Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen was born in 1775 in rural Hampshire, England. Her father was a clergyman, and her family was comfortable, but not wealthy. She had only a few years of formal schooling (typical for girls then), but it was a lively, literate household. She adored her elder sister (her mother reportedly said that if Cassandra were going to have her head cut off, Jane would too), and loved balls and parties.

From Pride and Prejudice:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

She was a precocious writer; at fourteen she completed a novel, Love and Friendship, a sophisticated satire of popular romantic fiction; in her version, clichés like fainting spells and wild coincidences are the stuff of ridicule.

At seventeen, she began writing her major works, beginning with Lady Susan and Sense and Sensibility, then, in her early twenties, the first draft of what would become Pride and Prejudice, her best-known work. Her first four books were published anonymously, the last two posthumously: Emma, and the melancholy Persuasion.

At twenty-one, she fell in love with Tom Lefroy, a young man whose family disapproved of the match. Marriage was impractical since neither had money, and he was sent away. In 1802, Austen received her only proposal of marriage, from an unattractive but wealthy suitor. She accepted, but the following morning withdrew her acceptance, despite the financial security the marriage would have offered. This event may have inspired some events in her novels, such as Pride and Prejudice and Emma. A keen observer with great wit, her works still resonate with readers today. She died at age forty-one.

ALSO RECOMMENDED:

Mansfield Park. Dependent on the benevolence of her aristocratic relatives, young Fanny Price develops into the moral center of a family gone astray and restores the tranquility of her adoptive home.

Miss Austen’s Delight

It’s little-known that Jane Austen was a sophisticated reveler and wine drinker. One very popular drink in nineteenth century England was Madeira, a fortified wine.

1 oz. gin

1 oz. Malmsey (Madeira)

1 tsp. orange juice (optional)

2 maraschino cherries

Shake ingredients except the cherries with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino cherries. Serves 1.