Jane Austen's life is striking for the contrast between the great works she wrote in secret and the outward appearance of being quite dull and ordinary. Austen was born in the small English town of Steventon in Hampshire, and educated at home by her clergyman father. She was deeply devoted to her family. For a short time, the Austens lived in the resort city of Bath, but when her father died, they returned to Steventon, where Austen lived until her death at the age of 41. Austen was drawn to literature early, she began writing novels that satirized both the writers and the manners of the 1790's. Her sharp sense of humor and keen eye for the ridiculous in human behavior gave her works lasting appeal. She is at her best in such books as Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), in which she examines and often ridicules the behavior of small groups of middle-class characters. Austen relies heavily on conversations among her characters to reveal their personalities, and at times her novels read almost like plays. Several of them have, in fact, been made into films.

Simon Schama

"An impressively chosen list."

Book Description

This inspired novella, with its outrageous cast of superficial characters, brilliantly showcases Jane Austen's comic genius. Presented here with A History of England and Catharine. As Miss Margaret Lesley and Miss Charlotte Lutterell divulge their innermost secrets through a series of letters, each reveals where her true priorities lie—if a bridegroom is fatally wounded the night before his wedding, the first concern must inexorably be for the luxurious food that will be laid to waste. As one plot gives way to the next, and as the heroines exchange wisdom on adultery, elopement, divorce, and remarriage, they increasingly fall prey to the merciless and lambasting sword of Jane Austen’s wit. Author of the masterpieces Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Jane Austen is one of the world’s best-loved novelists.

From the Publisher

Since its U.S. launch in 2003, Hesperus Press has enjoyed a growing reputation for its inspired selection of short classic works. Written by illustrious authors, and often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English-speaking world, these works have been made accessible via a completely fresh editorial approach and new translations. Now, in addition to the Hesperus Classics, Hesperus Press is introducing a new series: Modern Voices. Drawing from the very best of 20th-century literature, Modern Voices will retain the exceptional quality of the Hesperus Classics, with a new series look that reflects the more modern nature of the list. Among the first authors will be Carlo Levi, Katherine Mansfield, and Graham Greene, and Hesperus has already secured prominent contemporary writers like Anita Desai, William Boyd, and Colum McCann to introduce the books—again retaining one of the key successes of the Hesperus Classics. Finally,! 2005 heralds the launch of the Hesperus Contemporary series, opening with The Nightingale Papers, the fiction debut of prize-winning biographer David Nokes.