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The Letters of Jane Austen: Jane Austen's Personal Correspondence and Insights
First published in the year 1932, the present book is a collection of letter of noted novelist Jane Austen. These letters afford a unique insight into the daily life of the novelist: intimate and gossipy, observant and informative, they bring alive her family and friends, her surroundings and contemporary events with a freshness unparalleled in modern biographies.
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1908
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8347 people want to read
About the author
Jane Austen
3,524 books74.8k followersJane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.
The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but brought her little fame in her lifetime. She wrote two other novels—Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1817—and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, the short epistolary novel Lady Susan, and the unfinished novel The Watsons.
Since her death Austen's novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her reputation occurred in 1833, when they were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series (illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering and sold as a set). They gradually gained wide acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience. Her work has inspired a large number of critical essays and has been included in many literary anthologies. Her novels have also inspired many films, including 1940's Pride and Prejudice, 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2016's Love & Friendship.
The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but brought her little fame in her lifetime. She wrote two other novels—Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1817—and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, the short epistolary novel Lady Susan, and the unfinished novel The Watsons.
Since her death Austen's novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her reputation occurred in 1833, when they were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series (illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering and sold as a set). They gradually gained wide acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience. Her work has inspired a large number of critical essays and has been included in many literary anthologies. Her novels have also inspired many films, including 1940's Pride and Prejudice, 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2016's Love & Friendship.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
January 16, 2012
Got this for a Christmas present! Woot!
First part of my Review: The Editing. Le Faye's work is a concise, scholarly job; this book deserves the reputation it has. It is as heavily detailed and full of excellent minutiae as JA's letters. Included are all the lists you'll need to understand the reading: places mentioned in the letters, general index, list of initials used in reference, bibliography, even a biographical index of the people JA talks about. One thing struck me here: JA had such an incredible amount of extended family (it seemed like almost everybody over several generations had anywhere from 8 to 17 children!), and I wondered: Didn't any families populate the SE corner of England except Austens??
My one fault with the book was the presentation. It got so old flipping back every other page to read the background of the letters. If it were presented differently, with perhaps the historical information (date written and from where, what happened to the original MS, when published, etc.) preceding the text of the letter within the pages, and the footnoted information (who JA's talking about, etc.) as actual footnotes at the bottom of the page, I have no doubt the ease of reading would increase 100%!
(Note: my copy is the 3rd edition from 1997, not the current 4th edition which I specifically did not want. The new publication may include those presentation improvements -- I would hope!)
Second part: The Letters Themselves. Jane Austen's correspondence was very interesting. Reading this, I felt I was really living in the time period. The minutiae of making orange wine and mead, returning social calls, keeping your clothes fashionable, and how to accommodate their overnight guests grew to be overwhelming (and I only read about it, not did it!) Where did this girl find time to write?? Most of the letters (to about 1806) are from Jane to her sister Cassandra, and only concerned those small aspects of their daily lives (or the lives of their relatives and nearest friends); they made for sluggish reading. I did wish Jane would have a thought that wasn't sheer gossip!
But as the years went by, and as more letters to maturing nieces and nephews were included, the book grew that more interesting. Toward the end Jane spoke on some issues of the day - a possible war, thousands killed in a catastrophe, a fashionable Scandal, or the Importance of Being an Aunt - and this became the Jane I recognized. In her dealings with the Carlton House librarian J S Clarke regarding dedicating Emma to the Prince Regent, I LOL'd! If P&P hadn't already been published, I'd swear she copied the character of Mr. Collins from that intruding, busybody clergyman James Stanier Clarke! Jane's tact when dealing with him was superb! Several letters give advice to girls in love or budding novelists. (Critiqued by Jane Austen! Wouldn't that be a coup?!) With these subjects I seem to be reading Jane's own journal, not just little ideas in a document that could be passed around and read by any who came to call. She's opening up, letting the bars down, allowing me to see her real thoughts. So at the end, hearing her struggle to overcome her illness, reading her will and then the letters from Cassandra regarding Jane's death - I feel that I have lost a real friend. I had got to know Jane Austen a little bit better.
