My dearest readers, I do hope you are having the merriest time returning to campus and reveling in the fresh white snow covering the University of Connecticut. Now, I hope you don’t mind my rather old-fashioned tone for this introduction. But, seeing as it is my first column of the year 2026, I find it rather fit to celebrate the anniversary of one of the best romance novels of our time. On Jan. 28, 1813, Jane Austen published “Pride and Prejudice,”introducing the public to the captivating story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Even today, the novel remains timeless with countless adaptations and films being produced (I am forever a fanatic of the 2005 filmadaptation). But for this column, I want to take a look between the lines and learn about the author behind many famed Regency novels.
Born in 1775, Austen grew up in a small village in the county of Hampshire in England, known as Steventon. Her father, Rev. George Austen, was a clergyman in the Church of England and had a large household, with Austen being one of eight children. Her family also took in boys as boarders to supplement their income from the church. At the age of six, Austen was sent to Oxford and later Southampton for schooling with her older sister, but both returned home after catching a dangerous fever. For a year, they also attended the Abbey House School in Reading and received the rest of their education at home.
What truly contributed to Austen’s love for reading and writing was the access she had to her father’s library. As a whole, the family was described as very creative and literary, with one of her nieces even saying they were, “‘all the fun and nonsense of a large and clever family,’” according to an article from the Jane Austen’s House website. As a teenager, she began writing early works that would mold the style of her adult novels, plotting stories based on her favorite books in the library. As she grew, it was there that she would write the first drafts of some of her most famous novels.
When her father retired from his position, Austen would move to Bath and eventually to Southampton alongside him, her mother and sister. During the eight years she lived in these cities, Austen experienced a creative drought, with some theorizing that she missed the rural countryside and felt too cramped and busy to write in the city. In 1805, her father passed away, leaving Austen, her sister and mother with limited funds, relying on her brothers for help with finances and lodgings.
It wasn’t until moving to Chawton that Austen would begin to feel at home again. Her brother Edward would inherit property and money from a distant childless cousin and offer the house to his mother and sisters. It was there that Austen had time to write and revise her old drafts for publication. With the help of her brother Henry, Austen commissioned Thomas Egerton to publish “Sense and Sensibility,” with a byline simply stating that the novel was written“by a lady.” Given Austen’s initial success, Egerton purchased the copyright to “Pride and Prejudice” and printed 1,500 copies that sold out quickly. More editions were printed, but as Austen sold the copyright, she would not see this profit. Similarly, the byline for “Pride and Prejudice” would simply say, “by the author of ‘Sense and Sensibility,’” retaining her anonymity.
In the years that followed, Austen would publish “Mansfield Park” and “Persuasion.” However, in 1816, her health began to fail, and she continued to write until her death in 1817 in Winchester. Austen’s novels “Northanger Abbey”and “Persuasion” were published posthumously by her brother, and for the first time ever, Austen was named as the author.
I often think about Austen. A few summers ago, I visited her museum in Bath, and there was something so awe-inspiring about feeling immersed in her world. Whenever I read one of her stories, I truly feel as if I have stepped back in time, which is one of the many aspects of her writing that makes her books so amazing. So yes, even after all this time, I still find myself obsessing over the same story, reading at the edge of my seat, all while waiting for Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennet to fall in love.