“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!”

Happy birthday, Jane Austen! The Book Fairies have been celebrating Jane’s 347th birthday by sharing some of her novels for lucky finders to enjoy. Here are some of the pics and also the info for a couple of the titles featured!

About Sense & Sensibility:

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor’s warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love-and its threatened loss-the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

About Emma:

Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters.Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich.” Emma, however, is also rather spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people’s lives; and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray.

About Persuasion:

The last novel written by Jane Austen, “Persuasion” revolves around a young Englishwoman named Anne Elliot and her family who are forced to move into a smaller house in order to ease their debt. They rent their house to an Admiral and his wife, whose brother turns out to have been engaged to Anne seven years previous. The scene is set for humorous situations and the promise of a rekindling of old flames.

About Northanger Abbey:

Northanger Abbey tells the story of a young girl, Catherine Morland who leaves her sheltered, rural home to enter the busy, sophisticated world of Bath in the late 1790s. Austen observes with insight and humour the interaction between Catherine and the various characters whom she meets there, and tracks her growing understanding of the world about her.

In this, her first full-length novel, Austen also fixes her sharp, ironic gaze on other kinds of contemporary novel, especially the Gothic school made famous by Ann Radcliffe. Catherine’s reading becomes intertwined with her social and romantic adventures, adding to the uncertainties and embarrassments she must undergo before finding happiness.

About Jane Austen:

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.

Not lucky enough to find one?

Do not worry – these beautiful Wordsworth editions are available in all good bookshops! You can also find them and lots of other classics on the Wordsworth Editions website here.

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