 | Jane Austen
1775 - 1817 An
Introduction to Her Life and Work
|
A pathfinder prepared by Janet
McLaughlin, Fall, 1997.
Introduction
Jane Austen is one of the most beloved authors of our time. In recent
years she has found a new audience due to film and television
adaptations of four of her novels. Her nephew, J.E. Austen-Leigh,
wrote "of events her life was singularly barren: few changes and no great
crisis ever broke the smooth current of its course." (1870, p.2). Born in
the late 18th century, Jane wrote about what she knew: the trials and
tribulations of the middle class landed gentry in the early nineteenth
century. She wrote with great humor and insight into this world of
privilege tinged with economic uncertainty. Largely unknown during her
lifetime, her works are now regarded amongst the finest in 19th century
literature.
Scope
This pathfinder is designed to introduce the
undergraduate English literature student to the life and work of Jane
Austen. Sources listed below describe various resources in which to begin
research, including biography, bibliography, and criticism. Students should review all the citations
provided to formulate a search strategy. Starting
points are listed, as well as good ready
reference materials that will assist all readers of Austen's works.
Lastly, I included a list of useful internet sites, including links
providing full texts of her work and links that describe the film and
television adaptations available.
Location of Sources
All
sources cited here can be found in Davis
Library - the majority are located on the 7th floor. Bibliographies
are on the 8th floor. Call numbers are provided to assist retrieval.
Searches should input the Library of Congress subject heading "Austen,
Jane" as both an author and a subject for a complete listing of library
holdings.
This pathfinder includes introductory materials about Jane
Austen and her work; it does not attempt to provide information specific
to each novel, however, I have directed the student to the authoritative
collection of her novels for quick reference and a
good read!
Back to Top
 | "What did she say? Just what she ought, of course. A
lady always does."
(Emma, 1815) |
Getting Started: Guides and
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia Britannica
Online
A great place for the Jane Austen neophyte to
begin. The entry provides a summary of her life, a short synopsis of each
novel, an assessment of her work in the context of the English novel, and
a bibliography to some of the standard texts. Click on the title above or
access their website at http://www.eb.com/public/austen.htm.
Grey, J. David (Ed). The Jane Austen Handbook. London:
Athlone Press, 1986.
This collection of essays includes almost
every different type of source in one place. Biography reviews,
characterization studies, chronologies, plot summaries, and publishing
history are a few of the items included, as well as a dictionary of Austen
characters and family members. Particularly helpful is the literary
criticism section which is divided into three periods: 1814-70, 1870-1940,
and 1939-1983, and provides an interesting look in to the evolution of
Austen as a recognized literary giant.
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4036.J37
M. Hardwick, M. A Guide to Jane Austen. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1973.
This source was prepared to provide an
introduction to Jane Austen to those who are unfamiliar with her work. It
includes a short biography, a listing of characters with descriptions
quoted directly from the novels, and separate discussions of each of her
novels as well as her other minor or incomplete works.
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4036.H29
Back to Top
| "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."
(Pride and Prejudice, 1813) |
Ready Reference Sources
G.L. Apperson. A Jane Austen Dictionary. New York, NY: Haskell House, 1932.
G. Leeming. Who's Who in Jane Austen and the Brontes. New York,
NY: Taplinger Publishing Co., Inc., 1974.
Back to Top
| "But your mind is warped by an innate principle of integrity and therefore, not accessible to the cruel reasonings of family partiality or desire for revenge."
(Northanger Abbey, 1817) |
Novels
Jane Austen wrote six complete novels, published between 1811 and 1817;
her last two novels were published posthumously. Several "fragments" of
earlier works are available, as well as the unfinished novel
Sanditon she was working on when she died in 1817. Robert W.
Chapman compiled the authoritative text of each novel in a six volume set.
R. W. Chapman (1965). The Novels of Jane Austen. London:
Oxford University Press. Third Edition, originally published 1952.
- Volume 1: Sense and Sensibility (1811)
- Volume 2: Pride and
Prejudice (1813)
- Volume 3: Mansfield Park (1814)
- Volume 4:
Emma (1815)
- Volume 5: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (1817)
- Volume 6: Minor Works (added to collection in 1965)
Each
volume contains an introductory note from Dr. Chapman, full text of the
novel, explanatory notes, and an index of characters. Appendices vary by
volume and include guides to Austenian vocabulary, grammar, chronology,
and manners. Of note is the inclusion in volume 5 of a "biographical
notice" by Henry Austen, Jane's brother. This notice was first published
with the novel shortly after Jane's death and is the first biographical
sketch of the author.
