Austen Jane (Jane Austen). Jane Austen: novels, adaptations

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

To this day, Miss Austen Jane is one of the most famous English writers. She is often referred to as the First Lady of English Literature. Her works are required to study in all British colleges and universities. So who was this woman?

Short biographical data

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775. Her family's home was in the small provincial town of Steventon, in the county of Hampshire. Her father George, a truly educated and enlightened man, came from an old Kentish family and was a parish priest.

The writer's mother, Cassandra Lee, also came from an old but impoverished family. In addition to Jane, the family had seven more children - brothers James, George, Edward, Henry, Francis and Charles, as well as sister Cassandra. The writer was especially close to her sister. It was from their correspondence that some facts about Jane's life and hobbies became known.

Childhood and youth of the famous writer

Actually, about childhood andlittle is known of Miss Austen's youth. The same applies to her appearance, because descriptions from different sources sound different. However, it is generally accepted that Jane was an elegant, graceful and pretty girl with an inquisitive mind, a subtle sense of humor and incredible curiosity. Moreover, the girl loved fashion, was interested in gentlemen, attended balls, loved fun walks and playful skirmishes with relatives and friends.

Where was Miss Austin educated?

The works of the writer demonstrate not only an outstanding talent, but also a considerable intellectual development of Miss Austin. Jane was educated at several different institutions. In 1783, the future writer, along with her sister Cassandra, began her studies at Oxford. But here the sisters were not lucky, as they suffered because of the despotism of the headmistress, and then contracted typhus. Then there was a school in Southampton, after which the girls again changed schools. The educational institution in Reading also did not suit the inquisitive girl, because the kindness of the headmistress was combined with absolute indifference to the education of children.

After so many failures, Jane returned home, where her father took care of her education. George Austin managed to instill in his daughters not only a love of reading, but also a fine literary taste. The girl grew and developed in an intellectual atmosphere, and her evenings were spent reading and discussing classic books.

Influence on the work of the writer

Of course, home education and literary knowledge of the father left their mark on the work of the writer. But there were othersfactors that influenced the process of creating novels of the famous Miss Austin. After all, Jane lived during the time of famous historical events - it was a revolution in France, an industrial revolution in England, an uprising in Ireland, a war for independence in America, etc.

Despite the fact that Jane spent most of her life in the provinces, she actively corresponded with her relatives and acquaintances, who vividly described to her the historical events in which they participated. It was these letters that became an inexhaustible source of ideas and useful information for a young girl.

Jane Austen: works of the early period

Not all fans of the writer know that she created her first works at the age of fifteen. For example, one of these works was the epistolary novel "Love and Friendship", which was created as a kind of parody of the then popular English romance novels.

At the same time, she also worked on the History of England, which, in fact, was a parody, a pamphlet on O. Goldsmith's textbook. Here Jane skillfully and wittily ridiculed the author's claims to objectivity, while presenting some real historical facts. Another parody of traditional English novels was the short novella "Fair Cassandra".

Famous novels of the writer

Surely almost every person at least once in his life had the opportunity to get acquainted with the works of Jane Austen. Novels take advantage of herhugely popular with fans of classical literature.

In 1811, Jane Austen's first work, Sense and Sensibility, was published. By the way, she published this book under the pseudonym "Lady". This is a simple and at the same time exciting story about two sisters with different characters. Marianne is an emotional and sensitive girl who wants to find true love, while Elinor is more reserved, reasonable and practical.

The success of this work allowed the writer to publish the next book in 1813 - the well-known novel called Pride and Prejudice, which, by the way, was written much earlier. It is said that this work was written immediately after the break with Tom Lefroy, but because the publishers initially rejected it, it waited fifteen years for its turn. A love story that has to go through a lot of prejudices and overcome pride, today is one of the most popular books of the writer.

The next published work was Mansfield Park. Jane Austen worked on it for three years. By the way, this work belongs to the so-called educational novel. The story of a girl who has to choose between the call of her heart, the rules of decency and reasonable arguments became the plot for a mini-series.

