Из лекции по авро:

Не влезает в рамки одного направления. 10е годы – пик романтизма, предвещает реалистический роман. Основной предмет творчества – провициальная жизнь, мелкопоместное дворянство. Нет больших тем – политики, интерес к частным отношениям (любовно-брачные, имущественные) -> нравоопистельный роман novel of manners. Локальное изображение жизни – метонимия. Главные герои – Ж (начало феминисткого подхода), интеллектуально развиты как и М. Брак – эволюция перса. 2 группы персов – простые (на 1 черте) и сложные ( противоречие и эволюция). Человек должен оставаться самим собой + здравый смысл. Двойственность мотивировок человека -> конфликт. Мотив путешествия – расширение панорамы, общество – сатира -> дидактизм. Разум и чувства на равнее, комическое в том что контраст между действиями и речью. Драматизированность (четкое развитие конфликта) и сценичность ( главы каак сцены, диалоги – мало действия).

Гордость и предубеждение. Центрральная тема – избавление от ошибочных суждений, личностый конфликт между персами, построен на предвзятости отношений. Этапы воспитания главной героини. Браки: по любви, расчету, флирт. Точка зрения Лиззи, она авторский идеал, противоречит правилам того времени. Остальные персонажи поданы через Ж восприятие. У Дарси не показан процесс развития, уже результат. Статичные персы социальная палитра. Ирония иногда переходит в сатиру. Миссис Беннет комический перс, Коллинз сатира. Леди де Берр сноб.

Михальская

Джейн Остин

(Jane Austen, 1775 — 1817)

Творчество Джейн Остин связано с традициями позднего анг­

лийского Просвещения (О. Голдсмит, Л.Стерн). Ее романы, в ко­

торых отразились присущие писательнице понимание человече­

ских отношений и «глубокий такт, с которым она рисует характе­

ры» (В.Скотт), отличались от романтических произведений ее

времени. Им не была присуща атмосфера необычного, экзотиче­

ского, таинственного, их тонкий психологизм, как показало даль­

нейшее литературное развитие, предвещал прозу будущих деся­

тилетий XIX столетия. И не случайно поэтому, что подлинное

открытие Остин состоялось гораздо позднее того времени, когда

были написаны и изданы ее книги. Но вместе с тем Остин была

дочерью своей эпохи, поклонницей Дж. Байрона, и дух романти­

ческих порывов и бунтарства был свойствен ей, проявился в том­

лении духа ее героинь, неудовлетворенных своим уделом, в посе­

щающей их меланхолии, в присущей им остроте ума и иронии.

Сходными свойствами была наделена и сама писательница.

Достоверных сведений о жизни Остин сохранилось немного.

Оставшиеся после нее бумаги, письменные свидетельства ее не­

долгой жизни, были сожжены сестрой, однако то, что стало до­

стоянием потомков, позволило интересовавшемуся ее творчеством

С. Моэму заметить: «У мисс Остин был острый язычок и редкост­

ное чувство юмора... Джейн безошибочно угадывала в людях глу­

пость, претензии, аффективность и неискренность, и к ее чести

нужно сказать, что все это веселило ее, а не вызывало досаду».

Остин писала о самом обычном, о той жизни и тех людях, кото­

рые окружали ее. «В то время в Англии были сотни семей, — пи­

сал С.Моэм, — живших такой тихой, однообразной и пристой-

137 ной жизнью; не чудо ли, что в одной из них ни с того ни с сего

появилась высокоодаренная писательница?»

Отец Остин получил образование в Оксфорде, стал священ­

ником, имел приход в Хэмпшире. Мать ее принадлежала к знат­

ному дворянскому роду. В семье было восемь детей: шесть братьев

и две сестры. Они обе не вышли замуж, жили в родительском

доме до конца своих дней, но живо интересовались происходя­

щим в большом мире, узнавая новости от братьев, знакомых,

родственников. Оживленно велась переписка, читались газеты,

происходили встречи с очевидцами важных событий. Джейн Ос­

тин лишь несколько раз была в Лондоне, вся ее жизнь прошла в

Стивентоне, Бате, куда, уйдя от дел, переселился глава семьи, и

Уинчестере. Постоянными спутниками Остин были книги. Она

начала писать в четырнадцать лет, и ее первым литературным опы­

том стал роман-пародия, в котором осмеивались имевшие широ­

кое распространение чувствительные романы в письмах. Ирони­

ческие интонации звучат во всех книгах Остин.