Davis Library, 7th Floor: PR 4031.C5
Back to Top
| "It
is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a
good fortune must be in want of a wife."
(Pride and Prejudice,
1813) |
Biography
Many biographies have been written about Jane Austen. Two of those listed
below were written by family members, and thus objectivity may be a
concern. The third is a recognized classic from the 20th century. I have
also included a short work by Robert Chapman which is a self-described
survey of Austen's life and work.
When reviewing these sources, it is impossible not to notice the use
of similar anecdotes and descriptions of Austen. All the authors worked
from the same limited sources to reconstruct Austen's life: letters,
family recollections, and novels. However, each is presented in a unique
way and emphasizes different aspects of her life and career.
J. E. Austen-Leigh. A Memoir of Jane Austen. London:
Bentley, 1870.
Written by Austen's nephew, who was a child at the time of her death,
this book was the first attempt to chronicle her life and is largely
responsible for reintroducing the world to her work. It is a compilation
of recollections of those who knew her. As one might imagine, it is
somewhat biased in its praise of her life and work, but offers interesting
anecdotes about Jane and the way she lived.
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4036.A8
W. and R.A. Austen-Leigh. Jane Austen: A Family Record. Revised
and enlarged by Deidre Le Faye. Boston, MA: GK Hall & Co., 1989.
This work published as Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters by her
great nephew and his nephew, sought to update the work begun by
J.E. Austen-Leigh and include additional sources of information collected
since his Memoir was written in 1870. Chief among those are the
letters written by Jane to her sister Cassandra collected by Lord
Bradbourne (see below). Life and Letters includes more information
about the private life of Jane, as well as speculation as to her romantic
engagements and ventures in to society that the first work chose to
downplay. Interestingly, it sought to dispel the belief in the
"uneventful nature of her life, which, as we think, has been a good deal
exaggerated." It nicely incorporates copies of her letters with narrative.
In this revised version, Le Faye has expanded on the original and
corrected what she determined to be errors in earlier accounts of Austen's
life. She emphasizes the importance of knowing Austen's family to properly
understand her work and may have created the most exhaustive and accurate
biography to date.
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4036.A86
E. Jenkins. Jane
Austen: A Biography. London: Victor Golancz LTD., 1938.
Called "a singularly honest book" by Robert Chapman
(1948), this accessible biography reads more like a novel than a work
of non-fiction. It describes in detail the life of the gentry in 19th
century England and includes much information about those around Jane who
influenced her and who may have been models for some of her characters.
It also incorporates discussion about historic events such as the French
Revolution and the manner in which they affected the Austen household.
Davis Library, 7th Floor: PR4036.J4
Robert W. Chapman (1948) Jane Austen, Facts and
Problems. Oxford: University Press.
This short work surveys Austen's life and her literary career. It
does not go into great depth, but includes important basic information all
students of Austen should consider, as well as interesting speculations
about the chronology of Austen's work, why she did not write during the
early 1800s, and her scrupulous regard for accuracy.
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4036.J4
Back to Top
| "Single women have a
dreadful propensity for being poor -- which is one very strong argument in
favor of matrimony."
(Letter to Fanny Knight, March 13,
1817) |
Letters
Many of Jane
Austen's letters were destroyed by her sister Cassandra in an attempt to
protect her privacy. Those that remain have been collected and published
in various formats. The Austen-Leigh biographies cited above contain
partial records of her letters; below are the two most frequently cited
collections.
Lord Edward Brabourne (Ed.) Letters of Jane Austen. London:
Richard Bentley & Son, 1884.
Lord Brabourne was the son of Austen's niece Fanny Knight, and
inherited a large number of her letters, which he compiled and published
in 1884 as both a biography and a collection of letters. The first such
compilation published, it is printed in two volumes and can also be
accessed through the internet at www.pemberley.com
/janeinfo/brablets.html.
Davis Library, 7th Floor: PR4036.A3 v.1 & v.2.