In 1816, another famous novel came out - "Emma". Jane Austen here in a humorous manner described the story of a cheerful, perky girl who has fun helping her friends get married. Occupied with the role of a matchmaker, with which, by the way, she does not cope very well, Emma almostoverlooked her own happiness.

In 1817, posthumously, another book was published called Reasoning. Jane Austen told the reader the sad story of how Ann Elliot, guided by the practical advice of her mother's friends, rejected the one person she loved. By the way, this particular book is often considered a kind of autobiography of the writer herself.

A year later, another novel was published - "Northanger Abbey", which is a fun and witty parody of mystical gothic novels.

Jane's work in progress

In fact, not all the works of the famous writer were finished. For example, during Miss Austen's lifetime, a small epistolary novel called "Lady Susan" was not published. Written between 1803 and 1805, the story of the cunning and treacherous schemer Lady Susan trying to find a suitable husband for herself raises important issues of morality and ethics.

The same theme of the hunt for grooms was also touched upon in another unfinished novel by the writer called The Watsons. By the way, this work was later completed by Jane's niece and published under the title "Younger Sister".

There is another popular work of the British writer, which she never had time to complete. Jane began working on the novel Sanditon a few months before her death and managed to compose only a fragment of it. In 2000, this work was completed by the English writer Julia Barret - a novel published under the title "Charlotte".

Writer's personal life

It's no secret that, despite her rather pleasant appearance, Jane Austen remained single. In her youth, she received a marriage proposal from the nephew of the we althy Lady Gresham Weasley, but refused, as she did not have any feelings for him.

In 1795, a poor law student, Thomas Lefroy, met Miss Austin. Jane mentioned these events several times in her letters to her sister. Mutual feelings immediately flared up between the young people, but they had to leave. After all, young people came from poor families, and only a profitable marriage with rich heirs could improve the situation. By the way, Thomas eventually became Lord High Justice of Ireland. And Jane at the age of 30 put on an old maid's cap, informing the whole world that she was not going to get married.

After her father's death, the writer helped her mother with housework, as the family's financial situation was extremely difficult. In 1817, Jane moved to Winchester, where she treated Addison's disease while working on Sanditon. Here she died on July 18.

Jane Austen: film adaptations of novels

In fact, the works of the English writer have always aroused great interest. For example, only the book "Pride and Prejudice" was filmed ten times. For the first time, a picture based on the novel appeared on the screens in 1938. The last television version of the famous novel was released in 2005 - the role of Elizabeth Bennet went to Keira Knightley, andMr. Darcy was brilliantly played by Matthew Macfadyen.

The novel "Sense and Sensibility" was filmed five times. Another popular work called "Emma" formed the basis of the plot for eight paintings. Of course, these are not all Jane Austen films. For example, there are four films based on the novel Persuasion. And "Northanger Abbey" was filmed twice - in 1986 and 2006. There are also three adaptations of Mansfield Park. As you can see, all completed Jane Austen novels have become the basis for the plot of many films. And despite the time, changes in lifestyle and traditions, these simple stories about love, friendship and morality are still of great interest to viewers and readers.

Films about the life of a writer

In fact, not only the works of Jane Austen, but also her life itself became the object of interest from the cinema gurus. To date, three films have been shot, the plot of which is to some extent based on the biographical data of the famous writer. For example, in 2002, a documentary called The Real Jane Austen was released, based on known biographical data and the writer's remaining letters to her sister Cassandra.

In 2007, a drama called Jane Austen's Love Failures appeared on the screens, which tells the story of the last years of the life of a talented but lonely writer and her relationship with one of her nieces. Here the role of Jane went to Olivia Williams.

In the same 2007the melodrama Jane Austen (Becoming Jane) was filmed, the plot of which is based on the sad love story of an aspiring writer and a poor, arrogant, but charming lawyer, Tom Lefroy.