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Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon near Basingstoke, the seventh child of the rector of the parish. She lived with her family at Steventon until they moved to Bath when her father retired in 1801. After his death in 1805, she moved around with her mother; in 1809, they settled in Chawton, near Alton, Hampshire. Here she remained, except for a few visits to London, until in May 1817 she moved to Winchester to be near her doctor. There she died on 18 July 1817.
As a girl Jane Austen wrote stories, including burlesques of popular romances. Her works were only published after much revision, four novels being published in her lifetime. These are Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Two other novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published posthumously in 1818 with a biographical notice by her brother, Henry Austen, the first formal announcement of her authorship. Persuasion was written in a race against failing health in 1815-16. She also left two earlier compositions, a short epistolary novel, Lady Susan, and an unfinished novel, The Watsons. At the time of her death, she was working on a new novel, Sanditon, a fragmentary draft of which survives.
Often regarded as Jane Austen’s greatest work, the eponymous Emma is an attractive, altruistic, self-absorbed young woman of means who’s sworn off marriage, addicted to match-making her circle of friends (with usually dreadful results), and - horror of horrors! - falls in love. This prettily packaged Wordsworth Collector’s Edition will make a delightful gift for a friend, or a great addition to school libraries, with a hardback format that’s both attractive and resilient. The Wordsworth Collector's Editions make wonderful presents for children; you can find more in the series here.
The Complete Jane Austen Children's Collection (Easy Classics) | Part of Sweet Cherry Publishing’s Jane Austen series, Gemma Barder’s breezy adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has been thoughtfully re-written and fine-tuned for a young readership. “A single man of good fortune must want a wife! And we have five daughters!” Mrs Bennet declares with delight on discovering “that a rich man called Mr Bingley had rented the largest house in her neighbourhood”. Propelled by their mother’s dogged devotion to see them married to rich suitors, it’s not long before the Bennet sisters meet Mr Bingley and the eldest of them - Jane - is invited to dance by the man himself! While smart, straight-talking Lizzy is drawn to Mr Bingley’s wealthy, handsome friend, Mr Darcy, she’s understandably enraged when she overhears him describing her as merely “tolerable”. But first impressions and surface appearances can be deceptive… The comic complexities of the novel’s plot and themes - among them love, integrity, class, snobbery, societal constraints and conventions - are handled with lively age-appropriate lucidity, often delivered through dialogue that dances off the tongue, which makes it great for reading aloud. This adaptation is sure to keep young readers entertained, while offering plenty of scope for further discussion of the themes, and acting as a springboard to future enjoyment of the original novel.
Best loved of all Jane Austen’s novels, the classic love story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy has thrilled readers ever since its publication. Strong willed Elizabeth Bennett is determined not to be impressed by her family’s wealthy new neighbour, Mr Darcy. Her first impressions of him are that he is proud and arrogant. Despite being renowned for her wit and beauty, Mr Darcy is apparently equally unimpressed by Elizabeth on first acquaintance. But things change between the two of them in one of the most romantic of all courtships. March 2011 Guest Editor Terry Jones has chosen the books of Jane Austen: "One of the joys of reading, for me, is the act of entering into another world, just as with the Rupert Annuals. And one of the worlds I’ve enjoyed retreating into most is the world of Jane Austen. I suppose, if I’m honest, it’s the safety of that world that appeals to me: the security of these mostly rich people living luxurious lives on the cusp of the 18th and 19th centuries. It seems so reasonable, so solid, so permanent. But ah! then it is undercut by Austen’s irony and observation of human foibles. And no matter how many times I read them, every time I go back it’s like reading them for the first time."
At twenty-seven, Anne Elliot is no longer young and has few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortune nor rank.
Chosen by the public through a survey to coincide with the 10th birthday celebrations of World Book Day 2007, this title is one of ‘the ten books the nation can’t live without’. Have you read them all? Below are links to each title and position on the list. 1. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 2. The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien 3. Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 4. Harry Potter JK Rowling 5. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 6. The Bible 7. Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë 8. Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell 9. His Dark Materials Philip Pullman10. Great Expectations Charles Dickens
"Northanger Abbey" tells the story of a young girl, Catherine Morland who leaves her sheltered, rural home to enter the busy, sophisticated world of Bath in the late 1790s. Austen observes with insight and humour the interaction between Catherine and the various characters whom she meets there, and tracks her growing understanding of the world about her. In this, her first full-length novel, Austen also fixes her sharp, ironic gaze on other kinds of contemporary novel, especially the Gothic school made famous by Ann Radcliffe.Catherine's reading becomes intertwined with her social and romantic adventures, adding to the uncertainties and embarrassments she must undergo before finding happiness.