Все романы Остин публиковались в период 1811 — 1818 гг., че­

тыре из них увидели свет при ее жизни, два вышли посмертно.

К числу ранних относят «Чувство и чувствительность» (Sense

and Sensibility), «Гордость и предубеждение» (Pride and Predjudi-

се), «Нортенгерское аббатство» (Northanger Abbey); к более позд­

ним — «Мэнсфилд-парк» (Mansfield Park), «Эмма» (Emma) и «До­

воды рассудка» (Persuasion). Последней прижизненной публика­

цией был роман «Эмма», в 1818 г. вышли «Нортенгерское аббат­

ство» и «Доводы рассудка». Совершенствование художественного

мастерства писательницы проявилось в углублении психологизма.

Каждый роман состоит из картин семейной жизни людей «сред­

него класса» английского общества. Продолжая традиции Ричард­

сона, Филдинга, Стерна, Остин развивает формы нравоописа­

тельного романа, преломляя в повседневных ситуациях явления

общественной значимости (мораль, воспитание, денежные про­

блемы, пороки и добродетели). Остин создает галерею социальных

типов, используя сатирические средства изображения, не питая

иллюзий относительно своих героев. У нее зоркий глаз, тонкая

наблюдательность, мастерство рассказчика.

Основная тема «Нортенгерского аббатства» — приобщение к

реальности вступающей в жизнь молодой девушки Кэтрин Мор-

ланд. Литературные увлечения слишком долго мешали ей видеть

жизнь в ее истинном свете. Она зачитывается «романами ужаса»,

«Удольфскими тайнами» Рэдклиф. Чувство реального пробужда­

ется в Кэтрин во время ее пребывания в Бате под влиянием умно­

го и понимающего ее Генри Тилни. Ее любовь к Генри Тилни

помогает ей обрести себя.

«Нортенгерское аббатство» — один из вариантов «романа вос­

питания». Кэтрин проходит школу «воспитания чувств». Сюжет-

138 ная линия романа проста, рассказ о событиях ведется в их вре­

менной последовательности: детство героини, поездка в Бат, по­

сещение Нортенгерского аббатства, возвращение домой. Но те­

перь Кэтрин становится уже иной. Особый интерес представляют

не события, а то, каким образом ведется повествование, тот иро­

нический комментарий, который дается от лица автора по поводу

происходящего. Искренность чувств, порядочность, стремление к

знаниям, разумное отношение к жизни утверждаются как основ­

ные ценности бытия. Свои представления о прекрасном Остин

связывает с достойным и добрым.

К зрелому периоду творчества Остин принадлежит роман «Мэн-

сфилд-парк», опубликованный в 1814 г. Мастерство художествен­

ной изобразительности романистки проявилось здесь с блеском.

Остин передает «игру чувств», переливы настроений, она захва­

чена сложностью взаимоотношений людей. Жизнь обитателей анг­

лийского поместья становится источником, питающим ее твор­

ческое воображение. Картина жизни небольшой группы людей

заключает в себе не только интересные наблюдения, но и опреде­

ленные обобщения о морали и нравах провинциальной среды,

критику эгоизма и своекорыстия. Цепь нелепых поступков и дей­

ствий, совершаемых персонажами, напоминает бесконечно кру­

тящуюся карусель. Между людьми нет понимания и единства. «Каж­

дый из них, далеко не всем удовлетворенный и не ото всего полу­

чающий радость, требует чего-то, чего у него нет, и тем самым

дает остальным повод к неудовольствию».

