Ode to Jane

My dear friend Andrea gave me a shout out in her blog a few days ago, for which I thank her, but she also happened to mention in her description of me, that I was a Jane Austen woman, though my blog did not talk about Jane Austen or her works. Just for that, Andrea, and for the rest of you who are still reading my blog, I vow to post a series of blogs on Jane Austen and her works. Tonight we start with the woman herself.

I'm not going to do a full on biography, though. If you are that interested, look at Wikipedia.

Jane Austen wrote six major novels: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. There are a number of other works that she never finished, and probably even more that we'll never really know about. Her family was not wealthy and there were many children, which led to more trouble financially. Jane and her sister, the one and only, Cassandra were very close, which brings us to the next and most famous point about our fabulous writer: neither she nor Cassandra ever married. They were single their entire lives, owning the term "spinster" completely.

Now, you may ask, how can a woman who never married write such thrilling tales of the heart and become so famous for her romantic characters? Well, that is what the imagination is for! For her works are brilliant and capture human nature so well. They are entertaining and witty [and downright hilarious at times] and we all love them! She was an amazing and talented woman, and thank God she lived and did what she dreamed of!

A portrait of the woman herself.

Jane Austen as portrayed by Anne Hathaway in "Becoming Jane"

Jane Austen as portrayed by Olivia Williams in "Miss Austen Regrets"