106-814: Sigrid Maria Elisabet Rausing FRSL (born 29 January 1962) is a Swedish philanthropist, anthropologist and publisher. She is the founder of the Sigrid Rausing Trust, one of the United Kingdom's largest philanthropic foundations, and owner of Granta magazine and Granta Books . Rausing grew up in Lund , Sweden , and studied History at the University of York between 1983 and 1986. She earned an MSc in Social Anthropology from University College London in 1987, then continued with
212-464: A barrister . Lefroy and Austen would have been introduced at a ball or other neighbourhood social gathering, and it is clear from Austen's letters to Cassandra that they spent considerable time together: "I am almost afraid to tell you how my Irish friend and I behaved. Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together." Austen wrote in her first surviving letter to her sister Cassandra that Lefroy
318-491: A 16th-century house in disrepair, underwent necessary renovations. Cassandra gave birth to three children while living at Deane: James in 1765, George in 1766, and Edward in 1767. Her custom was to keep an infant at home for several months and then place it with Elizabeth Littlewood, a woman living nearby to nurse and raise for twelve to eighteen months. In 1768, the family finally took up residence in Steventon. Henry
424-584: A Collective Farm , was published by Oxford University Press in 2004. The book was preceded by a range of articles in scholarly journals, including Ethnologie Française . Rausing writes occasional columns for the New Statesman , and her articles on human rights have appeared in The Guardian and The Sunday Times . Everything Is Wonderful , a personal memoir of her year in Estonia researching
530-468: A Kick Out of You " by Ella Fitzgerald , and " Le Cygne (The Swan) " by Camille Saint-Saëns . Her book choice was Mansfield Park by Jane Austen and her luxury item was the British Library . In 2016, she was awarded by the University of Kent the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of her contribution to philanthropy and publishing. In 2020, Rausing was elected a Fellow of
636-494: A Novel, according to Hints from Various Quarters , a satiric outline of the "perfect novel" based on the librarian's many suggestions for a future Austen novel. Austen was greatly annoyed by Clarke's often pompous literary advice, and the Plan of a Novel parodying Clarke was intended as her revenge for all the unwanted letters she had received from the royal librarian. In mid-1815 Austen moved her work from Egerton to John Murray ,
742-678: A PhD focusing on post-Soviet anthropology, and did her fieldwork on a collective farm in Estonia , in 1993–94. In 1997, she was awarded a PhD in Social Anthropology from the Department of Social Anthropology at University College London, followed by an honorary post-doctorate in the same department. Rausing's monograph based on her PhD, History, Memory, and Identity in Post-Soviet Estonia: The End of
848-734: A better-known publisher in London, who published Emma in December 1815 and a second edition of Mansfield Park in February 1816. Emma sold well, but the new edition of Mansfield Park did poorly, and this failure offset most of the income from Emma . These were the last of Austen's novels to be published during her lifetime. While Murray prepared Emma for publication, Austen began The Elliots , later published as Persuasion . She completed her first draft in July 1816. In addition, shortly after
954-472: A carpenter could make about £100 annually while the typical annual income of a gentry family was between £1,000 and £5,000. Mr. Austen also rented the 200-acre Cheesedown farm from his benefactor Thomas Knight which could make a profit of £300 (equivalent to £48,000 in 2023) a year. During this period of her life, Jane Austen attended church regularly, socialised with friends and neighbours, and read novels—often of her own composition—aloud to her family in
1060-474: A fortune and large estate from his great-aunt Perrot, with the only condition that he change his name to Leigh-Perrot. George Austen and Cassandra Leigh were engaged, probably around 1763, when they exchanged miniatures . He received the living of the Steventon parish from Thomas Knight, the wealthy husband of his second cousin. They married on 26 April 1764 at St Swithin's Church in Bath , by license , in
1166-416: A legend of "good quiet Aunt Jane", portraying her as a woman in a happy domestic situation, whose family was the mainstay of her life. Modern biographers include details excised from the letters and family biographies, but the biographer Jan Fergus writes that the challenge is to keep the view balanced, not to present her languishing in periods of deep unhappiness as "an embittered, disappointed woman trapped in
