Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist whose realism, biting social commentary and masterful use of free indirect speech, burlesque, and irony have earned her a place as one of the most widely read and most beloved writers in English literature. Austen lived her entire life as part of a small and close-knit family located on the lower fringes of English gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to Austen's development as a professional writer. During this period, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried and then abandoned. From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began a third, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but died before completing it.

“Lesley Castle” is a novella by Jane Austen, unfinished at the time of her death. Presented as a series of letters, it follows the conversations and musings of Miss Margaret Lesley and Miss Charlotte Lutterell. As they discuss such subjects as adultery, elopement, divorce, and remarriage, it soon becomes clear that that they are shallow, trivial women, and easy targets for Jane Austen’s sharp wit and social satire. Penned when she was just 14 years old, this text includes all of Austen's original spelling quirks. Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) was an English author known primarily for her novels, which critique the 18th century English upper classes and contemporary novels of sensibility. Her use of irony coupled with biting social commentary and realism have led to her wide acclaim amongst scholars and critics, her work contributing to the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Other notable works by this author include: “Sense and Sensibility” (1811), “Pride and Prejudice” (1813), and “Mansfield Park” (1814). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

Jane Austen's stock in the popular marketplace has never been higher, while academic studies continue to uncover new aspects of her engagement with her world. This fully updated edition of the acclaimed Cambridge Companion offers clear, accessible coverage of the intricacies of Austen's works in their historical context, with biographical information and suggestions for further reading. Major scholars address Austen's six novels, the letters and other works, in terms accessible to students and the many general readers, as well as to academics. With seven new essays, the Companion now covers topics that have become central to recent Austen studies, for example, gender, sociability, economics, and the increasing number of screen adaptations of the novels.

Jane Austen has been one of the world's most popular writers for 200 years and is best known for her works Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility.

When Jane Austen died, at the age of 41, she left behind her not only six novels but a large number of manuscripts, ranging from juvenile works to the novel that she was writing at the time of her final illness. The six published novels are now undisputed classics. The manuscripts, however, despite the extraordinary writing they contain and the way in which they illuminate Jane Austen’s work as a novelist, are much less well known. From the brilliance of the juvenilia to the urbane modernity of ‘Sanditon’ these works show Austen pushing the conventional boundaries of fiction, exploring the implications of vulgarity and violence, experimenting with different styles and tones, and practicing and refining her arts of narrative. This Broadview Edition includes “Lady Susan,’ “The Watsons,” “Sanditon,” and ten important early manuscript works. Historical appendices include Austen’s letters on fiction; continuations written by Austen’s niece and nephew of two of her early works; and Sir Walter Scott’s important critical appraisal of Austen from 1816.

This inspired novella, with its outrageous cast of superficial characters, brilliantly showcases Jane Austen's comic genius. Presented here with A History of England and Catharine. As Miss Margaret Lesley and Miss Charlotte Lutterell divulge their innermost secrets through a series of letters, each reveals where her true priorities lie--if a bridegroom is fatally wounded the night before his wedding, the first concern must inexorably be for the luxurious food that will be laid to waste. As one plot gives way to the next, and as the heroines exchange wisdom on adultery, elopement, divorce, and remarriage, they increasingly fall prey to the merciless and lambasting sword of Jane Austen's wit. Author of the masterpieces Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Jane Austen is one of the world's best-loved novelists.

Jane Austen’s novels remain among the best-loved works of English literature, both in her native Britain and throughout the world. They have inspired numerous sequels, prequels and spin-off volumes, and have been widely adapted for film and television. For generations of readers, Austen’s novels have come to represent the essence of the Regency period, epitomising wit, elegance, and a vanished world of politeness and privilege, and harking back to a time of greater moral and social coherence. Austen is also a gentle satirist, justly celebrated for her ironically mocking depictions of the fashions and foibles of her age, and a moralist, known for the clarity of her moral vision and her penetrating psychological insight. For many readers, however, Austen’s novels are quite simply the most delightful and satisfying love stories of all time, and her characters the most believable of literary creations. This edition, from Cambridge Scholars Publishing, makes available the complete text of all Jane Austen’s works, including her juvenilia and unfinished later works, in an affordable and accessible format. Each volume features a very brief introduction, covering the historical context in which the work or works were written, Austen’s own views of the text(s), relevant responses from later readers, and helpful suggestions for further reading. The edition also includes a longer general introduction to Austen’s life and works, by a Jane Austen scholar, Dr Katie Halsey of the University of London. Publisher's Note to the Complete Works of Jane Austen This edition of the Works contains Austen's six completed mature novels, plus all the known surviving juvenilia, the early epistolary novel Lady Susan, and the two late novels left incomplete at Austen's death. The contents of the volumes are: Volume 1 (368 pp.): Critical introduction to the Works by Dr. Katie Halsey; Sense and Sensibility and Lady Susan (an early epistolary novel) Volume 2 (304 pp.): Pride and Prejudice Volume 3 (185 pp.): Northanger Abbey Volume 4 (347 pp.): Mansfield Park Volume 5 (365 pp.): Emma Volume 6 (188 pp.): Persuasion Volume 7 (205 pp.): Juvenilia Volume 8 (93 pp.): The Watsons and Sanditon (the incomplete novels) All of the Works have been newly typeset for this edition. The texts of The Watsons and Lady Susan are based on those published with J. E. Austen Leigh's memoir of Austen (London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1883). The juvenilia are based on the first editions, in three volumes, printed from the manuscripts: Volume the First (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1933); Love and Freindship (London: Chatto & Windus, 1922); Volume the Third (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951). The text of Sanditon is based on the first edition from the manuscript (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925). The texts of the published novels have been based on those available online from Project Gutenberg, with reference to Richard Bentley's 1833 collected edition. Dr. Katie Halsey (Institute of English Studies, University of London) has contributed both an introduction to the Works as a whole, printed in volume 1, and a separate brief introduction to each volume.