First part of my Review: The Editing. Le Faye's work is a concise, scholarly job; this book deserves the reputation it has. It is as heavily detailed and full of excellent minutiae as JA's letters. Included are all the lists you'll need to understand the reading: places mentioned in the letters, general index, list of initials used in reference, bibliography, even a biographical index of the people JA talks about. One thing struck me here: JA had such an incredible amount of extended family (it seemed like almost everybody over several generations had anywhere from 8 to 17 children!), and I wondered: Didn't any families populate the SE corner of England except Austens??
My one fault with the book was the presentation. It got so old flipping back every other page to read the background of the letters. If it were presented differently, with perhaps the historical information (date written and from where, what happened to the original MS, when published, etc.) preceding the text of the letter within the pages, and the footnoted information (who JA's talking about, etc.) as actual footnotes at the bottom of the page, I have no doubt the ease of reading would increase 100%!
(Note: my copy is the 3rd edition from 1997, not the current 4th edition which I specifically did not want. The new publication may include those presentation improvements -- I would hope!)
Second part: The Letters Themselves. Jane Austen's correspondence was very interesting. Reading this, I felt I was really living in the time period. The minutiae of making orange wine and mead, returning social calls, keeping your clothes fashionable, and how to accommodate their overnight guests grew to be overwhelming (and I only read about it, not did it!) Where did this girl find time to write?? Most of the letters (to about 1806) are from Jane to her sister Cassandra, and only concerned those small aspects of their daily lives (or the lives of their relatives and nearest friends); they made for sluggish reading. I did wish Jane would have a thought that wasn't sheer gossip!
But as the years went by, and as more letters to maturing nieces and nephews were included, the book grew that more interesting. Toward the end Jane spoke on some issues of the day - a possible war, thousands killed in a catastrophe, a fashionable Scandal, or the Importance of Being an Aunt - and this became the Jane I recognized. In her dealings with the Carlton House librarian J S Clarke regarding dedicating Emma to the Prince Regent, I LOL'd! If P&P hadn't already been published, I'd swear she copied the character of Mr. Collins from that intruding, busybody clergyman James Stanier Clarke! Jane's tact when dealing with him was superb! Several letters give advice to girls in love or budding novelists. (Critiqued by Jane Austen! Wouldn't that be a coup?!) With these subjects I seem to be reading Jane's own journal, not just little ideas in a document that could be passed around and read by any who came to call. She's opening up, letting the bars down, allowing me to see her real thoughts. So at the end, hearing her struggle to overcome her illness, reading her will and then the letters from Cassandra regarding Jane's death - I feel that I have lost a real friend. I had got to know Jane Austen a little bit better.
May 10, 2025
“I will not say that your mulberry trees are dead; but I am afraid they're not alive.”
The first time I went to Chawton, there was no time to actually visit the house, I had planned for a quick stop to marvel at it off the street, but the souvenir shop entrance went through the actual backyard so I dashed in and bought myself a simple little medallion on a chain with an iconic quote from Pride & Prejudice printed on it:
"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!"
This was many many many many [...] many moons ago and I still have it. In fact, it has been with me anywhere I thought Jane didn't have the opportunity to experience something, from going to large bookshops or shopping for something expensive, museums, concerts, F1 races, travelling by plane to foreign countries, going to a shooting range, hand therapy, we waited together in a 8hour line to say goodbye to the Late Queen Elizabeth II, and I even took her with me on a smoker's boat in Utrecht.
Because Jane is a remarkably large part of why I love reading and much sooner tire of anything than of a book!
This is not a real review, this is an Ode to a witty lady who matured into a writer of epic proportions, whose later letters show the character of a high-thinker, cognizant of the strong issues of her time and culture.
This is the 250th anniversary of Jane's birth. She only grows stronger with each passing year.
So instead of sitting here heartbroken over Cassandra's letters after her death, I rather remember all the times she happily went dress-shopping in Basingstoke and I smile because I just KNOW she would have fucking loved London Fashion Week!
"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."
PS: I lost count of how many times she fed her mother laudanum as if it's tea.
“Nothing ever fatigues me, but doing what I do not like.”
The first time I went to Chawton, there was no time to actually visit the house, I had planned for a quick stop to marvel at it off the street, but the souvenir shop entrance went through the actual backyard so I dashed in and bought myself a simple little medallion on a chain with an iconic quote from Pride & Prejudice printed on it:
"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!"