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#17327806173331272-509: A man very hard to like, let alone love". In 1814, Austen wrote a letter to her niece Fanny Knight, who had asked for advice about a serious relationship, telling her that "having written so much on one side of the question, I shall now turn around & entreat you not to commit yourself farther, & not to think of accepting him unless you really do like him. Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without Affection". The English scholar Douglas Bush wrote that Austen had "had
1378-401: A new manuscript of Susan if needed to secure the immediate publication of the novel, and requesting the return of the original so she could find another publisher. Crosby replied that he had not agreed to publish the book by any particular time, or at all, and that Austen could repurchase the manuscript for the £10 he had paid her and find another publisher. She did not have the resources to buy
1484-479: A new novel, The Watsons , but there was nothing like the productivity of the years 1795–1799. Tomalin suggests this reflects a deep depression disabling her as a writer, but Honan disagrees, arguing Austen wrote or revised her manuscripts throughout her creative life, except for a few months after her father died. It is often claimed that Austen was unhappy in Bath, which caused her to lose interest in writing, but it
1590-705: A number of literary prizes and awards, including the RSL Ondaatje Prize , the RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction, the RSL Encore Award for best second novel of the year and the V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize for short stories. In 2000, the RSL published a volume that provides a description and history of the society, written by one of its fellows, Isabel Quigly . In 2020, the RSL celebrated its 200th anniversary with
1696-508: A posthumous edition of Northanger Abbey and included extracts from two letters, against the judgement of other family members. Details of Austen's life continued to be omitted or embellished in her nephew's A Memoir of Jane Austen , published in 1869, and in William and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh's biography Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters , published in 1913, all of which included additional letters. Austen's family and relatives built
1802-524: A professional writer. When she was around eighteen years old, Austen began to write longer, more sophisticated works. In August 1792, aged seventeen, Austen started Catharine or the Bower , which presaged her mature work, especially Northanger Abbey , but was left unfinished until picked up in Lady Susan , which Todd describes as less prefiguring than Catharine . A year later she began, but abandoned,
1908-591: A relapse, writing: "I am ashamed to say that the shock of my Uncle's Will brought on a relapse ... but a weak Body must excuse weak Nerves." Austen continued to work in spite of her illness. Dissatisfied with the ending of The Elliots , she rewrote the final two chapters, which she finished on 6 August 1816. In January 1817, Austen began The Brothers (titled Sanditon when published in 1925), completing twelve chapters before stopping work in mid-March 1817, probably due to illness. Todd describes Sanditon ' s heroine, Diana Parker, as an "energetic invalid". In
2014-695: A set). They gradually gained wide acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and her supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience. Her work has inspired a large number of critical essays and has been included in many literary anthologies. Her novels have also inspired many films, including 1940's Pride and Prejudice , 1995's Sense and Sensibility , and 2016's Love & Friendship . The scant biographical information about Austen comes from her few surviving letters and sketches her family members wrote about her. Only about 160 of
2120-462: A short play, later titled Sir Charles Grandison or the happy Man, a comedy in 6 acts , which she returned to and completed around 1800. This was a short parody of various school textbook abridgements of Austen's favourite contemporary novel, The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753), by Samuel Richardson . When Austen became an aunt for the first time aged eighteen, she sent new-born niece Fanny Catherine Austen Knight "five short pieces of ...
