Jane Austen


Born
in Steventon Rectory, Hampshire, England
December 16, 1775

Died
July 18, 1817

Website

Genre

Influences
Frances Burney, Mary Brunton, Samuel Johnson, Samuel Richardson, Mari ...more


Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.

The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but br
...more

Average rating: 4.18 · 9,051,365 ratings · 342,257 reviews · 3,928 distinct worksSimilar authors
Pride and Prejudice

4.30 avg rating — 4,871,597 ratings — published 1813 — 17448 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sense and Sensibility

4.09 avg rating — 1,308,936 ratings — published 1811 — 7609 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Emma

4.05 avg rating — 995,801 ratings — published 1815 — 8409 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Persuasion

4.15 avg rating — 787,716 ratings — published 1817 — 7970 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Northanger Abbey

3.85 avg rating — 459,840 ratings — published 1817 — 6220 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mansfield Park

3.86 avg rating — 383,041 ratings — published 1814 — 78 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Lady Susan

3.66 avg rating — 54,038 ratings — published 1871 — 22 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Complete Novels

4.57 avg rating — 34,081 ratings — published 1981 — 258 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Lady Susan / The Watsons / ...

by
3.74 avg rating — 14,128 ratings — published 1817 — 109 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Love and Freindship

3.52 avg rating — 9,905 ratings — published 1787 — 1059 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Jane Austen…

Related News

Each year, in honor of Women's History Month, we like to pull together some kind of curated collection featuring nonfiction books on...
857 likes · 0 comments
Did you know that the year 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen? Goodreads regulars in the U.K. can tell you—out in the...
1145 likes · 0 comments
  They say that the movie is never as good as the book, but at Goodreads we don’t think it’s a competition!   Sci-fi, AI, cyborgs, bots,...
160 likes · 51 comments
Quotes by Jane Austen  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Polls

October 2014 Revisit the Shelf Poll

1818, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 273 pages
 
  25 votes, 14.7%

1860, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, 672 pages
 
  23 votes, 13.5%

 
  20 votes, 11.8%

1953, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 227 pages
 
  15 votes, 8.8%

1847, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, 507 pages
 
  13 votes, 7.6%

1929, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, 355 pages
 
  13 votes, 7.6%

 
  12 votes, 7.1%

1935, Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, 320 pages
 
  12 votes, 7.1%

1897, Dracula by Bram Stoker, 488 pages
 
  11 votes, 6.5%

 
  10 votes, 5.9%

 
  6 votes, 3.5%

1814, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, 507 pages
 
  6 votes, 3.5%

 
  4 votes, 2.4%

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
The Book Challenge: This topic has been closed to new comments. Sarah's 2008 50 book Challenge 39 1039 Oct 08, 2008 08:59PM  
The Book Challenge: Sarah's 2008 Book Challenge v2.0 - Fini! 5 1866 Dec 29, 2008 09:31AM  
Challenge: 50 Books: Dini's List for 2008 - Done with 50! 23 1477 Jan 02, 2009 07:16PM  
The Rory Gilmore ...: Favorite Reads of 2008 29 3213 Jan 08, 2009 05:23AM  
The Rory Gilmore ...: This topic has been closed to new comments. February 2009 Book Selection Is... 41 373 Jan 19, 2009 01:53AM  
The Next Best Boo...: Group Read Nominations for February IS CLOSED! 95 582 Jan 28, 2009 08:35PM