Happy Birthday, Dear Jane

Dearest reader,

Were one to consult the SDG Library catalogue for the name “Jane Austen,” one would, with no small astonishment, discover above a hundred titles bearing some relation to that illustrious authoress.  Such a phenomenon must appear particularly extraordinary when one recalls that Miss Austen herself composed but six complete novels, and that her birth occurred nearly two hundred and fifty years ago. That her influence should have endured so handsomely as to inspire sequels, diversions, imitations, and innumerable retellings while her original works have never once disappeared from print, surpasses any ordinary explanation.

What, then, renders Miss Austen so singularly prolific in posterity? In her own lifetime she contrived to see four of her novels published, an event, for a lady, most uncommon. Indeed, her works appeared under the modest attribution By a Lady, so that she never beheld her own name in print. Only after her death in the summer of 1817 did Persuasion and Northanger Abbey emerge adorned with their author’s true appellation. Yet it is not the circumstances of publication but the writing itself that has proved enduring. Her novels, offering an engaging portrait of the Georgian world, replete with elegant houses, elaborate dinners, and a universal preoccupation with the advantageous marriage, may seem at first glance the relic of a bygone age; but the wit, candor, and affectionate realism with which she sketches her characters render them as alive to us now as they were to her earliest readers. They are human in their virtues and their follies, and, therefore, they continue to charm.

As Miss Austen’s birthday approaches on the sixteenth of December, it would be most fitting to honour her by taking up one of her works and discovering firsthand the qualities that make her so remarkable. For, as she herself once observed with delightful frankness, “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” The SDG Library’s collection includes all six of her completed novels: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Mansfield Park.

Should you already be acquainted with these original treasures or should a more modern interpretation be more suited to your taste, you will find collection abundant with works inspired by Miss Austen’s world. Among these are Unmarriageable, a contemporary Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan by Soniah Kamal; Most Ardently, a romance inflected with trans historical elements; and Mismatched, a charming graphic retelling centered upon Evan Horowitz, a seventeen-year-old matchmaker, all conveniently located within the Teen collection. For those inclined toward seasonal amusements, there are Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron and Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz.

Devotees of the more modest characters in Austen’s works may also take pleasure in recent publications. Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters, a new collection by nine bestselling authors, presents a variety of fresh perspectives. Molly Greely’s The Clergyman’s Wife offers a thoughtful account of Charlotte Collins, introduced in Pride and Prejudice, while Mary B. by Katherine Chen affords Mary Bennet, so often overlooked, her own narrative at last.

If your leisure is limited yet your admiration for England’s most celebrated novelist remains undiminished, you may resort to the Library’s assortment of DVDs. These include adaptations of all the classic novels, as well as a series based upon her unfinished work Sanditon, and the lively film version of her youthful tale Love and Friendship. Those curious about the author herself might find satisfaction in Miss Austen. There are, too, the more imaginative reimagining's; Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Death Comes to Pemberley, among others and several modern adaptations available on DVD, including Bridget Jones’s Diary and Austenland.

With such a wealth of choices at one’s disposal, there can be no reasonable excuse for neglecting the celebration of two hundred and fifty years of Jane Austen. Choose a comfortable chair, select a novel or a film, and raise a cup in honour of this beloved and inspiring writer. Only be certain that your cup contains tea; for, as Miss Austen once wrote with charming sincerity, “But indeed I would rather have nothing but tea.”

~Cheryl

LSA - Morrisburg