Selected Letters, 1796-1817 (Oxford Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Jane Austen (Author), R. W. Chapman (Editor), Marilyn Butler (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Oxford Paperbacks | Publication Date: April 25, 1985

Written to her sister Cassandra and other near relatives and intimate friends, this selection of almost one-third of Jane Austen's surviving letters makes a delightful introduction to her life and work. Although they rarely mention her novels, the letters provide valuable insights into the social conventions of her time, and record in detail the births, marriages, and deaths, and the family tensions and occasional scandals that inspired her writing. This book is intended for students and readers of English literature; Jane Austen enthusiasts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 25, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192814850
• ISBN-13: 978-0192814852
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,944,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Though the domain of Jane Austen's novels was as circumscribed as her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family's entertainment. As a clergyman's daughter from a well-connected family, she had an ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At twenty-one, she began a novel called "The First Impressions" an early version of Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, on her father's retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two years later she sold the first version of Northanger Abby to a London publisher, but the first of her novels to appear was Sense and Sensibility, published at her own expense in 1811. It was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815). After her father died in 1805, the family first moved to Southampton then to Chawton Cottage in Hampshire. Despite this relative retirement, Jane Austen was still in touch with a wider world, mainly through her brothers; one had become a very rich country gentleman, another a London banker, and two were naval officers. Though her many novels were published anonymously, she had many early and devoted readers, among them the Prince Regent and Sir Walter Scott. In 1816, in declining health, Austen wrote Persuasion and revised Northanger Abby, Her last work, Sandition, was left unfinished at her death on July 18, 1817. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Austen's identity as an author was announced to the world posthumously by her brother Henry, who supervised the publication of Northanger Abby and Persuasion in 1818.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bits -and pieces- of ivory, August 15, 2000

By 

C. J. Zins (Manville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selected Letters, 1796-1817 (Oxford Paperbacks) (Paperback)

This being my first experience with reading a series of actual letters, I found that I had to keep reminding myself to stop waiting for a plot, or character building, or any of the usual things one finds in a novel. Also, the book contains only selected letters, leaving a sense of large gaps of time. These things made it difficult for me to get really involved in the reading of this book; however, the editor gives very helpful tidbits at the beginning of each section: where and with whom Jane was staying, and to whom various references were made. Extensive footnotes also help with the latter. If the best mark of a book is that it makes the reader want more, then by all means this collection has done it's work: I definitely plan on learning more about Jane Austen's life and times.