This was many many many many [...] many moons ago and I still have it. In fact, it has been with me anywhere I thought Jane didn't have the opportunity to experience something, from going to large bookshops or shopping for something expensive, museums, concerts, F1 races, travelling by plane to foreign countries, going to a shooting range, hand therapy, we waited together in a 8hour line to say goodbye to the Late Queen Elizabeth II, and I even took her with me on a smoker's boat in Utrecht.
Because Jane is a remarkably large part of why I love reading and much sooner tire of anything than of a book!
This is not a real review, this is an Ode to a witty lady who matured into a writer of epic proportions, whose later letters show the character of a high-thinker, cognizant of the strong issues of her time and culture.
This is the 250th anniversary of Jane's birth. She only grows stronger with each passing year.
So instead of sitting here heartbroken over Cassandra's letters after her death, I rather remember all the times she happily went dress-shopping in Basingstoke and I smile because I just KNOW she would have fucking loved London Fashion Week!
"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."
PS: I lost count of how many times she fed her mother laudanum as if it's tea.
“Nothing ever fatigues me, but doing what I do not like.”
August 1, 2012
Even if these letters weren't by Jane Austen, they'd be worth reading for the way they take you right into the lives lived by the lower country gentry in the late Georgian era. The quiet country life? It's worse even than Shetland ... a constant round of calling on neighbours and them calling on you, keeping in touch with relatives by letter, dinner parties, balls, theatres, visits of a fortnight or more with other relatives ... and in among that you had to harvest your fruit and vegetables and make preserves, wine, brew your beer, make or refurbish your own clothes ... it's amazing Austen got any writing done at all in among it. But as they are by Austen, well, the busy round is told with wit and spirit worthy of Elizabeth Bennet. Most importantly, what a lovely idea you get of Austen herself - lively, interested in everything, so fond of her sister, concerned about her mother, amused by her brothers and giddy niece Fanny. You read the biography written by her brother Henry, in which he speaks of her as a most beloved sister and aunt, and think he's over-egging the pud a bit, and then you read her letters and see how it couldn't help but be true. And I bet you wouldn't pick Jane Austen as the writer of the comment (I'm paraphrasing here) 'The good thing about being older is that at balls I can sit by the fire and drink as much wine as I like.'
The volume (tome) is the sort where you need several bookmarks: one for the text, one for the footnotes and another, if you want, for the biographical section, where there's more information on everyone mentioned in the letters. I read the notes first, for each letter, then the letter itself, and I really could have done with having Le Faye's biography of Austen to hand as well, and to find out what had happened in the times the sisters were together - which wasn't often, as one or other was always being needed to help with the children and house when another baby was being born to one of their brothers, while the other had to stay at home with their mother.
A work of thorough scholarship, which ends with Austen's sister Cassandra's letters written to her favourite niece, Fanny, just after Austen's death: 'I have lost such a sister ...' These moved me to tears - you really felt her loss.
This book was a Christmas treat to myself, with a book token, and worth every penny.
The volume (tome) is the sort where you need several bookmarks: one for the text, one for the footnotes and another, if you want, for the biographical section, where there's more information on everyone mentioned in the letters. I read the notes first, for each letter, then the letter itself, and I really could have done with having Le Faye's biography of Austen to hand as well, and to find out what had happened in the times the sisters were together - which wasn't often, as one or other was always being needed to help with the children and house when another baby was being born to one of their brothers, while the other had to stay at home with their mother.
A work of thorough scholarship, which ends with Austen's sister Cassandra's letters written to her favourite niece, Fanny, just after Austen's death: 'I have lost such a sister ...' These moved me to tears - you really felt her loss.
This book was a Christmas treat to myself, with a book token, and worth every penny.
October 19, 2011
A close reading of these letters quickly dispels any illusions of Austen as a proper, humourless, spinster aunt. Austen's letters are funny, witty, and occasionally downright cruel.
March 5, 2019
More of Jane Austen’s personal correspondences... interesting reading, she writes letters just as well as she writes novels
September 14, 2022
A great reading by Mrs Croft '95 Fiona Shaw!
February 7, 2023
Nel mondo di Jane
Leggere l'epistolario di uno scrittore è sicuramente uno dei modi migliori per conoscerlo, entrare nel suo mondo e nel suo tempo, capire come lavora, come scrive, come legge. In altre parole, come funziona il suo processo creativo. Amo moltissimo Jane Austen e sono sempre stata curiosa di leggere le sue lettere, così quando mi è capitata in mano questa bella edizione, che raccoglie la parte più significativa della sua corrispondenza, ho deciso di provare.