2226-477: A simple ceremony, two months after Cassandra's father died. Their income was modest, with George's small per annum living; Cassandra brought to the marriage the expectation of a small inheritance at the time of her mother's death. After the living at the nearby Deane rectory had been purchased for George by his wealthy uncle Francis Austen, the Austens took up temporary residence there, until Steventon rectory,
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#17327806173332332-494: A sort of part-time job, and was not seeking to become a "literary lioness" (i.e. a celebrity). Another reason noted is that the novel was still seen as a lesser form of literature at the time compared with poetry, and many female and male authors published novels anonymously, whereas works of poetry, by both female and male writers were almost always attributed to the author. During her time at Chawton, Austen published four generally well-received novels. Through her brother Henry,
2438-601: A summary, which she then translated into an embellished French that often radically altered Austen's plots and characters. The first of the Austen novels to be published that credited her as the author was in France, when Persuasion was published in 1821 as La Famille Elliot ou L'Ancienne Inclination . Austen learned that the Prince Regent admired her novels and kept a set at each of his residences. In November 1815,
2544-461: A thoroughly unpleasant family". Jane Austen was born in Steventon, Hampshire on 16 December 1775. Her father wrote of her arrival in a letter that her mother "certainly expected to have been brought to bed a month ago". He added that the newborn infant was "a present plaything for Cassy and a future companion". The winter of 1775-1776 was particularly harsh and it was not until 5 April that she
2650-635: A very high ideal of the love that should unite a husband and wife ... All of her heroines ... know in proportion to their maturity, the meaning of ardent love". A possible autobiographical element in Sense and Sensibility occurs when Elinor Dashwood contemplates "the worse and most irremediable of all evils, a connection for life" with an unsuitable man. In 1804, while living in Bath, Austen started, but did not complete, her novel The Watsons . The story centres on an invalid and impoverished clergyman and his four unmarried daughters. Sutherland describes
2756-513: A year later. In early 1803, Henry Austen offered Susan to Benjamin Crosby, a London publisher, who paid £10 for the copyright. Crosby promised early publication and went so far as to advertise the book publicly as being "in the press", but did nothing more. The manuscript remained in Crosby's hands, unpublished, until Austen repurchased the copyright from him in 1816. In December 1800, George Austen unexpectedly announced his decision to retire from
2862-529: Is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers. The society
2968-427: Is a cultural tenant at London's Somerset House . The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV , to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent", and its first president was Thomas Burgess , Bishop of St David's (who was later translated as Bishop of Salisbury ). As of 2018, the RSL's patron is Queen Camilla , who took over in the role from Elizabeth II . At
3074-450: Is just as possible that Austen's social life in Bath prevented her from spending much time writing novels. The critic Robert Irvine argued that if Austen spent more time writing novels when she was in the countryside, it might just have been because she had more spare time as opposed to being more happy in the countryside as is often argued. Furthermore, Austen frequently both moved and travelled over southern England during this period, which
3180-471: Is manuscript evidence that Austen continued to work on these pieces as late as 1811 (when she was 36), and that her niece and nephew, Anna and James Edward Austen, made further additions as late as 1814. Between 1793 and 1795 (aged eighteen to twenty), Austen wrote Lady Susan , a short epistolary novel , usually described as her most ambitious and sophisticated early work. It is unlike any of Austen's other works. Austen biographer Claire Tomalin describes
3286-645: Is not clear whether the decision to print more copies than usual of Austen's novels was driven by the publishers or the author. Since all but one of Austen's books were originally published "on commission", the risks of overproduction were largely hers (or Cassandra's after her death) and publishers may have been more willing to produce larger editions than was normal practice when their own funds were at risk. Editions of popular works of non-fiction were often much larger. Austen made £140 (equivalent to £12,800 in 2023) from Sense and Sensibility , which provided her with some financial and psychological independence. After
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3392-407: Is thought to have written her fair copy of Lady Susan and added its "Conclusion". In 1806, the family moved to Southampton , where they shared a house with Frank Austen and his new wife. A large part of this time they spent visiting various branches of the family. On 5 April 1809, about three months before the family's move to Chawton , Austen wrote an angry letter to Richard Crosby, offering him
