Jane Austen levelei

by Jane Austen

„Íme, elértem a levélírás legművészibb fokára, ami, amint mondani szokták, abból áll, hogy az ember pontosan azokat a szavakat veti papírra, amelyeket élőszóban mondana.”
Jane Austen, 1801. január 3.

„Az újabb és újabb témákat felvető, majd elejtő szövegekben minduntalan felbukkan egy-egy szellemes, kajánkodó megjegyzés, valamelyik családtagnak, ismerősnek irányzott fricska, vagy akár egy félmondatnyi terjedelmű, remekbe szabott jellemzés, amely mind a világát éles szemmel figyelő, és azt kihegyezett mondatokban ábrázoló író jelenlétéről árulkodik. Jane Austen, a leány, testvér, sógornő vagy szomszéd cselekszik, de Jane Austen, az író az, aki megfigyel és szavakba önt, aki megjegyzéseket fűz ahhoz, amit láttat.”
Vallasek Júlia

Az író 1796–1817 között, elsősorban családtagjaihoz írt leveleiből készült válogatás először jelenik meg kötetbe gyűjtve magyar nyelven.

120 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Jane 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.