Hello, bookish friends! A few weeks ago, I shared the first post in my Author Inspo series, exploring the creative inspirations of Zadie Smith. And today we’re back with part two…and who better to turn to than Jane Austen, author extraordinaire herself? Full disclosure - I am absolutely obsessed with Jane Austen and her novels. So, be prepared for a fangirl moment or two throughout today’s post.
So, who is Jane Austen? She’s the author of a number of novels, including Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Her novels often center on the regency era and the upper echelons of its society. She’s a purveyor of truths universally acknowledged, and the source of countless movie and tv adaptations, and modern novel spin-offs (Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies, anyone?). Jane Austen is very clearly an inspiration for others - so it seems only fitting to explore who and what influenced her.
Austen’s creative inspiration began early on in her life. “The family was close and the children grew up in an environment that stressed learning and creative thinking. When Austen was young, she and her siblings were encouraged to read from their father's extensive library.” The general consensus seems to be that Austen read often and read widely. Unsurprisingly, at least if you’ve read Northanger Abbey, Austen seemed to have a particular affection for Gothic literature. Further, “[h]er major influences included the works of Samuel Richardson and Frances Burney. She titled Pride and Prejudice for a quote in Burney’s Celia.”
Jane Austen also looked to real life - family, friends, and notable figures of her time - to inspire the antics described in her novels. Suggests one writer - “We can observe from Austen’s letters how she delved into character traits from some of her acquaintances.”
At the end of the day, it may be impossible to determine exactly what Austen looked to for inspiration. But we can always speculate. For instance, “the professor thinks that the novels are about things that people like Churchill and Leslie Stephen thought they leave out: the French Revolution, slavery, the empire, patriarchy, the rights of women.” But Austen is not just for academics. “For the recreational reader, the novels are courtship stories, and the attraction is the strong women characters who, despite the best efforts of rivals and relations to screw things up, always succeed in making the catch.” Both can be true. Both likely are as true as they are not. And perhaps at the end of the day, over 200 years since Austen’s death, what matters is less what Austen looked to for inspiration and rather how she can (and does) continue to be an inspiration for countless authors, artists, and filmmakers.
What’s your favorite Jane Austen novel or adaptation? Share below!
Sources (also linked in quotes or information above):
Biography. “Jane Austen.” Biography, 6 May 2021, www.biography.com/writer/jane-austen.
“The Jane Austen Society of North America, Eastern Pennsylvania Region (Including Delaware and Southern New Jersey).” JASNAEASTPA, www.jasnaeastpa.org/student.html. Accessed 19 Mar. 2022.
“The Anonymous Jane Austen | Great Writers Inspire.” Writers Inspire, writersinspire.org/content/anonymous-jane-austen#:%7E:text=Her%20major%20influences%20included%20the,Jane’s%20early%20novel%2C%20The%20Watsons. Accessed 19 Mar. 2022.
Jeffers, Regina. “Real Life Influences Upon Jane Austen’s Novels, by Regina Jeffers.” Austen Authors, 22 Feb. 2016, www.austenauthors.net/real-life-influences-upon-jane-austens-novels.
Menand, Louis. “How to Misread Jane Austen.” The New Yorker, 28 Sept. 2020, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/05/how-to-misread-jane-austen.
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