3498-463: The Benson Medal for lifetime service in the field of literature . The RSL runs a membership programme offering a variety of events to members and the general public. Membership of the RSL is open to all. The RSL also runs an outreach programme, currently for young people and those in prison. The RSL administers two annual prizes, two awards, and two honours. Through its prize programmes,
3604-722: The Charleston Trust . Rausing's first marriage to Dennis Hotz, a South African publisher and art dealer, ended in divorce. In 2003, she married South African-born TV, film and theatre producer Eric Abraham . They own Aubrey House in Holland Park , and the Coignafearn estate, in the Monadh Liath , in the Highlands of Scotland . Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature ( RSL )
3710-667: The Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), and in 2021 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Literature (DLit) from University College London . Rausing set up the charitable trust the Sea Foundation in 1988. In 1996, she transferred the funds to the Ruben and Elisabeth Rausing Trust, named after her grandparents; the trust was renamed the Sigrid Rausing Trust in 2003, and by 2014 had distributed approximately £208.3 million to human rights organisations globally. In 2004, she
3816-406: The Austen family were elided by intention, such as any mention of Austen's brother George, whose undiagnosed developmental challenges led the family to send him away from home; the two brothers sent away to the navy at an early age; or wealthy Aunt Leigh-Perrot, arrested and tried on charges of larceny. The first Austen biography was Henry Thomas Austen 's 1818 "Biographical Notice". It appeared in
3922-643: The Autumn 2023 issue. In 2010, Rausing was made an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics . In February 2013, Rausing was judged to be one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 . In January 2014, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York , from which she also received the Morrell Fellowship, and in June 2014, she
4028-561: The Juvenilia now known collectively as 'Scraps' .., purporting to be her 'Opinions and Admonitions on the conduct of Young Women ' ". For Jane-Anna-Elizabeth Austen (also born in 1793), her aunt wrote "two more 'Miscellanious [ sic ] Morsels', dedicating them to [Anna] on 2 June 1793, 'convinced that if you seriously attend to them, You will derive from them very important Instructions, with regard to your Conduct in Life. ' " There
4134-561: The Prince Regent's librarian James Stanier Clarke invited Austen to visit the Prince's London residence and hinted Austen should dedicate the forthcoming Emma to the Prince. Though Austen disapproved of the Prince Regent, she could scarcely refuse the request. Austen disapproved of the Prince Regent on the account of his womanising, gambling, drinking, spendthrift ways, and generally disreputable behaviour. She later wrote Plan of
4240-473: The RSL roll book. The RSL's 2022–23 Open initiative aimed to recognise writers from backgrounds currently underrepresented in UK literary culture by electing 60 fellows over a two-year period from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture, through drawing on a broad range of writers from "different parts of the UK, from different communities, different demographics", as Bernardine Evaristo noted. The * before
4346-485: The RSL supports new and established contemporary writers. The Council of the Royal Society of Literature is central to the election of new fellows, and directs the RSL's activities through its monthly meetings. Council members serve for a fixed term of four years, with new members being elected by Council when members retire. The Royal Society of Literature comprises more than 600 Fellows, who are entitled to use
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4452-802: The Teaspoon, a Swedish organisation against political and religious extremism. She was the judge of the Amnesty International Media Awards in 2009 and 2010. She is an Emeritus member of the international board of Human Rights Watch and of the advisory board of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court . She is a former trustee of Charleston , in Sussex , the museum that is the former home of Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell . In 2012, she
4558-464: The age of fifteen, George Austen's sister Philadelphia was apprenticed to a milliner in Covent Garden . At the age of sixteen, George entered St John's College, Oxford , where he most likely met Cassandra Leigh (1739–1827). She came from the prominent Leigh family . Her father was rector at All Souls College, Oxford , where she grew up among the gentry. Her eldest brother James inherited
4664-415: The announcement of RSL 200, "a five-year festival launched with a series of major new initiatives and 60 new appointments championing the great diversity of writing and writers in the UK". Initiatives included RSL Open (electing new Fellows from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture), RSL International Writers (recognising the contribution of writers across