Как жить? Как внести разумное начало в хаос всеобщего не­

согласия? Этот вопрос встает во всех романах Остин. В «Мэнсфилд-

парке» он становится главным. Среди героев никто не может на

него ответить. Рассказывая историю Фанни Прайс, на этот вопрос

отвечает сама писательница. С образом Фанни Прайс связана глав­

ная тема — тема прозрения. Само присутствие Фанни среди обита­

телей Мэнсфилд-парка, ее доброта, бескорыстие, стойкость выяв­

ляют пороки и слабости окружающих: себялюбие и жадность мис­

сис Норрис, хитрость Мэри Крофорд, заблуждения Эдмунда, ту­

пость Рашуота, наглость Генри. История Фанни, обстоятельства ее

жизни, страдания, ею пережитые, помогают ей, относящейся ко

всему разумно, обрести себя и найти свое счастье. К нравственному

прозрению приходит Эдмунд, перерождается Том Бертрам. «Он

изведал страдания и научился думать», — пишет Остин о Томе.

Эти слова имеют отношение и к другим героям романа.

Романы Остин — связующее звено между творчеством рома­

нистов эпохи Просвещения и романистов XIX столетия. Как явле­

ние переходное романы Остин обнаруживают тенденцию к осве­

щению не столько движения героя в пространстве и во времени,

сколько интерес к его характеру, к взаимоотношениям его с окру­

жающими, к фиксации настроений и чувств. Тема нравственного

139 прозрения, поиска моральных ориентиров и этических ценностей

продолжена Остин в романах «Эмма» и «Доводы рассудка».

Среди английских писателей XIX в. Остин высоко оценил

В. Скотт, в XX в. ее почитателями стали В. Вулф, С. Моэм, Г. К. Че­

стертон, Дж.Пристли, Э.М.Форстер, Р.Олдингтон. Отмечались

ее простота и естественность, «особая законченность и совершен­

ство» (В. Вулф).

Jane Austen (1775-1817) wrote comic novels about domestic and provincial life among the privileged classes in England in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Her subject matter is narrow compared to that of many other novelists, and she has sometimes been criticised for this, on the grounds that she disregarded the wider political and social issues of her day.

There is no doubt that the world of her novels is limited, but this was deliberate on her part. She portrayed the section of society and types of character with which she was most familiar. She wrote in a letter to her sister that, 'three or four families in a country village is just the thing to work on', and likened herself to a miniaturist, describing her books as: 'little bits (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush'. [Quoted in Southam]

There are many arguments in favour of her decision to work within these limits. One is that the kind of women she is describing would almost certainly not have discussed political issues, so it would have been unrealistic to have her female characters do so. The men may well have discussed politics, but not with the women, and Jane Austen never writes scenes with only men present, for the simple reason that she could never have witnessed such a scene herself.

Another argument in her favour is that her novels are masterful works of art, containing nothing superfluous, and to have introduced material that was not directly relevant to her central theme - personal relationships between people - even if it made them more socially relevant, would have spoiled their formal unity and made them lesser works of art.

Chronology

		Age
1775	(16 Dec) Jane Austen born at Steventon in Hants, seventh child of the Rev. George Austen (1731-1805) and Cassandra Leigh (1739-1827)
1784/5	J. A. and her sister, Cassandra, leave the Abbey School, Reading	9
1795	Elinor and Marianne written. Lady Susan written	20
1796	(Oct) First Impressions begun (finished Aug 1797)	21
1797	(Nov) Sense and Sensibility begun. First Impressions unsuccessfully offered to Cadell	22
1798/9	Northanger Abbey (Susan) written. Sold to Crosby & Go. in 1803
1801	Austens settle in Bath	26
1805	Rev. George Austen dies. The Watsons and Lady Susan (R. W. Chapman's dating) written about this time	30
1806	Austens leave Bath for Clifton with 'happy feelings of escape', and visit Adlestrop and Stoneleigh	31
1807	(Mar) Austens settle in at Castle Square, Southampton	32
1809	Austens move to Chawton, Hampshire (owned by Jane's brother Edward)	34
1811	Mansfield Park begun (Feb). Sense and Sensibility published 36 (Nov.)	36
1812	(Nov) Pride and Prejudice sold to Egerton	37
1813	(Jan) Pride and Prejudice published   (Nov.) second editions of this and Sense and Sensibility	38
1814	(21 Jan) Emma begun (finished 29 Mar 1815)   (May) Mansfield Park published by Egerton	39
1815	Persuasion begun (finished August 1816)  (Dec) Emma published by John Murray.	40
1816	Mansfield Park, second edition.	41
1817	(Jan-Mar) Sanditon begun  (28 July) Jane Austen dies at Winchester; buried in Winchester Cathedral  (Dec) Northanger Abbey; and Persuasion published by Murray

