Jane Austen (1775-1817: England)
Jane Austen is regarded as one of the great masters of the English novel and is credited with defining its modern character by depicting ordinary men and women in everyday life. While her books are viewed by some as the sentimental writings of a miniaturist, their satiric quality and shrewd observation of human psychology, as well as their technical brilliance, put Austen among the first rank of serious writers.
Most of her works revolve around romantic love and the marriage “market,” despite the fact that she herself never married. Nonetheless, her novels reveal a clear understanding of the experiences of being in love and being disappointed in love. The voyage of self-discovery her characters undergo is as relevant (and popular) today as when she wrote in early 19th century England.
Though she led a relatively quiet, provincial life, supported by her father and brothers, she was not unsophisticated, and with shrewd understatement ridicules the snobbish, silly, and stupid.
Her most famous novels are Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. Contemporary film renditions of her works, such as Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly and Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, have been frequently and successfully made; other films are derivative, such as Clueless (Emma) and Bride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter One, Jane Austen
© 2003-2006 Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
Portrait of Jane Austen
File retrieved from The Republic of Pemberley; used with permission.
One of only two authentic surviving portraits of Jane Austen, by her sister Cassandra. This picture is a more aesthetically pleasing adaptation of the original pen and wash drawing made about 1810.
“Interview: V S Naipaul talks to Farrukh Dhondy”
Literary Review, April 06, 2006
Generally considered the leading novelist of the English-speaking Caribbean, Naipaul considers in his writings the problem of an outsider, a feature of his own experience as an Indian in the West Indies, and a West Indian in England.
The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, Excerpt from Chapter 3, Rachel M. Brownstein
© 1997 Cambridge University Press
Famous Authors: Jane Austen, 1775-1817
Video: 30 minutes
United Learning (2004) Retrieved May 18, 2006, from unitedstreaming: http://www.unitedstreaming.com*
Like most women of her time, Jane Austen lived out her life at home. Her adventurous brothers, however, kept her very much in touch with her age.
* website for all united streaming references throughout CD