A fine exclusive edition of one of literature's most beloved stories. Featuring a laser-cut jacket on a textured book with foil stamping, all titles in this series will be first editions. No more than 10,000 copies will be printed, and each will be individually numbered from 1 to 10,000. She wished she might be able to keep him from an absolute declaration. That would be so very painful a conclusion of their present acquaintance! and yet, she could not help rather anticipating something decisive. She felt as if the spring would not pass without bringing a crisis, an event, a something to alter her present composed and tranquil state. Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her single life and sees no need for neither love nor marriage. However, nothing delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend, Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee, Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. Emma (Seasons Edition--Spring) is one of four titles available in March 2021. The spring season also will include The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Secret Garden, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
The exquisite illustrations of Marjolein Bastin meet timeless text in this elegant special edition of an English masterpiece. The Marjolein Bastin Classics Seriesis a chance to rediscover classic literature in collectible, luxuriously illustrated volumes. For the first time ever, the internationally celebrated artwork of Marjolein Bastin graces the pages of a timeless classic, Emma. Beyond bringing these stories to life, Bastin's series adds elaborately designed ephemera, such as letters, invitations, and more. Whether an ideal gift for an Austen or Bronte devotee or a treat for yourself, the Marjolein Bastin Classics Series, as a set or individually purchased, is perfect for anyone who feels a connection to these enduring literary gems.
Gems of literature in a luxurious and unique design by Marjolein Bastin. The Marjolein Bastin Classics Series is a chance to rediscover classic literature in collectible, luxuriously illustrated volumes. For the first time ever, the internationally celebrated artwork of Marjolein Bastin graces the pages of a timeless classic, Pride and Prejudice. Beyond bringing these stories to life, Bastin's series adds elaborately designed ephemera, such as four-color maps, letters, family trees, and sheet music. Whether an ideal gift for an Austen or Bronte devotee or a treat for yourself, The Marjolein Bastin Classics Series, as a set or individually purchased, is perfect for anyone who feels a connection to these enduring literary gems.
Until the appearance in 1870 of the Memoir written by her nephew J.E. Austen Leigh, very little was known about Jane Austen beyond what could be deduced from her major novels. This had been the family's choice. Despite this lack of information Deidre Le Faye records that following the acceptance of Jane's novel Susan for publication in 1803, according to family tradition, she had composed the plot of another full-length novel . This, Two Girls of Eighteen, never previously identified as Jane's, was published in 1806 but at some point apparently suppressed. Only two copies are known to exist - one in the Deutsch Nationalbibliothek and the one from which the present text has been transcribed, which came from a house that Jane knew and is mentioned by her in A Collection of Letters. Two Girls of Eighteen has a divided structure, involving two sisters, Charlotte and Julia, each of whom is given her own story, the one a Romance partly based on Richardson's Clarissa, the other a Gothic confection - both set in contemporary England. Jane appears to be testing in this the capabilities of such forms for expressing what she was trying to achieve. Through the character of Charlotte, who is attempting to write a novel, she deliberates at length the sort of thing that she herself might write. Her reflections on such subjects as medicine, law, the rights of women, etc take us below the glossy surface of the major novels and show us the complex web of thought that lies beneath.
Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, is a witty satire of the sentimental novel, a popular genre in Britain throughout the 1790s and the Regency. When it first appeared in 1811, the words in its title carried significant cultural weight beyond the confines of the novel, and into both popular and learned discourse. Through her dual heroines, Austen addresses, and satirizes, notions of sense and sensibility, and engages with the issues of inheritance, marriage, and love. The story concerns two sisters: the level-headed Elinor and the passionate and impulsive Marianne. When their father dies, his son by a previous marriage assumes possession of the family home. Marianne and Elinor, left to the care of their mercenary brother John and his wife Fanny, must remove to a cottage with their mother. Each sister meets a man in whom she is interested, and as with other Austen novels, requited love does not come easily. This newly annotated edition offers a thorough and perceptive introduction and a wide range of carefully selected contextual materials that further explore the term sensibility.
Jane Austen's Emma (1816) tells the story of the coming of age of Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, who had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. Typical for the novel's time, Emma's transition to womanhood is accomplished through courtship-both of those around her and, ultimately, her own. As in other Austen works, education and courtship go hand in hand, and Emma's process of learning to relinquish the power of having her own way is also a process of falling in love. However, in Emma this classic plot is both complicated by and reflective of a collection of contemporary issues, assumptions, and anxieties that highlight just how political even the most conventional of courtship plots can be. This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction and an extensive collection of historical documents relating to the composition and reception of the novel, the social implications of England's shift from a rural agrarian to an urban industrial economy, the role of women in provincial society, and the contemporary preoccupation with health and the treatment of illness.
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