Le lettere sono indirizzate quasi tutte alla sorella Cassandra, con la quale l'autrice aveva un rapporto strettissimo, e si sono rivelate una lettura altalenante. Alcuni momenti sono molto interessanti e divertenti, soprattutto le lettere in cui la Austen apre uno spiraglio sul suo lavoro e ci parla delle sue opere, di come nascono, del loro percorso verso la pubblicazione e di come sono accolte da familiari, amici, conoscenti. Qua e là c'è qualche momento davvero memorabile, quando Jane fa sfoggio della sua meravigliosa ironia e riesce a far ridere di gusto anche nei contesti più banali. Particolarmente degna di nota, poi, è la corrispondenza con il reverendo Clarke, ammiratore delle sue opere, cappellano e bibliotecario del principe reggente, al quale Jane Austen dedica Emma, e con la giovane Fanny Knight, figlia di un fratello dell'autrice, a cui Jane indirizza semiseri consigli d'amore.
Ci sono anche molti momenti, però, in cui la lettura si trascina: molte lettere sono infarcite di dettagli poco rilevanti per il lettore comune di oggi (ad esempio il prezzo delle stoffe o della carne), piene di nomi spesso tutti uguali (ho perso il conto di quante Elizabeth e Mary ci siano) e allusioni a fatti misteriosi. Per capirci qualcosa è necessario un continuo rimando alle note e ai glossari e alla lunga diventa un po' pesante.
È una lettura che sicuramente non consiglio a tutti, ma agli appassionati di Jane Austen, quelli che leggono e rileggono i suoi romanzi di continuo e sono disposti anche ad accettare qualche pagina un po' più noiosa pur di entrare nel suo piccolo, grande mondo e conoscerla meglio. Se non altro, vale la pena di leggere per arrivare ai momenti più vivaci a cui ho accennato e che sono veramente piacevoli. Magari si può diluire la lettura nel tempo, affiancandola ad altre. L'edizione Theoria, comunque, è molto ben fatta ed è arricchita da un'introduzione piena di informazioni interessanti. Complimenti alla casa editrice, ha fatto un ottimo lavoro.
Leggere l'epistolario di uno scrittore è sicuramente uno dei modi migliori per conoscerlo, entrare nel suo mondo e nel suo tempo, capire come lavora, come scrive, come legge. In altre parole, come funziona il suo processo creativo. Amo moltissimo Jane Austen e sono sempre stata curiosa di leggere le sue lettere, così quando mi è capitata in mano questa bella edizione, che raccoglie la parte più significativa della sua corrispondenza, ho deciso di provare.
Le lettere sono indirizzate quasi tutte alla sorella Cassandra, con la quale l'autrice aveva un rapporto strettissimo, e si sono rivelate una lettura altalenante. Alcuni momenti sono molto interessanti e divertenti, soprattutto le lettere in cui la Austen apre uno spiraglio sul suo lavoro e ci parla delle sue opere, di come nascono, del loro percorso verso la pubblicazione e di come sono accolte da familiari, amici, conoscenti. Qua e là c'è qualche momento davvero memorabile, quando Jane fa sfoggio della sua meravigliosa ironia e riesce a far ridere di gusto anche nei contesti più banali. Particolarmente degna di nota, poi, è la corrispondenza con il reverendo Clarke, ammiratore delle sue opere, cappellano e bibliotecario del principe reggente, al quale Jane Austen dedica Emma, e con la giovane Fanny Knight, figlia di un fratello dell'autrice, a cui Jane indirizza semiseri consigli d'amore.
Ci sono anche molti momenti, però, in cui la lettura si trascina: molte lettere sono infarcite di dettagli poco rilevanti per il lettore comune di oggi (ad esempio il prezzo delle stoffe o della carne), piene di nomi spesso tutti uguali (ho perso il conto di quante Elizabeth e Mary ci siano) e allusioni a fatti misteriosi. Per capirci qualcosa è necessario un continuo rimando alle note e ai glossari e alla lunga diventa un po' pesante.
