Happy Birthday Jane Austen
Jane Austen was born on 16th December 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire, and so celebrates her 235th birthday today.
She was an English novelist whose books were set among the English middle and upper classes, and notable for their wit, social observation and insights into the lives of early 19th century women. There have been many film and TV adaptations of her novels, and there are new novels and nonfiction books being written by talented and creative authors to suplant the ‘need to feed’ our obession with Jane Austen and her Regency life. Her work is well loved all over the world and is as relevant today, as when it was written.
Jane Austen, observer of the minutiae in Regency English life, is fundamental reading in many a lady’s library. Her work is truly treasured and loved by many.
“Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.
Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer. Her artistic apprenticeship lasted from her teenage years until she was about 35 years old. During this period, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried then abandoned, and wrote and extensively revised three major novels and began a fourth.
From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began a third, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but died before completing it.
Austen’s works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century realism. Her plots, though fundamentally comic, highlight the dependence of women on marriage to secure social standing and economic security. Her work brought her little personal fame and only a few positive reviews during her lifetime, but the publication in 1869 of her nephew’s A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced her to a wider public, and by the 1940s she had become widely accepted in academia as a great English writer. The second half of the 20th century saw a proliferation of Austen scholarship and the emergence of a Janeite fan culture.”
As stated by Wikipedia
You will find today that many others are also celebrating Jane’s 235th birthday including: -
1. Google – Have marked her birthday with a Google Doodle.
2. The Mirror – Published an article titled : -
3. Jane Austen’s World Blog – Posted “Baby Jane Austen’s First Two Years: Happy 235th Birthday, Jane!”
4. Austen Authors – Show us their celebrations on their blog post “Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!”
5. My Jane Austen Book Club – Have set up a Happy Birthday Jane! Blog Tour.
Which has got lots of great Janeite friends waiting for you on their own blogs and sites. Just leave a comment on their site before going on with your tour. Visit all the sites in the list below: every comment you’ll leave on any of the blogs will give you a chance to win one of the many gifts they have for this extraordinary multiple giveaway.
6. Austenesque Reviews – Posted a birthday celebration blog that discusses what Jane Austen’s Greek astrology sign and Chinese zodiac sign have to say about her.
7. Austenprose – Not only posts a blog in “A Celebration of her Legacy – Her Juvenilia”
But also spreads the news that for today only you can download free Jane Austen-inspired e-Books. Check the post out for further details.
8. Jane Austen Today – In celebration lists related sites & videos to visit – it is well worth a look.
9. First Impressions Blog – Has created a Jane Austen themed crossword puzzle in celebration.
10. Birthday Celebrations in Bath – You can celebrate Jane Austen’s Birthday with Music, Mulled Wine, Mince Pies and Musings! At St Swithin’s Church, Paragon, Bath. With Christmas Carols and seasonal readings by Jane Austen and her contemporaries in this delightful Georgian Church where the author’s parents were married and is the final resting place of both her father and grandfather.
The above is just a selection of how many are celebrating Jane Austen’s birthday, if you know of any others please feel free to mention them below.
I grew up reading her novels, although my favourites were always Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice. I always felt close to Elinor and Elizabeth, and wanted to experience that period in time with all its elegance. So I feel very proud to have been able to celebrate Jane’s birthday with so many others.
2011 marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s first publication, Sense & Sensibility and I am pleased to announce that the Worcestershire Literary Festival will be celebrating this anniversary. So watch this space.
Angela James
Deputy Festival Director & Website/Finance Coordinator