R.W. Chapman. Jane Austen's Letters. Oxford, Oxford University
Press, 2nd Edition, 1979 (originally published in 1952)
Robert W. Chapman is an authority on Jane Austen and several of his
works are included in this pathfinder. Jane Austen's Letters is
the first comprehensive collection as it combines the three main sources
of her letters: the letters from Lord Brabourne; the letters held by
Charles Austen's family used by J.E. Austen-Leigh in preparing his
Memoir, and letters written to Francis Austen, Jane's brother, who
was a naval officer. Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4036.A55
Back to Top
| "Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because
there is no hope of a cure."
(Mansfield Park,
1814) |
Bibliography
The following sources provide an interesting history of the publications
of Jane Austen's work. The first two editions predominantly cover
publication notices of her works, reviews, and biographies written during
the 19th century. I have also included a more recent bibliography that
includes the numerous 20th century interpretations.
Sir Geoffrey Keynes. Jane Austen: A bibliography. London:
Nonesuch Press, 1929.
This is the first bibliography prepared
on the life and work of Jane Austen. It is an interesting historical work
as it includes information such as the cost of her books when first
published, details about the publishing process, and thorough histories of
the multiple printings of Austen's work. It gives the reader insight into
the growth in her popularity as additional editions of her novels were
printed throughout the century. It also clearly shows that Jane did not
live to understand her talent or her popularity as a novelist.
The work discusses original editions, first American editions, French
translations and collected editions of the 20th century, as well as
publications of her letters, miscellaneous writings, biography and
criticism. The criticism section is particularly interesting as the 19th
century items consist mainly of references to Austen in other people's
biographies, for ex. Sir Walter Scott and Alfred Tennyson. This indicates
the influence Jane had on other prominent people of the time. Lastly the
book includes a good listing of periodical articles, from both the 19th
and 20th centuries. Many of which we have in Davis library.
Davis
Library, 8th Floor: Z8048.K44
R. W. Chapman.Jane Austen: A Critical Bibliography.
London: Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1953
This small
book was not intended to be a comprehensive bibliography, but provides
insight into the rise in popularity of Austen's novels. It is
particularly interesting to read the printing schedule of her novels where
it becomes apparent that her works came in fashion, waned somewhat and
then regained fashion where they stayed for the last 150 years. It also
evidences the fact that Austen never realized her popularity and probably
never dreamed of her impact.
Davis Library, 8th Floor: Z8048.C47
D. Gilson. A bibliography of Jane Austen. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press, 1982.
This 900 page work's many sections include original editions, first
American editions, translations, minor works, letters, biographies and
criticisms. Each section has a good introduction discussing the editor's
major findings, the history of the publications, and previous scholars'
interpretations. This collection shows the increased interest in Jane
Austen in the latter part of the 20th century. There are more studies
listed during the years 1954 through 1978 than for all the years between
1813 and 1954.
Davis Library, 8th Floor: Z8048.G547
Back to Top
| "And
have you never known the pleasure and triumph of a lucky guess?"
(Emma, 1815) |
Literary Criticism
The following critical essays are but a sampling of the works available.
The student should be aware that such collections are also available on
specific topics related to Austen themes, such as morality, comedy,
feminism, and religion. The essays listed below are of a general nature
and may inlcude discussion of the above topics as well.
I've included two works by B.C. Southam. One a collection of modern
essays written during the 1960s; the other is a two volume "critical
heritage" covering the periods 1812 to 1870 and 1870 to 1940.
B.C. Southam (Ed). The Critical Heritage. New York, NY:
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968.
By Southam's own admission, "the birth and growth of Jane Austen's
critical reputation was a dull and long-drawn out affair." (p. I).
However, the reviews, opinions, and notices included in these volumes are
a requisite component in any study of Austen, and of serious study of the
novle's growth in critical esteem. It includes contemporary reviews, as
well as analyses prepared throughout the remainder of the 19th and first
half of the 20th centuries.
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4037.S59, v.1
& v.2.
B.C. Southam. Critical essays on Jane Austen. New York, NY:
Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1969.
A collection written in the
1960s, the contributors are neither "admirers nor detractors", however the
editor concedes the book is largely critical of Austen. Interestingly,
while he agrees that she was an artist, he stresses the importance of
acknowledging her limitations, primarily of subject and range. He points
out the sharp contrast between her admirers who compare her
characterizations to Shakespeare, and her detractors who condemn her
treatment of "the state of England and Napoleanic Europe as if they were
events off-stage" (p. xiv).
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4037.S57
G. Handley. Criticism in Focus. New York, NY: St. Martin's
Press, 1992.
