Westerly Sun Column | Celebrating Jane Austen at 250: Why Her Stories Still Captivate Readers and Viewers

If you are reading these words today, I can almost guarantee that you know the name “Jane Austen”. You don’t have to be an English major, professor of literature, or lover of the Regency Era. You don’t even have to have read any of her books – though I would also bet that you can name at least one of them. Though relatively little is known about Austen’s life, and she passed away at the young age of 41 over 2 centuries ago, her legacy has certainly endured. This week, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of her birth…what better time to take a look at her incredible work, and the many books and movies she inspired!

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in Hampshire, England and enjoyed writing from a young age. Despite writing seriously through her late teens and twenties, she was not published until the age of 35, when “Sense and Sensibility” was released. Three more novels followed: “Pride and Prejudice”, “Mansfield Park”, and “Emma”, all of which were published anonymously (though her identity was something of an open secret). While her work was well-received, Austen, unfortunately, did not get the attention she deserved until after her death. Three more books were published posthumously - under Austen’s given name - and her six books have rarely been out of print for the last 200 years. Perhaps unsurprisingly, you can find all of them at the library.

Most of Austen’s books were set among the landed gentry in 18th and 19th century England, but the themes of love, social class, gender roles, and morality are still so prevalent that they have managed to remain somewhat relatable. In fact, many of her books have spawned modern retellings set in the modern age, such as “Bridget Jones’s Diary” by Helen Fielding (based on “Pride and Prejudice”), and the classic Alicia Silverstone film “Clueless”, which was based on “Emma”. Some of these are quite unexpected, such as Elle Katharine White’s historical fantasy “Heartstone”, which is described as a recasting of “Pride & Prejudice “in an imaginative world of wyverns, dragons, and the warriors”.

In addition to books, there is no shortage of film and television adaptations of Jane Austen’s work. It began in 1940 with a Hollywood production of “Pride and Prejudice” starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, which was later followed by a 1995 BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth, and eventually the 2005 film of the same name starring Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. There are similarly popular adaptions of Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion. In short, despite her short life and many years since her death, Jane Austen lives on through her work and the many pieces of art she inspired. Celebrate her 250th anniversary by picking one of them up at the library!

by Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian