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Love and Friendship
Love and Friendship is one of Austen’s earliest works. And while it’s unknown at what age she wrote the story, it is definitively one of her first published writings. A satirical take on the romance novel, the story takes its shape through a series of letters between two friends, Laura and Marianne. -
Lesley Castle: An Unfinished Novel In Letters
Austen wrote this novel when she was around 16 years old, but it remains unfinished. Like Love and Friendship, Lesley Castle is an epistolary novel, chronicling the correspondence between two friends. Margaret Lesley and Charlotte Lutterell, who gossip about the scandals in their respective high society circles. While the book isn’t completed, it offers an early look into what Austen would later go on to become famous for: her wit, her humor, and her ability to create charming female leads. -
The Beautifull Cassandra
Austen wrote The Beautiful Cassandra, a short novel that follows a mischievous young girl on a visit to London who she steals from shops and spies on locals. The Princeton University Press calls the 12-chapter book, which features 465 spelling mistakes and a lighthearted story, “an irreverent and humorous little masterpiece." -
Lady Susan
This novella’s titular character, Lady Susan, is a charming and beautiful widow who has a way of seducing every man she meets. Eventually she captures the hearts of two men: the married Mr. Manwaring, and her sister-in-law’s brother, Reginald. To further complicate matters, Lady Susan's daughter, Fredrica, also falls for Reginald. Austen shows her gift in creating humorous plot points, love-struck characters, and of course, annoying but hilarious male antagonists. -
Sense and Sensibility
Elinor who leads from the head (sense) and Marianne who leads from the heart (sensibility). The romantic relationships of both sisters force the women to reexamine their perspectives—with Marianne learning not to chase a fairytale love story and Elinor letting her guard down every once in a while. -
Pride and Prejudice
When the eldest sister Jane meets Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth Bennet is captivated yet repulsed by Bingly’s handsome and brooding friend, Mr. Darcy. The novel is arguably Austen’s most famous book and this regency-era story is still enjoyed two centuries on, popularity no doubt spurned by numerous film adaptations including the Oscar-awarding winning movie starring Keira Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen. -
Mansfield Park
Austen’s third full-length novel, Mansfield Park, is known for being more mature than Austen’s other works. Rather than love, the novel is more focused on the consequences of greed and recklessness as the story's heroine, Fanny Price, witnesses the romances that take place in Mansfield Park between the Bertrams and the Crawford siblings. -
Emma
Austen's next release, Emma, takes a fun and flirty turn in the tale of a spoiled young high society woman of Highbury, Emma Woodhouse, and her attempt to play matchmaker for her friend Harriet Smith. Emma soon finds out that she’s naive about what love means and to further complicate matters, she develops feelings for her neighbor Mr. Knightly. -
Persuasion
A few years after breaking off an engagement to the love of her life, Frederick Wentworth, Anne’s once wealthy family falls from grace after experiencing financial struggle. Wenthworth who had been a lowly naval officer is now a wealthy man famous for his war-time accomplishments and he has not quite forgiven Anne for calling off the marriage. -
Northanger Abbey
The final book of Austen’s core six is Northanger Abbey, which was published posthumously in December of 1817, five months after Austen’s death. The novel, divided into two sections, is both a satire fo the gothic genre and a coming-of-age story following Catherine Moreland as she is charmed by Henry Tilney. When Tilney invites Catherine to his family estate, her imagination runs wild.