For a detailed chronology, see R. W. Chapman, Jane Austen: Facts and Problems (1948), pp. 175-183

Personal Background

Jane Austen's life resembles her novels — at first glance they seem to be composed of a series of quiet, unexceptional events. Such an impression is supported by the comment of her brother, Henry, who wrote after her death that her life was "not by any means a life of event." Similarly, her nephew James added in a biography published fifty years later that "Of events her life was singularly barren: few changes and no great crisis ever broke the smooth current of its course." However, just as readers find that the complexity of Austen's novel lies in its characters and style, those studying Austen herself discover that the events of her life are secondary to her compelling personality, quick wit, and highly-developed powers of observation. The fact that Austen's life lacked the drama that other authors may have experienced in no way detracted from her skill as a writer. In actuality, Austen's lack of "extraordinary" experiences, as well as of a spouse and children, probably made her writing possible by freeing her time to work on her books. Additionally, because her books were published anonymously, Austen never achieved personal recognition for her works outside of her sphere of family and friends. Such anonymity suited her, for, as literary critic Richard Blythe notes, "literature, not the literary life, was always her intention."

Formative Years

Born on December 16, 1775, Jane Austen was the seventh of eight children born to George and Cassandra Austen. The family lived in Steventon, a small Hampshire town in south-central England, where her father was a minister. The Austens were a loving, spirited family that read novels together from the local circulating library and put on home theatricals. It was for the family circle that Austen first wrote high-spirited satires — some of which later became novels after numerous and careful rewritings.

Out of her seven siblings, Austen was closest to her only sister, Cassandra. From 1783 to 1785, the two girls attended schools in Oxford and Southampton and the Abbey School at Reading. When the Austens could no longer afford the tuition, Jane and Cassandra returned home to read extensively and learn from their family how to speak French and Italian and play the piano. Most accounts agree that the Austen daughters were pretty and enjoyed the slightly limited but interesting round of country parties described in Austen's novels.

When Austen was twenty, she met Tom Lefroy, a young Irishman visiting his uncle in Hampshire. Seeing that the two young people were on the verge of an engagement, Lefroy's family sent him home rather than letting him attach himself to someone as poor as a clergyman's daughter. Austen's second brush with marriage occurred at age twenty-seven, when the wealthy Harris Bigg-Wither proposed and Austen accepted. The next morning, however, Austen changed her mind, giving up the wealth and security inherent in such a match because she did not love him. Although Austen never married, the emphasis of courtship and marriage in her novels demonstrates the impact that these experiences had on her and her interest in love and marriage.

Early Novels

From 1796-1798, Austen wrote her first three novels — Northanger Abbey (originally titled Susan), Sense and Sensibility (originally titled Elinor and Marianne), and Pride and Prejudice (originally titled First Impressions) — but none was published until later. Northanger Abbey, which was published posthumously in 1818, satirizes the Gothic novels that were popular at the time by presenting a heroine whose overactive imagination and love of Gothic novels lead her to see mysteries where none exist when she stays at Northanger Abbey. In Sense and Sensibility, published in 1811, Austen examines the contrast between two sisters who represent reason (sense) and emotion (sensibility) as they deal with being forced to live on a meager amount of money after their father dies. The threat of a father's death causing a reduced income also overshadows two sisters in Pride and Prejudice, which was published in 1813. In Pride and Prejudice, however, that threat of genteel poverty is still just a threat rather than a reality, and Austen focuses instead on how pride and first impressions can lead to prejudice.

