Criticism > Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism > Special Commissioned Essay on Jane Austen, Julia Epstein - Jane Austen As Studied


Special Commissioned Essay on Jane Austen, Julia Epstein - Jane Austen As Studied

JANE AUSTEN AS STUDIED

Jane Austen's works made a small splash when they were published, fell into relative neglect for a time, were revived in the later part of the nineteenth century, and have become increasingly popular. The novels enjoyed fair success during Austen's lifetime, and received relatively positive critical reviews. But the books were published anonymously, and nothing was known about the novels' author outside her immediate circle.

Following Jane Austen's death, her brother Henry Austen published a “Biographical Notice” in the 1818 posthumous printing of Northanger Abbey with Persuasion. Henry Austen's “Biographical Notice” painted a portrait of a traditional, devout spinster who existed solely in the bosom of her family. The “Notice” included some details about profits from the novels, presented Austen as having read extensively in history and literature (with a special fondness for Samuel Johnson's prose, Samuel...

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