È una lettura che sicuramente non consiglio a tutti, ma agli appassionati di Jane Austen, quelli che leggono e rileggono i suoi romanzi di continuo e sono disposti anche ad accettare qualche pagina un po' più noiosa pur di entrare nel suo piccolo, grande mondo e conoscerla meglio. Se non altro, vale la pena di leggere per arrivare ai momenti più vivaci a cui ho accennato e che sono veramente piacevoli. Magari si può diluire la lettura nel tempo, affiancandola ad altre. L'edizione Theoria, comunque, è molto ben fatta ed è arricchita da un'introduzione piena di informazioni interessanti. Complimenti alla casa editrice, ha fatto un ottimo lavoro.
December 29, 2023
Austen writes letters like she writes novels — thoroughly and with a dollop of gracefully told gossip. I felt like I was part of the sewing circle. Her love for and dedicated interest in the happiness of her niece also warmed my heart.
I was surprised by how nonchalant she was when referencing her own novels. I honestly wasn’t expecting such humility!
I was surprised by how nonchalant she was when referencing her own novels. I honestly wasn’t expecting such humility!
January 1, 2025
It feels odd to review what is essentially a random assortment of letters (aka, the ones that survived). They're a bit random and at times read as just a series of "and then we met this persin, and I considered buying this dress, my love to x, y and z."
But on the other hand, JA's voice and style really come out. It's an interesting snapshot of life. Some of the letters are fun. And as the book progressed to the tjme when the novels started being published I was more interested. Particularly liked the exchange with the Prince Regent's royal secretary (not his official title, which I am too lazy to look up). The appendices are also impressive.
Interesting, but also not really the type of book you just sit down and read
But on the other hand, JA's voice and style really come out. It's an interesting snapshot of life. Some of the letters are fun. And as the book progressed to the tjme when the novels started being published I was more interested. Particularly liked the exchange with the Prince Regent's royal secretary (not his official title, which I am too lazy to look up). The appendices are also impressive.
Interesting, but also not really the type of book you just sit down and read
April 19, 2020
Casi todas las cartas de Jane Austen, "casi" porque algunas no fueron recuperadas. En ellas conocemos un poco a la autora de "Orgullo y prejuicio" como también sus pequeños amores que tuve en su vida. También recopila cartas de Casandra Austen, su única hermana, quién la acompaño en sus últimos días que estuvo con vida.
Su testamento y demases imágenes de la época también son parte de éste libro.
"Pasamos por Bifrons y pude contemplar, con melancólico placer, la residencia de aquel a quien durante algún tiempo adoré tiernamente".
Citas: http://hechaensilencio.blogspot.com/2...
Su testamento y demases imágenes de la época también son parte de éste libro.
"Pasamos por Bifrons y pude contemplar, con melancólico placer, la residencia de aquel a quien durante algún tiempo adoré tiernamente".
Citas: http://hechaensilencio.blogspot.com/2...
Read
April 18, 2016It's Jane Austen's letters, enough said, really.
I wish there were more, but I cherish what we have, every trimmed bonnet, every ell of lace, every bit of fretting about who her niece is going to marry. It's fascinating actually to consider how many people write books set in the period without having read these, when they're so full of the minutiae.
And... this isn't a review, but it's a response. I wouldn't have written this without reading these letters: https://www.patreon.com/posts/jane-au...
I wish there were more, but I cherish what we have, every trimmed bonnet, every ell of lace, every bit of fretting about who her niece is going to marry. It's fascinating actually to consider how many people write books set in the period without having read these, when they're so full of the minutiae.
And... this isn't a review, but it's a response. I wouldn't have written this without reading these letters: https://www.patreon.com/posts/jane-au...
April 16, 2008
Her wit and humor resonate on every page—find out just how delightful Jane would be to sit next to at a dinner party, and how much more clever her catty observations would be than your own. Exceptionally footnoted by scholar (and Austen devotee) Deidre Le Faye.
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April 24, 2025not rating this because it’s literally just jane austens surviving personal letters. like i can’t rate it like i rate a book, but 5 stars in the mind of a jane austen fan. couldn’t help but mentally countdown until 1817 and even when i got there ughhhh i was so sad. reading her last few letters as well as cassandra’s letters to fanny and anne afterwords made me cry a lot.
January 1, 2024
I appreciated the copious notes and the index of people that really made this collection of letters easier to understand and come alive.
April 22, 2024
"She was the sun of my life, the glider of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow...."-Cassandra Austen on her sister Jane.