In her early writing, Austen began to define the limits of her fictional world. From the first, there was a steady emphasis on character as she consciously restricted her subject matter to a sphere made up of a few families of relatives with their friends and acquaintances. She deliberately limited what she wrote about, and her work gains intensity and beauty from its narrow focus. In her books, there is little connection between this upper-middle class world and the strata above or below it, or consciousness of events external to it. It is, in fact, the world in which typical middle-class country people lived in early nineteenth-century Britain. The family is at the core of this setting and thus the maneuverings that lead to marriage are all-important, because matrimony supplies stability, along with social and economic continuity.

Later Works

In 1800, Austen's father decided to retire and move the family to Bath, a sea resort. Moving from the home she loved was difficult for Jane, especially because the family lived in several different places until 1809, when Mr. Austen died. During that period of nine years, Austen did not write. After her father's death, Austen and her mother and sister moved to Chawton, a country town where Austen's brother lent the family a house he owned. There Austen was able to pursue her work again, and she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.

Published in 1814, Mansfield Park tells the story of Fanny Price, a girl from a poor family who is raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle at Mansfield Park. The book focuses on morality and the struggle between conscience and societal pressures and is considered by some critics to be the "first modern novel." InEmma, published in 1816, Austen introduces Emma Woodhouse, the "handsome, clever, and rich" heroine who fancies herself a matchmaker. Her efforts at bringing people together, however, result in teaching her humility and her own discovery of love. Critics praise Emma Woodhouse as being Austen' most complex character, while readers find that they either love or hate Emma's story. Austen's final completed novel, Persuasion, was published posthumously in 1818. It deals with the broken engagement of Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth and their second chance at love eight years later. Critics comment on the book's "autumnal feel" and note that Anne Elliott is not only Austen's oldest heroine, but also the one with the least self-confidence.

Death and Legacy

Austen lived the last eight years of her life in Chawton. Her personal life continued to be limited to family and close friends, and she prized herself on being a warm and loving aunt as much as being a successful novelist. A sudden illness, possibly Addison's disease, made her stop work on the novelSandition, and she died in 1817.

After her death, during the nineteenth-century romantic period, Austen was often looked upon with begrudging admiration, as her elevation of intelligence over feeling contradicted the romantic temperament. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, however, Austen's reputation rose considerably, and she gradually gained an enthusiastic cult of admirers that were known as the "Janeites." In America, Austen was little known before 1900, but by mid-century she was receiving more critical attention there than in England. In the last decades of the twentieth century, Austen and her works received considerable attention from the general public: Most of her novels were adapted into films, modern novelists wrote sequels to Pride and Prejudice and endings to Sandition, and a mystery series was even developed with Jane Austen herself as the heroine.

P&P

1. Darcy at the Meryton assembly: discovered to be Proud; according to Mrs. Bennet, he is "high and conceited" (Pride).

2. Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst Proud and conceited.

3. Mrs. Bennet: Darcy "ate up with Pride".

4. Charlotte Lucas and Elizabeth on Pride.

5. Mary Bennet on Pride vs. Vanity.

6. Young Lucas on Pride.

7. Caroline Bingley on Elizabeth's Pride and impertinence.

8. Bingley's Pride in his carelessness.

9. Darcy on Pride vs. Vanity.

10. Darcy: Elizabeth's defect is "wilfully to misunderstand everybody" (Prejudice).

11. Mr. Collins: Lady Catherine not Proud.

12. Mr. Collins's Pride.

13. Elizabeth (to Wickham) on Darcy's Pride.

14. Wickham on Darcy's Pride.

15. Wickham: Georgiana Darcy Proud.

16. Wickham on Darcy's Pride, re Lady Catherine.

17. The ball at Netherfield: Elizabeth "resolved against any sort of conversation with" Darcy, because of Wickham. (Prejudice).

18. The ball at Netherfield: Elizabeth says to Charlotte Lucas that it "would be the greatest misfortune... to find a man [Darcy] agreeable whom one is determined to hate" (Prejudice).

19. The ball at Netherfield: Darcy hopes he never allows himself to be blinded by Prejudice

20. Mr. Collins's Pride hurt; his angry Pride.

21. Elizabeth on Georgiana Darcy's supposed Pride.

22. Elizabeth thinks that Darcy despises Gracechurch Steet (in a commercial, rather than a "gentlemanly" part of London) (Pride).

