In the late eighteenth century England, the novel emerged as an important literary form. Jane Austen (1775-1817) and her family were serious consumers of this form, very familiar with authors then experimenting with plotting and characters. She was the seventh of eight children: James, George, Edward, Henry, Cassandra, Francis (Frank), Jane, and Charles. Jane and Cassandra were the closest throughout their lives, with Cassie taking care of Jane at her illness and death, at age forty-one. The daughter of a parson, Jane lived in a home with a decent library, and her brothers James and Edward were successfully published, with compilations of sermons they delivered as preachers. Even her mother considered herself an accomplished poet.

Lucy Worsley is an historian, writer, and chief curator of Historical Royal Palaces. She has presented many excellent historical programs for BBC, also aired on PBS in the U.S., on a wide range of historical topics. This biography is extremely well researched, providing detailed background on Austen’s life seen through the lens of her homes throughout her life. It gives rich detail about where she may have observed incidents depicted in her novels, always with evidence and informed conjecture. Austen’s novels, in chronological order, include: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion.

Jane Austen’s body of work is considered by many to be some of the finest novels ever written, especially Pride and Prejudice. Jane’s Lizzie Bennett, Emma Woodhouse, and Anne Elliot laid the ground for Charlotte’ Bronte’s Jane Eyre, George Eliot’s MiddleMarch and Dorothea Brooke, and Virginia Woolf’s novels, as well as many, many more. While her novels were careful observations of the lives and times of her life, they possess a timeless quality that speaks to this time. As Woolf observed, “of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness.” (p. 256.) Lucy Worsley does a good job of summing up Austen’s literary accomplishments:

“The birth of the novel gets a lot of attention as an artistic creation, and rightly so, for no other form of art has so utterly transformed the way that people thought and felt. For until you have seen such a relationship described by Jane Austen, you did not know that you wanted it. You had other expectations from marriage: security, wealth, children, respect, and the comfortable feeling of having satisfied God’s requirements of your time on earth. Only with Austen did women begin to think that they wanted—no, needed— to find Mr. Darcy. Only with Austen were women’s thoughts and feelings beautifully, accurately, and amazingly brought to life. Only with Austen did women begin to live as they still live today.” (pg. 324-325.)

Her books were her children. While it was sad that none of her romances led to marriage, it is fortunate for us that she could devote time, careful observations, and developed writing skills to crafting these six outstanding novels. After learning about Jane’s life, and gaining useful context, you will have to take the time to explore her novels. I hope to write about Pride and Prejudice at some point this year. Worsley’s book is very worth your time, as of course are Austen’s masterworks.