This was so good! Jane is wonderfully herself. Her humor is similar to what appears in her books (though a bit darker). I loved seeing how much she clearly loved her sister and niece. Recommended for super fans of her books!
This was so good! Jane is wonderfully herself. Her humor is similar to what appears in her books (though a bit darker). I loved seeing how much she clearly loved her sister and niece. Recommended for super fans of her books!
January 28, 2018
Lettere emozionanti che aggiungono un tassello importante alla conoscenza di una grande scrittrice amata da sempre...
April 24, 2025
A compilation of Jane Austen's letters to her sister Cassandra and, later, to her niece Fanny Knight. She seems to have been a loving sister and aunt with a great sense of humour.
The letters are mostly about her family, her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law, about her brothers' respective careers, about new nieces and nephews (better keep a family tree at hand!), and about friends and neighbours. Balls, clothes and traveling. Later, some letters mention her novels, but not much else about the literary or political world of the time. Cassandra's description of Jane's death was very moving.
The LibriVox recording is very well narrated by Elizabeth Klett. It is based on the selection of letters published in 1892 (or 1908) by Susan Coolidge (Sarah Chauncey Woolsey), so not the entire collection published earlier by Austen's great-nephew Edward, Lord Brabourne.
I kept wondering what was written in those letters that Cassandra had destroyed after Jane's death!
The letters are mostly about her family, her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law, about her brothers' respective careers, about new nieces and nephews (better keep a family tree at hand!), and about friends and neighbours. Balls, clothes and traveling. Later, some letters mention her novels, but not much else about the literary or political world of the time. Cassandra's description of Jane's death was very moving.
The LibriVox recording is very well narrated by Elizabeth Klett. It is based on the selection of letters published in 1892 (or 1908) by Susan Coolidge (Sarah Chauncey Woolsey), so not the entire collection published earlier by Austen's great-nephew Edward, Lord Brabourne.
I kept wondering what was written in those letters that Cassandra had destroyed after Jane's death!
April 22, 2019
Fascinating.
June 1, 2015
This was a wonderful collection of letters. Austen had an amazing command of words and you see her wit and imagination shine through in every seemingly little detail of daily life and gossip. Not exactly sure why I'm only giving it four stars, perhaps because I would have enjoyed reading it better in a different format, perhaps because I mourn the days of letter writing, perhaps because of the sadness that none of these wonderful communications were directed to me by what was obviously, an admirable mind.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
October 24, 2010
Sometimes I don't want to know who the authors are because I only want to know them through their fiction and not the non-fiction which is their lives. But these letters help you understand that Jane was alive and well despite her lack of a fortunate marriage.
These letters show that she was simply applying herself to her life not in an effort to prove or show anything - more for something to occupy her hours.
Not a bad way to spend your time - certainly beats youtube.
These letters show that she was simply applying herself to her life not in an effort to prove or show anything - more for something to occupy her hours.
Not a bad way to spend your time - certainly beats youtube.
July 15, 2009
Jane Austen's letters are wonderful reading--pithy, scathing and hilarious observations of her world and the people in it to her sister Cassandra, and interesting advice on writing and love to her nieces Anna and Fanny. For the Austen aficinadoas, I'd definitely recommend this complete, chronological collection of the known surviving letters over some of the illustrated compilations out there.
January 20, 2011
It was really helpful to listen the bio first. I am very happy I get to know Jane Austen a little more, not only her works were brilliant also as a being a woman, an extraordinary person. Though the letters were just pieces of information, but it really shows how she values families, her observation of society, how she process lost of families, friendship and love. Just great.
April 14, 2018
A joy to read. It's like having afternoon tea with Elizabeth and Jane Bennet, or Marianne and Elinor Dashwood. All the tidbits of daily living, in such a neighbourhood as theirs, circa late 18th, early 19th Century. Nothing could satisfy more!
May 10, 2024
I've been wanting to try to read more letters — and then I realized I'd had these for like 10 years without reading them. Definitely was a bit of a slog, as I didnt know who people were or what was going on, and they are not at all narrative or reflective, but just practical and disjointed and deeply personal. But I did feel like I was getting to know her and the relationships closest to her, and I found myself unexpectedly identifying with her as a single woman getting older, talking to her sister and her niece. And I cried at the end.
