Alice Krige reads from Clare Harman's exploration of Jane Austen's rise to pre-eminence from humble family scribblings to Hollywood movies
Jane Austen was an ambitious and spirited young woman who was part of a lively, bookish family and keenly attuned to the literary world of her time.
DetailsThe last years of Jane Austen's life were a period of concentrated writing and business with publishers.
DetailsPublic interest in Austen flared up with her nephew's publication of the first biography in 1870, and gained a momentum that was now unstoppable.
DetailsFor the soldiers of the First World War, Jane came to represent an Englishness that was far removed from the terrible realities of life in the trenches.
DetailsToday we are witness to the spectacle of the young woman who happily limited her scope to 'three or four families in a country village' being marketed as a global brand.
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