This short work is a bit less intimidating than the two Southam
collections. A survey of select Austenian criticism, it covers many of the
works cited in this pathfinder and is a good place for students to begin
familiarizing themselves with the body of work available.
Davis Library, 7th floor: PR4037.H27
Back to Top
| "Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in
love a little now and then."
(Pride and Prejudice,
1813) |
Indexes & Abstracts
Indexes and abstracts are the places to search for journal articles about
Austen. The student will want to search in both subject-specific and
general electronic and print indexes, to ensure comprehensive coverage
(19th century periodicals are generally not included in the electronic
databases listed below). Below is a sampling of the indexes available.
As searching in these sources may yield an overwhelming number of
articles, it may be necessary to narrow the search terms by publication
date and/or key words if studying a particular theme.
Times Literary
Supplement 1902-1939 Volume 1, and 1940-1980 Volume 1.
Both volumes contain many entries and are neatly organized by
subject headings which include novels, manuscripts, book reviews,
collections, letters and various critiques. The separation of years
should help the scholar who is interested in only a particular area of
interpretation.
Davis Reference, Row 2: AP4.T45
Nineteenth Century Reader's Guide to
Periodical Literature, 1890-1899, New York: H. W. Wilson, with
supplemental indexing, 1900-1922.
The standard source for
periodical searching, it is a needed supplement to electronic sources.
Davis Reference, Row 19: AI3.R496
Dissertation Abstracts International. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1938- .
Indexes and abstracts to dissertations completed at U.S. and
international universities. A good source of scholarly materials, it
indexes materials dating back to 1861 and includes abtracts since 1981.
It is possible to get copies of many of those cited through interlibrary
loan.
Davis Reference, Networked CD ROMS, and Stack Range 10: Z5053.D57
Expanded Academic ASAP. InfoTrac, Information Access Co. 1994 -
Dec 1997 (and backfile, 1980 - 1993).
MLA Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures, New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1919-.
MLA in both online and print formats is a comprehensive index of literary materials, and is well-organized and easy to use.
Davis Reference, Row 17: Z7006.M64 & on OCLC FirstSearch
Back to Top
| "One cannot be always laughing at a man without now and
then stumbling on something witty."
(Pride and Prejudice,
1813) |
Journal Articles
I decided to include three 19th century journal articles that are
frequently cited in much of the literature about Jane Austen. These
articles represent the first significant works of Austenian criticism. Two
of the articles were published in Quarterly Review, a British
publication that contains many entries about Austen and English
literature. The three articles combined have been called the foundation of
modern Austenian criticism. (Robert Chapman,
1953)
Sir Walter Scott (1815). Review of Emma. Quarterly Review,
16, October, 1815 (published March 1816).
Richard Whately (1821). Review of Northanger Abbey and
Persuasion. Quarterly Review, 24, January, 1921.
Richard Simpson (1870). Review of the Memoir of Jane Austen.
North British Review, 52, April, 1870.
Back to Top
| "One-half of the world cannot understand the pleasures
of the other."
(Emma, 1815) |
Internet Resources
The Jane Austen
Collection at Goucher College houses one of the premier collections of
Jane Austen's work and memorabilia in the United States. The site
describes the collection which includes copies of first editions,
translations, critical studies, and background literature of her life and
work.
The Jane Austen Society of North
America is a group dedicated to "study and celebrate the genius of Jane
Austen". A "serious, but not stuffy" group, it publishes the annual
journal Persuasions
which can be accessed electronically, or in Davis (call number PR4036
.A15) and contains literary reviews, discussions of characters, reports
and papers from the annual conference, articles written by members, and
news of JASNA activities.
The Jane
Austen Information Page is a fun way to learn about the author. It
includes full text of her works, criticism, and biographical information
as well as Jane Austen jokes and other amusing send-offs, like geneological
charts of her characters. As with many web sites, it should not be
considered an authoritative source, but may point a scholar towards other
useful sources.
Jane Austen
Film and Television Adaptations is a good place to find out which of
her novels have been made adapted for film. It provides links to the home
pages of many of the more recent sites, and includes video clips and
downloadable pictures.
Click here
for a copy of a chronology of Jane Austen's life, or join a Jane
Austen Chat where fans and students discuss their insights and ask
questions.
Back to Top
| "I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves
me the trouble of liking them a great deal."
Letter to her sister
Cassandra, 12/24/1798 |