April 11, 2021
I read this collection of Jane Austen’s letters at the prompting of a reading challenge. I’m so grateful to have read them. It was nice to catch a glimpse of the real personality of one of my favorite authors. Her keen observations of her social circle and kind but thoughtful literary advice to her niece made the letters worth reading. I cried at the end when a couple of letters from her sister after she passed were included. I hope to come back to these again some day.
December 23, 2025
I will write a review , when? I don’t know but I will .
January 7, 2023
It for sure had its moments that were hard to get through, but overall showed her love for her people. She was witty, sarcastic, and funny. I think we would’ve been friends. I’m glad we have her writings.
June 15, 2020
When reading Jane Austen's letters I have felt they lacked a more personal feeling, they felt like events of people with hardly any comments but telling of scenery. When I was about done, I decided to look up what Wikipedia mentioned about her life and death. I posted below why the letters seemed dry, the purging of undesirable comments.
"There is little biographical information about Jane Austen's life except the few letters that survive and the biographical notes her family members wrote.[7] During her lifetime, Austen may have written as many as 3,000 letters, but only 161 survived.[8] Many of the letters were written to Austen's older sister Cassandra, who in 1843 burned the greater part of them and cut pieces out of those she kept. Ostensibly, Cassandra destroyed or censored her sister's letters to prevent their falling into the hands of relatives and ensuring that "younger nieces did not read any of Jane Austen's sometimes acid or forthright comments on neighbours or family members".[9][d] Cassandra believed that in the interest of tact and Jane's penchant for forthrightness, these details should be destroyed. The paucity of record of Austen's life leaves modern biographers little with which to work."
I am glad I read them and especially the letters from Cassandra talking to Fanny about her death. I wonder what illness she really had and how much she suffered. Having recent pain and health problems, I had a special feeling for how much she suffered but kept up her spirits and tried to continue to write. I wonder if she knew when her time time was near.
I did not read this edition but from a collection of her works.
"And now I come to the saddest letters of all, those which tell us of the end of that bright life, cut short just at the time when the world might have hoped that unabated intellectual vigor, supplemented by the experience brought by maturer years, would have produced works if possible even more fascinating than those with which she had already embellished the literature of her country. But it was not to be. The fiat had gone forth, — the ties which bound that sweet spirit to earth were to be severed, and a blank left, never to be filled in the family which her loved and loving presence had blessed, and where she had been so well and fondly appreciated. In the early spring of 1817 the unfavorable symptoms increased, and the failure of her health was too visible to be neglected. Still no apprehensions of immediate danger were entertained, and it is probable that when she left Chawton for Winchester in May, she did not recognize the fact that she was bidding a last farewell to “Home.” Happy for her if it was so, for there are few things more melancholy than to look upon any beloved place or person with the knowledge that it is for “the last time.” In all probability this grief was spared to Jane, for even after her arrival at Winchester she spoke and wrote as if recovery was hopeful; and I fancy that her relations were by no means aware that the end was so near. "
"Since Tuesday evening, when her complaint returned, there was a visible change, she slept more and much more comfortably; indeed, during the last eight-and-forty hours she was more asleep than awake. Her looks altered and she fell away, but I perceived no material diminution of strength, and though I was then hopeless of a recovery, I had no suspicion how rapidly my loss was approaching. "
"She felt herself to be dying about half an hour before she became tranquil and apparently unconscious. During that half-hour was her struggle, poor soul! She said she could not tell us what she suffered, though she complained of little fixed pain. When I asked her if there was anything she wanted, her answer was she wanted nothing but death, and some of her words were: “God grant me patience, pray for me, oh, pray for me!”
"I was able to close her eyes myself, and it was a great gratification to me to render her those last services. There was nothing convulsed which gave the idea of pain in her look; on the contrary, but for the continual motion of the head she gave one the idea of a beautiful statue, and even now, in her coffin, there is such a sweet, serene air over her countenance as is quite pleasant to contemplate. "
"The last sad ceremony is to take place on Thursday morning; her dear remains are to be deposited in the cathedral. It is a satisfaction to me to think that they are to lie in a building she admired so much; her precious soul, I presume to hope, reposes in a far superior mansion. May mine one day be reunited to it! "
"There is little biographical information about Jane Austen's life except the few letters that survive and the biographical notes her family members wrote.[7] During her lifetime, Austen may have written as many as 3,000 letters, but only 161 survived.[8] Many of the letters were written to Austen's older sister Cassandra, who in 1843 burned the greater part of them and cut pieces out of those she kept. Ostensibly, Cassandra destroyed or censored her sister's letters to prevent their falling into the hands of relatives and ensuring that "younger nieces did not read any of Jane Austen's sometimes acid or forthright comments on neighbours or family members".[9][d] Cassandra believed that in the interest of tact and Jane's penchant for forthrightness, these details should be destroyed. The paucity of record of Austen's life leaves modern biographers little with which to work."