23. Mrs. Gardiner recollects Darcy as Proud.

24. Elizabeth on Darcy's Pride and caprice as the cause of his interference.

25. Elizabeth thinks Darcy's Pride superficial.

26. Elizabeth acts "as if intending to exasperate herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy" (Prejudice).

27. Darcy avows his Pride to Elizabeth.

28. Darcy: Elizabeth rejects him only because his honesty has hurt Elizabeth's Pride.

29. Elizabeth: Darcy's shameless avowal of his abominable Pride.

30. Elizabeth's strong Prejudice against any explanation of Darcy's.

31. Elizabeth: Darcy's Pride and insolence.

32. Elizabeth: Darcy's Pride not so bad after all.

33. Elizabeth feels herself to have been "blind, partial, Prejudiced, absurd"; realizes her false Pride.

34. Elizabeth says to Jane that she "meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a dislike to him [Darcy] without any reason" (Prejudice).

35. Elizabeth to Jane: The misfortunes consequent to her former Prejudices.

36. Wickham on Darcy's Pride again.

37. Darcy's housekeeper's Pride in him and Georgiana.

38. Mrs. Gardiner attributes his housekeeper's praise of him to "family Prejudice".

39. Darcy's housekeeper never saw anything of his being Proud.

40. Darcy's Pride tested on introduction to the Gardiners.

41. Mrs. Gardiner seconds the housekeeper's opinion (Darcy not Proud).

42. Elizabeth observes Georgiana Darcy not Proud.

43. Inhabitants of Lambton attribute Pride to Darcy

44. Elizabeth uses Darcy's Pride to diagnose Love.

45. Georgiana Darcy's manners can create the appearance of Pride and reserve.

46. Elizabeth to Mrs. Gardiner on Wickham's false report of Georgiana Darcy being Proud, reserved, and disagreeable.

47. Elizabeth reflects on her change in feelings since she Proudly spurned Darcy.

48. Mrs. Bennet's Pride in Lydia's marriage.

49. Darcy's avowal to the Gardiners of mistaken Pride.

50. Elizabeth thinks Darcy's Pride will keep him away, on account of Wickham.

51. Elizabeth Proud of Darcy for his actions with regard to Lydia's marriage.

52. Mr. Bennet "Proud" of Wickham as son-in-law.

53. Kitty Bennet: Darcy a "tall, proud man".

54. Mrs. Bennet's idea of Darcy's Pride.

55. Elizabeth knows that knowledge of Darcy's interference would Prejudice Jane against him.

56. Elizabeth tells Darcy how all her former Prejudices had been gradually removed.

57. The chastened Darcy on his former Pride and conceit.

58. Mr. Bennet tells Elizabeth: "We all know [Darcy] to be a Proud, unpleasant sort of man".

59. Elizabeth denies to Mr. Bennet that Darcy has any improper Pride.

60. Mrs. Bennet's delighted Pride in the marriage of "her two most deserving daughters".

Two of the many authors who said they thought very highly of Jane Austen's writings were Henry James and J. K. Rowling.

Jane Austen: Chronology and Periodization (a definition of chronological terms relevant to Jane Austen's literary classification, and to the history of her times)

Jane Austen is very resistant to being classified as part of a literary "school", or being placed in any customarily-defined literary period -- partly because none of the obvious available terms, "18th-century, "Romantic", or "Victorian", would appropriately describe her. Almost all of the major figures who were literarily active in the period 1800-1837, and who are currently deemed worthy of remembering (i.e. are "canonized"), fall into one of a few categories -- either they launched their literary careers before 1800 (Burney, Edgeworth); or they were part of the Romantic movement (or were more or less strongly influenced by romanticism, or wrote in self-conscious reaction to romanticism); or they did most of their writing and publishing after 1837 (e.g. Dickens). Jane Austen is the conspicuous exception who does not fit into any of these categories.

One subscriber to AUSTEN-L has reported not having an opportunity to study Austen in college for exactly this reason: the professor who taught the course on 18th-century literature didn't consider Jane Austen relevant to that course, and neither did the professor who taught the next in the sequence of literature "survey" courses (presumably on Romantic and/or Victorian literature) -- so that as a result, Jane Austen wasn't covered at all!