4770-557: The approximately 3,000 letters Austen wrote have survived and been published. Cassandra Austen destroyed the bulk of the letters she received from her sister, burning or otherwise destroying them. She wanted to ensure that the "younger nieces did not read any of Jane's sometimes acid or forthright comments on neighbours or family members". In the interest of protecting reputations from Jane's penchant for honesty and forthrightness, Cassandra omitted details of illnesses, unhappiness and anything she considered unsavoury. Important details about
4876-413: The author. If a novel did not recover its costs through sales, the author was responsible for them. The alternative to selling via commission was by selling the copyright, where an author received a one-time payment from the publisher for the manuscript, which occurred with Pride and Prejudice . Austen's experience with Susan (the manuscript that became Northanger Abbey ) where she sold the copyright to
4982-464: The best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers, or who have rendered special service to the RSL. Paid membership is open to all and offers a variety of benefits. The society publishes an annual magazine, The Royal Society of Literature Review , and administers
5088-416: The bounds of her immediate family environment". Her education came from reading, guided by her father and brothers James and Henry. Irene Collins said that Austen "used some of the same school books as the boys". Austen apparently had unfettered access both to her father's library and that of a family friend, Warren Hastings . Together these collections amounted to a large and varied library. Her father
5194-575: The completion of First Impressions , Austen returned to Elinor and Marianne and from November 1797 until mid-1798, revised it heavily; she eliminated the epistolary format in favour of third-person narration and produced something close to Sense and Sensibility . In 1797, Austen met her cousin (and future sister-in-law), Eliza de Feuillide , a French aristocrat whose first husband the Comte de Feuillide had been guillotined, causing her to flee to Britain, where she married Henry Austen. The description of
5300-533: The copyright back at that time, but was able to purchase it in 1816. Around early 1809, Austen's brother Edward offered his mother and sisters a more settled life—the use of a large cottage in Chawton village which was part of the estate around Edward's nearby property Chawton House . Jane, Cassandra and their mother moved into Chawton cottage on 7 July 1809. Life was quieter in Chawton than it had been since
5406-507: The evenings. Socialising with the neighbours often meant dancing, either impromptu in someone's home after supper or at the balls held regularly at the assembly rooms in the town hall. Her brother Henry later said that "Jane was fond of dancing, and excelled in it". In 1783 Austen and her sister Cassandra were sent to Oxford to be educated by Ann Cawley who took them to Southampton later that year. That autumn both girls were sent home after catching typhus , of which Jane nearly died. She
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#17327806173335512-475: The execution of the Comte de Feuillide related by his widow left Austen with an intense horror of the French Revolution that lasted for the rest of her life. During the middle of 1798, after finishing revisions of Elinor and Marianne , Austen began writing a third novel with the working title Susan —later Northanger Abbey —a satire on the popular Gothic novel . Austen completed her work about
5618-416: The family's move to Bath in 1800. The Austens did not socialise with gentry and entertained only when family visited. Her niece Anna described the family's life in Chawton as "a very quiet life, according to our ideas, but they were great readers, and besides the housekeeping our aunts occupied themselves in working with the poor and in teaching some girl or boy to read or write." Like many women authors at
5724-472: The globe to literature in English) and Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards. In 2021, the RSL launched "Literature Matters: Reading Together", a project aiming to make recreational reading accessible to young people across the UK. The society maintains its current level of about 600 Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature : generally 14 new fellows are elected annually, who are accorded the privilege of using
5830-549: The heart of the RSL is its Fellowship, "which encompasses the most distinguished writers working today", with the RSL Council responsible for its direction and management, being drawn from the Fellowship. As an independent charity, the RSL receives no regular public or government funding, relying on the support of its Members, Patrons, Fellows and friends to continue its work. The RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among
5936-575: The ideas of those with whom members of the Austen family might disagree politically or socially were considered and discussed. The family relied on the patronage of their kin and hosted visits from numerous family members. Mrs Austen spent the summer of 1770 in London with George's sister, Philadelphia, and her daughter Eliza , accompanied by his other sister, Mrs. Walter and her daughter Philly. Philadelphia and Eliza Hancock were, according to Le Faye, "the bright comets flashing into an otherwise placid solar system of clerical life in rural Hampshire , and