I am glad I read them and especially the letters from Cassandra talking to Fanny about her death. I wonder what illness she really had and how much she suffered. Having recent pain and health problems, I had a special feeling for how much she suffered but kept up her spirits and tried to continue to write. I wonder if she knew when her time time was near.
I did not read this edition but from a collection of her works.
"And now I come to the saddest letters of all, those which tell us of the end of that bright life, cut short just at the time when the world might have hoped that unabated intellectual vigor, supplemented by the experience brought by maturer years, would have produced works if possible even more fascinating than those with which she had already embellished the literature of her country. But it was not to be. The fiat had gone forth, — the ties which bound that sweet spirit to earth were to be severed, and a blank left, never to be filled in the family which her loved and loving presence had blessed, and where she had been so well and fondly appreciated. In the early spring of 1817 the unfavorable symptoms increased, and the failure of her health was too visible to be neglected. Still no apprehensions of immediate danger were entertained, and it is probable that when she left Chawton for Winchester in May, she did not recognize the fact that she was bidding a last farewell to “Home.” Happy for her if it was so, for there are few things more melancholy than to look upon any beloved place or person with the knowledge that it is for “the last time.” In all probability this grief was spared to Jane, for even after her arrival at Winchester she spoke and wrote as if recovery was hopeful; and I fancy that her relations were by no means aware that the end was so near. "
"Since Tuesday evening, when her complaint returned, there was a visible change, she slept more and much more comfortably; indeed, during the last eight-and-forty hours she was more asleep than awake. Her looks altered and she fell away, but I perceived no material diminution of strength, and though I was then hopeless of a recovery, I had no suspicion how rapidly my loss was approaching. "
"She felt herself to be dying about half an hour before she became tranquil and apparently unconscious. During that half-hour was her struggle, poor soul! She said she could not tell us what she suffered, though she complained of little fixed pain. When I asked her if there was anything she wanted, her answer was she wanted nothing but death, and some of her words were: “God grant me patience, pray for me, oh, pray for me!”
"I was able to close her eyes myself, and it was a great gratification to me to render her those last services. There was nothing convulsed which gave the idea of pain in her look; on the contrary, but for the continual motion of the head she gave one the idea of a beautiful statue, and even now, in her coffin, there is such a sweet, serene air over her countenance as is quite pleasant to contemplate. "
"The last sad ceremony is to take place on Thursday morning; her dear remains are to be deposited in the cathedral. It is a satisfaction to me to think that they are to lie in a building she admired so much; her precious soul, I presume to hope, reposes in a far superior mansion. May mine one day be reunited to it! "
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July 12, 2022I feel odd rating a collection of letters and numerical ratings are so subjective, but I would probably give this a 4/5 in terms of my enjoyment! This was such a fascinating look into Jane Austen's life, family, work/writing, etc. Some of the letters weren't as interesting which is to be expected, but some were absolutely fascinating!!!
February 16, 2022
I listened to Austen's letters over the last month. Her wit is extraordinary (though sometimes mean), and can take the mundane details of clothes, budgets, and visits and make them fascinating. The reader (via Librivox) brought her letters to life, making it feel as if Austen was writing to you. Finishing the final letter felt like saying a heartbreaking goodbye to a beloved friend.
I loved hearing the names of familiar characters in her neighbors and friends, and I wished I had a biography open beside me while I was listening so I could find out all the details about the family events she references.
I now want to go and re-read every single one of her books, which is the highest praise I can give to a collection of letters.
I loved hearing the names of familiar characters in her neighbors and friends, and I wished I had a biography open beside me while I was listening so I could find out all the details about the family events she references.
I now want to go and re-read every single one of her books, which is the highest praise I can give to a collection of letters.
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