In her own time, Austen’s novels received praise, including a review from Sir Walter Scott and a commendation from the Prince Regent himself. Still, Austen remained relatively unknown, her books never earning their potential. I imagine the praise helped, but it must have been discouraging that her novels weren’t more widely read. This made me wonder: What did Austen think of her own writing?
First, let’s look at how Austen described herself as an author.
Austen did not write romance
Austen is often called a romance writer, but she did not consider herself one. In a letter to the Prince Regent’s librarian (pretty fancy correspondence, Jane!), she wrote:
I could no more write a Romance than an Epic Poem. – I could not sit seriously down to write a serious Romance under any other motive than to save my Life, & if it were indispensable for me to keep it up & never relax into laughing at myself or other people, I am sure I should be hung before I finished the first Chapter. – No – I must keep to my own style & go on in my own Way. And though I may never succeed again in that, I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other. (Apr. 1, 1816)
“I must keep to my own style & go on in my own way.” Isn’t that a great line?
This site is ending, so I moved this post. Read the rest here and find out what Austen thought about Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma.
4 responses to “What Did Jane Austen Have to Say About Her Own Novels?”
Nice post! I think Jane loved all her “children” in her own way! Lol
I think she did too…and worried about them, like children!
And they are like our children. We spend time with them, we love the characters (at least most of them), and hope others will love them as well. I would think that most authors would feel that way.
Yes, we really put so much into them and thinking about their thoughts and motivations. They feel so consuming for a while that it sometimes feels weird to think about past novels and how much of my thoughts those characters used to take up.
Thanks, Gianna.