Jane Austen, Best Seller

Because of the internet, it is now possible for people from around the world to come together to discuss their favorite books. In my case, the internet has provided me with an opportunity to share my love of Jane Austen novels, especially Pride and Prejudice, with other Austen devotees. Although the author died in 1817, her masterpiece has never been out of print. Her novel has always been available to anyone who is looking for a timeless love story written with a light hand, an eye for detail, and a love of language. In 2003, Pride and Prejudice sold 110,000 copies, outselling mystery writer John Grisham. Recently, it has inspired a motion picture starring Keira Knightley, a miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, as well as a film with an Indian twist, Bride and Prejudice.For one of the most famous writers in the English language, Jane Austen did not want her identity to become known. When Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, more than 15 years after Miss Austen first put pen to paper, she identified herself only as “The Author of Sense and Sensibility.” The reason was simple. Women whose identities were published usually did so to make money because of financial difficulties. A lady, such as Miss Austen, did not write for profit but only for her family's amusement or personal gratification.When Pride and Prejudice first appeared in print two years before the Battle of Waterloo brought an end to the Age of Napoleon, Miss Austen was not interested in writing about the epic events then engulfing all of Europe even though two of her brothers were British naval officers fighting the French. What interested her were the idiosyncrasies of the four and twenty families which made up her neighborhood. As Mr. Bennet so brilliantly put it, “For what do we live, but to make sport of our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn.”When Jane Austen died at the age of 42, the author left behind her a remarkable body of work that had been a perfect fit for the Regency Era. However, when Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, the country was ready to put behind it the decadence associated with the Prince Regent and his friends. More serious works, such as the Bronte sisters’ Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, better suited the atmosphere created by England’s young queen. The Victorians would not have permitted Lydia and Wickham’s transgressions to go unpunished. They would have had Lydia Bennet dying in the snow on the road to Longbourn.It wasn’t until the early 20th Century that audiences rediscovered Jane Austen’s works. Recognizing her genius, Pride and Prejudice was included in the curricula of many high school English classes which is where I first met Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet nearly 40 years ago. Like so many others, I too was inspired by Miss Austen. The results are Pemberley Remembered.