 'Sense and Sensibility', appeared in 1811. Her next novel 'Pride and Prejudice', which she described as her "own darling child" received highly favourable reviews. 'Mansfield Park' was published in 1814, then 'Emma' in 1816. 'Emma' was dedicated to the prince regent, an admirer of her work. All of Jane Austen's novels were published anonymously.

The following list defines many of the chronological or quasi-chronological terms relevant to Jane Austen's era:

"Eighteenth century"

This obviously covers the years 1700-1799 (or the years 1701-1800, according to some pedantic definitions). On the one hand, Jane Austen was born in 1775; she does have similarities to some authors that are classified as "18th century"; starting in the mid-to-late 1780's she wrote short humorous pieces for her family, and early versions of three of her later novels; and one of her novels (Northanger Abbey) is set in 1798-1799. But she didn't sell a novel until 1803, her first actual publication was in 1811, and all of the novels whose first drafts had been written before 1800 were revised by her after 1809 before they were published -- so that her most important period of literary activity was 1810-1817, for which "18th century" doesn't seem to be a very accurate description (unless perhaps a loose "extended 18th century" is defined).

"Romantic"

The term "Romantic" can be used in a general chronological sense (covering the late 18th century and the first half of the nineteenth century, the main heyday of romanticism); but it can only be used to describe individual artists if they were influenced significantly by romanticism -- which Jane Austen was not. ("Do not be angry with me for beginning another letter to you. I have read [Byron's] The Corsair, mended my petticoat, and have nothing else to do." -- Jane Austen, letter of March 5, 1814 to her sister Cassandra.)

• "How to Be a Romantic Poet"

"Victorian"

Victoria acceded to the throne in 1837, was crowned 1838, and died in 1901. (Jane Austen died more than a year before Victoria was even born.)

"Regency"

Strictly speaking, the Regency is the period 1811-1820 when King George III was declared incapacitated (due to insanity), and the Prince of Wales (later George IV) acted as Regent. However, the term is often loosely used to cover the Directoire and Empire periods as well (one reason to do this is that these periods seem to group together as a unit socially -- for example the period of about 1795-1820 is when women's clothing styles were somewhat classically-influenced and relatively less cumbersome in basic outline -- and see also the discussion of the chronology of the wars below).

Go to illustrations of the "extended" Regency period.

Some historians of architecture and antique furniture dealers also seem to use "Regency" as a loose term for everything between 18th-century and Victorian.

While "Regency" is the word which best describes Jane Austen's writing career in purely chronological terms, this word has not traditionally been used to label a literary era (there is no conventionally-recognized "Regency" school of writers).

"Directoire"

The period from 1795-1799, especially in France (which was then ruled by a directorate of five, later three, men).

"Empire"

The period of Napoleon's declared Empire, from 1804 to 1814/1815 (or starting from 1800, if one includes his "Consulate").

"Federal"

Insofar as this has an exact meaning, it would refer to the period from 1788/1789 to 1801 -- between the establishment of the U.S. Constitution and Thomas Jefferson's coming into the office of President as a "Republican" (having triumphed over the "Federalist" John Adams) -- though dealers in antique furniture apparently use this term in a somewhat different sense.

"Georgian"

Monarchs named George reigned in Great Britain from 1712 to 1830, but "Georgian" seems mostly to be used to refer to a style of eighteenth century architecture, or as a vague synonym for "Eighteenth Century" with special reference to Britain.

"Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars"

France was involved in wars with other European powers (always including Great Britain) from 1792-1802, from 1803-1814, and during the "hundred days" in 1815. The wars of the French Revolution may be considered to last until perhaps about 1795, after which Napoleon began to take an increasingly prominent part in France's military affairs.

"Congress"

The period from the Congress of Vienna (begun 1814) to the last Congress (of Verona, 1822); the idea was that periodic diplomatic conferences would be held, at which European affairs would be settled -- particularly by the five big European powers (Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia).

(Note that the terms "Regency", "Georgian", and "Victorian" come from British political history, "Directoire" and "Empire" from France, and "Federal" from the U.S. -- which can affect how these terms are used.)