My Jane Austen Thoughts, Questions, & Look Ups

  Several modern novels draw inspiration from Jane Austen's style, particularly in their witty dialogue, social commentary, and focus on the lives and relationships of the middle and upper classes.  Some notable examples include novels by authors like  Helen Simonson (Major Pettigrew's Last Stand) and Barbara Pym (Excellent Women) .  Additionally, books like "The Jane Austen Project" and "The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen" explore Austen's life and themes while maintaining her writing style.   Here's a more detailed look at some examples: Helen Simonson's  Major Pettigrew's Last Stand : This novel, described as "Austen-esque," follows a widowed bookshop owner who falls in love with a young woman, mirroring the romantic and social themes of Austen's work.   Barbara Pym's  Excellent Women : Like Austen, Pym's novels are set in the British upper-middle class and explore the lives and relationships of unmarried women.   Kathle...

  To write like Jane Austen,  focus on creating believable, relatable characters with growth potential, crafting subtle social commentary through dialogue, and using a third-person limited point of view with free indirect discourse .  Embrace the use of little details to bring your story to life and remember that less is often more.   Here's a more detailed breakdown: 1. Character Development: Relatable Heroines: Create characters, particularly your heroine, who are independent, witty, and capable of making mistakes, just like Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.   Multi-Dimensional Characters: Ensure your characters are complex and evolve throughout the story, allowing readers to connect with their journeys.   Social Commentary: Austen masterfully weaves social commentary into her dialogue, allowing the reader to see the subtle distinctions between characters and their interactions within their social context.   2. Narrative Style: Third-Person Li...

  Jane Austen's novels often begin with  a captivating introduction of the central characters and setting , setting the stage for the romantic and social dynamics of the story.  She frequently uses a first-person narrative or an omniscient narrator to create an intimate and engaging reading experience.   Here's a more detailed look at how Austen's novels typically begin: Introducing the Characters: Austen would introduce the key characters, often through a description of their appearance, personality, and social standing, as seen in novels like Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.   Setting the Scene: The setting, be it a country estate, a seaside town, or a bustling city, plays a crucial role in shaping the narrative.  Austen would paint vivid descriptions of the landscapes, houses, and social gatherings, creating a rich and immersive atmosphere.   Establishing the Plot: The initial chapters often introduce the main plot points, such as the ...

  ‘Dead Silence’ and the Slave Trade Mansfield Park  was published in 1814, seven years after the first abolition laws were passed in Britain. But the trade of enslaved people was still a controversial topic. Some believed that the laws didn’t go far enough, while others objected to abolition altogether. Fanny Price is the only Austen heroine who raises questions about the slave trade in conversation. After Sir Thomas’s return from Antigua, Fanny asks him ‘about the slave-trade’ but is met with ‘such a dead silence’ by her cousins that she stops. There is implicit criticism of the Bertram family who stay ‘sitting by, without speaking a word, or seeming at all interested in the subject’ – even though their own luxurious lifestyle is supported by the labour of enslaved workers on the family’s Antigua estate. In this exchange, Jane also highlights the lack of power that women often felt when trying to contribute to the debate on the slave trade; even some male abolitionists, incl...