new window. With her brother Henry’s help, she was able to reach an agreement with Thomas Egerton, opens a new window to publish the novel.
When Sense and Sensibility, opens a new window was published in October 1811, it was published on commission (meaning Austen assumed financial responsibility, rather than the publisher), and the authorial credit was “By a Lady.” At the time, it was considered unacceptable for women of Austen’s social class to publish books, so she chose to do so anonymously. The novel sold out all 750 copies of its first printed edition by mid-1813 and generated a profit of £140, which translates to £12,411.70 (or $16,696.98) in 2025 monetary values. This impressive profit inspired Austen to attempt to publish more of her stories.
Treasures of a Life: Austen as a Published Author
Jane Austen had another novel ready to publish in 1813. Austen had begun work in this new novel in 1797 as First Impressions,, opens a new window but it had been rejected for publication by Cadell & Davies after George Austen had submitted it. Jane worked on editing, opens a new window the novel in 1811 and 1812 and changed the title to Pride and Prejudice, opens a new window to avoid confusion with two, opens a new window other recently published novels. Once the revisions were complete in 1813, Austen once again went to Thomas Egerton to publish her novel. Egerton had noted the success of Sense and Sensibility, opens a new window and thought Pride and Prejudice, opens a new window could net him a substantial profit, so he offered to buy the copyright to the new novel for £110. Pride and Prejudice proved very successful, and Egerton would make considerably more profit from the novel than Austen did from selling the rights.
Austen published all her remaining works during her lifetime on commission. Her change in strategy came in response to her difficulties publishing another of her novels, Susan,4 by selling the rights to Benjamin Crosby & Co. for £10 in the spring of 1803. By April 1809, she became concerned that Crosby would not publish her book and threatened to take it elsewhere if it were not published in a timely manner. Austen finally bought the rights to Susan back in 1816, but the book was not published within her lifetime. Austen’s difficulties getting Susan published discouraged her from using methods other than publishing on commission, which she used for all her remaining books.
Austen’s next book was published in 1814. Mansfield Park, opens a new window was published by Thomas Egerton, like Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility before it. According to Cassandra’s letters, Mansfield Park, opens a new window was written “sometime around February 1811 and finished after June 1813.” Written at a later time in her life than Sense and Sensibility, opens a new window and Pride and Prejudice, opens a new window, Mansfield Park, opens a new window was the first book Austen wrote at her house in Chawton. The novel proved very popular with the public and sold out, opens a new window in its initial two printings. Mansfield Park, opens a new window is controversial among Austen novels with modern readers, as it has a less romantic tone, a more mature writing style, and a didactic, opens a new window writing style that takes on the slavery trade and theatrical performances. Mansfield Park, opens a new window tends to be less popular with modern readers than Austen’s earlier romantic novels, but still has many defenders, opens a new window among literary critics and Austen scholars.
Austen’s last novel published during her lifetime was Emma, opens a new window. Emma, opens a new window was written some time after the publication of Pride and Prejudice, opens a new window; Cassandra Austen lists the beginning and ending dates of its writing as January 21, 1814 and March 29, 1815. Austen’s works had become widely read enough by the point of Emma’s writing that the Prince Regent, opens a new window (the future King George IV) had become a fan of Austen’s work, and his librarian requested that she dedicate her next novel to the Prince. Austen obliged and Emma, opens a new window includes a dedication to “his Royal Highness” (a phrase Austen repeated three times). Unlike Austen’s earlier novels, Thomas Egerton did not agree to publish Emma, opens a new window, and Henry Austen was forced to look for a new publisher for his sister’s book while he was ill, opens a new window. Jane Austen herself took over negotiations to publish Emma, opens a new window with John Murray, and the book was published in December 1815, opens a new window. A dedication copy was sent to Carlton House, opens a new window for the Prince Regent to enjoy.
Triumph After Tragedy
Sadly, Emma, opens a new window was the last novel Austen would see published during her lifetime. In early 1816, shortly after Emma’s, opens a new window publication, Austen’s health began to rapidly decline. Those around her noticed that she had back pain, a pale appearance, and fatigue that worsened over several months. Austen had struggled with health issues, opens a new window over her lifetime. She was known to have had whooping cough and typhus while young and had several fainting episodes, opens a new window during her life, most notably in December 1800 when she learned her family was moving from Steventon to Bath. The exact illness that ended Austen’s life is unknown and still the subject of medical speculation; various scholars have proposed Addison’s disease, Hodgkin’s, and lupus, opens a new window. Austen passed away on June 18, 1817, opens a new window.
Even as her health faded rapidly, Austen was hard at work writing one final, opens a new window novel, which would only see publication after her death. Persuasion was mostly written between August 1815 and July 1816, with further revisions to two chapters in August 1816. She planned to add two, opens a new window additional chapters, but abandoned the effort and focused on rewriting the finished parts of the book instead. After Jane Austen died, her family focused on publishing her remaining unpublished works. Susan was retitled Northanger Abbey and published after Austen’s death in late December 1817, paired with Persuasion., opens a new window This publication was very important because it was the first time Jane Austen was identified by name as the author of her novels. The biographical note was written by Henry Austen, opens a new window as a tribute to his sister.
With Jane Austen first publicly named in 1817, her literary reputation grew. Austen’s books did not receive any new printings during the 1820s, but her fandom grew among people reading existing copies in circulating libraries, opens a new window and private collections. Noticing that her books were still popular, publisher Richard Bentley purchased the copyrights of Austen’s novels and published them in 1833, opens a new window as part of his Standard Novels , opens a new windowseries. With these affordable editions, Austen’s novels became widely distributed, and she became one of the most-read novelists in the 19th century.
Since their republication in the 1830s, Jane Austen's works have never gone out of print again, and new generations of readers have eagerly discovered them. Authors have continued to create their own retellings and new takes based on Austen’s classic stories, updating the settings, writing Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mysteries, opens a new window, adding in fantasy creatures, and more. Readers’ fascination with Jane Austen seems to be everlasting, and you can experience it at your library today!
1Moore, Ray. Jane Austen: The Complete Juvenilia. R.A. Moore, 2018, pp. 5.
2Moore, Ray. Jane Austen: The Complete Juvenilia. R.A. Moore, 2018, pp. 42.
3Moore, Ray. Jane Austen: The Complete Juvenilia. R.A. Moore, 2018, pp 311.
4Published posthumously as Northanger Abbey
