Commentary

Jane Austen: the author who rewards your loyalty

06/11/2025
Hugh Thomson: Bennet family at home. In public domain via Wikimedia Commons

The clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in; what better time to relax with a good book?  And if this is your favoured pastime, are you always in search of something novel, or do you return to a cherished, familiar work?  Is your bookshelf full of books just for display, or are they well-thumbed?

Many books depend on the element of surprise for their impact; a simple whodunnit is not such an enthralling read when all has already been revealed to you.  Some novels reward a return visit, allowing you to peal back the layers of detail like cutting into an onion and enjoying delicious morsels which you overlooked on your first run through.

2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth; were you wondering why there seemed to be so many mentions of her in the media?  If you only read Pride and Prejudice grudgingly at school, or have watched the dramatisations on TV and film, now would be an excellent time to delve back into her novels.

It’s amazingly satisfying to re-read Austen’s works; a new facet will always catch the eye.  I cannot claim to “re-read the six novels every year” as Macmillan purportedly did, but if I am not under the tyrannical pressure of getting a library book read before the borrowing return date, I am quickly tempted back to Jane Austen’s oeuvre.

Is Jane Austen still relevant today?  Her world of genteel middle-class folk seemingly obsessed with securing good marriages may not appear to have much in common with our technology-driven lives.  The differences in society are, however, superficial; it is a truth universally acknowledged that human nature and social interactions are just as complex and intriguing as they were in Regency England.  Jane Austen’s talent is to shine a light on the psychology of her characters, hidden in plain sight beneath her *nice* plots.

I am not alone in this obsession.  The Jane Austen Society caters for Janeites with events, lectures and discussions; the Jane Austen Society Kent Branch, of which I am a member, offers the opportunity to visit Godmersham and other places frequented by the author.

How well do you know Jane Austen’s novels?  Why not see how you do with this quiz on the subject of aunts which I compiled for the JASK newsletter?  You will find the answers at the end of this blog:

  1. Which aunt tells her nephew on the subject of music “If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient”?

 

  1. Name the aunt who disinherits Willoughby: “I was formally dismissed from her favour and her house”

 

  1. Which aunt did Captain Wentworth rescue from 2-year-old Walter?

 

  1. Who would it be “totally out of Mrs Norris’s power to take any share in the personal charge of her”?

 

  1. Which aunt chose Derbyshire as an alternative to the Lakes for a shorter summer trip with her niece?

 

  1. Which aunt observed Charles Hayter’s “attentions to Henrietta” “without any disapprobation”?

 

  1. Who likes to read out her niece’s letters? ““Thank you.  You are so kind!” replied the happily deceived aunt, while eagerly hunting for the letter.”

 

  1. Who offered Fanny Price “the next time Pug has a litter you shall have a puppy.”

 

  1. Who prefers to be an aunt to a parent: “I shall often have a niece with me.”

 

  1. Which aunt adopts Mr Weston’s son on the death of his first wife?

 

How does this relate to the world of IT support?  Perhaps not a great deal; sometimes you just need to step away from the computer.  Marking a 250th anniversary and still being relevant today is definitely something worth celebrating, after all.

IT may not appear to have much to do with the enjoyment of Austen’s works but the workings of the Jane Austen Society would be cumbersome to process without the support of computers:

  • emails and phones allowing the committee members to keep in touch –
  • research relying on internet searches
  • articles for the publications being collated and typed
  • newsletters being distributed by email
  • discussion groups and presentations being conducted via Zoom
  • even the quiz being compiled by using the find function on the e-book edition!

Here are the promised quiz answers; how did you do?  If you would like to be more knowledgeable, you know the answer – it’s time to get reading!  If you are ready to progress to the next step of Austen knowledge, you would profit from a viewing of the lectures by Professor John Mullan, available via YouTube and on special occasions at Tonbridge Parish Church.

  1. Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Pride and Prejudice (II CH 31)

 

  1. Mrs Smith. Sense and Sensibility (CH 31)

 

  1. Anne Elliot. Persuasion (CH 9)

 

  1. Fanny Price. Mansfield Park (CH 1)

 

  1. Mrs Gardiner. Pride and Prejudice (CH 42)

 

  1. Mrs Musgrove. Persuasion (CH 9)

 

  1. Miss Bates. Emma (II CH 1)

 

  1. Lady Bertram. Mansfield Park (CH 33)

 

  1. Emma Woodhouse. Emma (I CH 10)

 

  1. Mrs Churchill. Emma (I CH 2)

 

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