6042-658: The juvenilia (or childhood writings) that Austen compiled fair copies consisted of twenty-nine early works into three bound notebooks, now referred to as the Juvenilia . She called the three notebooks "Volume the First", "Volume the Second" and "Volume the Third", and they preserve 90,000 words she wrote during those years. The Juvenilia are often, according to scholar Richard Jenkyns, "boisterous" and "anarchic"; he compares them to
6148-462: The ministry, leave Steventon, and move the family to 4, Sydney Place in Bath , Somerset. While retirement and travel were good for the elder Austens, Jane Austen was shocked to be told she was moving 50 miles (80 km) away from the only home she had ever known. An indication of her state of mind is her lack of productivity as a writer during the time she lived in Bath. She was able to make some revisions to Susan , and she began and then abandoned
6254-435: The model for the title character may have been Eliza de Feuillide , who inspired Austen with stories of her glamorous life and various adventures. Eliza's French husband was guillotined in 1794; she married Jane's brother Henry Austen in 1797. When Austen was twenty, Tom Lefroy , a neighbour, visited Steventon from December 1795 to January 1796. He had just finished a university degree and was moving to London for training as
6360-580: The name denotes an Honorary Fellow. The list is online at the RSL website. The RSL International Writers programme is a new life-long honour and award recognizing the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English, and the power of literature to transcend borders in bringing people together, the inaugural list of recipients being announced in 2021. Jane Austen Jane Austen ( / ˈ ɒ s t ɪ n , ˈ ɔː s t ɪ n / OST -in, AW -stin ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817)
6466-579: The news of their foreign travels and fashionable London life, together with their sudden descents upon the Steventon household in between times, all helped to widen Jane's youthful horizon and influence her later life and works." Cassandra Austen's cousin Thomas Leigh visited a number of times in the 1770s and 1780s, inviting young Cassie to visit them in Bath in 1781. The first mention of Jane occurs in family documents upon her return, "... and almost home they were when they met Jane & Charles,
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#17327806173336572-409: The next four years, the family's living arrangements reflected their financial insecurity. They spent part of the time in rented quarters in Bath before leaving the city in June 1805 for a family visit to Steventon and Godmersham . They moved for the autumn months to the newly fashionable seaside resort of Worthing , on the Sussex coast , where they resided at Stanford Cottage. It was here that Austen
6678-473: The novel Austen mocked hypochondriacs , and although she describes the heroine as "bilious", five days after abandoning the novel she wrote of herself that she was turning "every wrong colour" and living "chiefly on the sofa". She put down her pen on 18 March 1817, making a note of it. Austen made light of her condition, describing it as "bile" and rheumatism . As her illness progressed, she experienced difficulty walking and lacked energy; by mid-April she
6784-551: The novel as "a study in the harsh economic realities of dependent women's lives". Honan suggests, and Tomalin agrees, that Austen chose to stop work on the novel after her father died on 21 January 1805 and her personal circumstances resembled those of her characters too closely for her comfort. Her father's relatively sudden death left Jane, Cassandra, and their mother in a precarious financial situation. Edward, James, Henry, and Francis Austen (known as Frank) pledged to make annual contributions to support their mother and sisters. For
6890-549: The novel-reading public and the large costs associated with hand production (particularly the cost of handmade paper) meant that most novels were published in editions of 500 copies or fewer to reduce the risks to the publisher and the novelist. Even some of the most successful titles during this period were issued in editions of not more than 750 or 800 copies and later reprinted if demand continued. Austen's novels were published in larger editions, ranging from about 750 copies of Sense and Sensibility to about 2,000 copies of Emma . It
6996-591: The novella's heroine as a sexual predator who uses her intelligence and charm to manipulate, betray and abuse her lovers, friends and family. Tomalin writes: Told in letters, it is as neatly plotted as a play, and as cynical in tone as any of the most outrageous of the Restoration dramatists who may have provided some of her inspiration ... It stands alone in Austen's work as a study of an adult woman whose intelligence and force of character are greater than those of anyone she encounters. According to Janet Todd,
7102-405: The one hand, and between Henry and Jane on the other." From 1773 until 1796, George Austen supplemented his income by farming and by teaching three or four boys at a time, who boarded at his home. The Reverend Austen had an annual income of £200 (equivalent to £32,000 in 2023) from his two livings. This was a very modest income at the time; by comparison, a skilled worker like a blacksmith or
7208-553: The post-nominal letters FRSL . New fellows of the Royal Society of Literature are elected by its current fellows. To be nominated for fellowship, a writer must have published two works of literary merit, and nominations must be seconded by an RSL fellow. All nominations are presented to members of the Council of the Royal Society of Literature, who vote biannually to elect new fellows. Nominated candidates who have not been successful are reconsidered at every election for three years from
7314-639: The post-nominal letters FRSL. Past and present fellows include Samuel Taylor Coleridge , J. R. R. Tolkien , W. B. Yeats , Rudyard Kipling , Thomas Hardy , George Bernard Shaw , Arthur Koestler , Chinua Achebe , Ruth Prawer Jhabvala , Robert Ardrey , Sybille Bedford , Muriel Spark , P. J. Kavanagh , Hilary Mantel , and Sir Roger Scruton . Present Fellows include Margaret Atwood , Bernardine Evaristo , David Hare , Kazuo Ishiguro , Andrew Motion , Paul Muldoon , Zadie Smith , Nadeem Aslam , Sarah Waters , Geoffrey Ashe , J. K. Rowling , and Nick Cave . A newly created fellow inscribes his or her name on
7420-502: The price at 18 shillings (equivalent to £74 in 2023). He advertised the book widely and it was an immediate success, garnering three favourable reviews and selling well. Had Austen sold Pride and Prejudice on commission, she would have made a profit of £475, or twice her father's annual income. By October 1813, Egerton was able to begin selling a second edition. Mansfield Park was published by Egerton in May 1814. While Mansfield Park
7526-713: The prologues and epilogues and she probably joined in these activities, first as a spectator and later as a participant. Most of the plays were comedies, which suggests how Austen's satirical gifts were cultivated. At the age of 12, she tried her own hand at dramatic writing; she wrote three short plays during her teenage years. From at least the time she was aged eleven, Austen wrote poems and stories to amuse herself and her family. She exaggerated mundane details of daily life and parodied common plot devices in "stories [] full of anarchic fantasies of female power, licence, illicit behaviour, and general high spirits", according to Janet Todd . Containing work written between 1787 and 1793,
7632-525: The publication of Emma , Henry Austen repurchased the copyright for Susan from Crosby. Austen was forced to postpone publishing either of these completed novels by family financial troubles. Henry Austen's bank failed in March 1816, depriving him of all of his assets, leaving him deeply in debt and costing Edward, James, and Frank Austen large sums. Henry and Frank could no longer afford the contributions they had made to support their mother and sisters. Austen
7738-402: The publisher Thomas Egerton agreed to publish Sense and Sensibility , which, like all of Austen's novels except Pride and Prejudice , was published "on commission", that is, at the author's financial risk. When publishing on commission, publishers would advance the costs of publication, repay themselves as books were sold and then charge a 10% commission for each book sold, paying the rest to
7844-608: The publisher Crosby & Sons for £10, who did not publish the book, forcing her to buy back the copyright in order to get her work published, left Austen leery of this method of publishing. The final alternative, of selling by subscription, where a group of people would agree to buy a book in advance, was not an option for Austen as only authors who were well known or had an influential aristocratic patron who would recommend an up-coming book to their friends, could sell by subscription. Sense and Sensibility appeared in October 1811, and
7950-408: The publishing house Portobello Books , and that autumn Rausing acquired Granta , a literary journal, and its book publishing arm. She is now the publisher of both Granta magazine and Granta Books, including its imprint Portobello Books. In the 164th issue of Granta magazine, for which she had served as editor since 2013, she announced that Thomas Meaney would take over editorship beginning with
8056-676: The remnants of the Estonian Swedish community , was published by Grove Atlantic in the US, and by Albert Bonniers Förlag in Sweden, in spring 2014. It was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature 's Ondaatje Prize . Rausing is also the author of Mayhem: A Memoir (2017), which shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize in 2018. In spring 2005, with her husband Eric Abraham and publisher Philip Gwyn-Jones, she founded
8162-428: The society's official roll using either Byron's pen, T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen , which replaced Dickens 's quill in 2013, or (as of 2018) George Eliot 's pen, with pens belonging to Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy being additional choices from 2020. From time to time, the RSL confers the honour and title of Companion of Literature to writers of particular note. Additionally, the RSL can bestow its award of
8268-557: The statements about Lefroy may have been ironic. However, it is clear that Austen was genuinely attracted to Lefroy and subsequently none of her other suitors ever quite measured up to him. The Lefroy family intervened and sent him away at the end of January. Marriage was impractical as both Lefroy and Austen must have known. Neither had any money, and he was dependent on a great-uncle in Ireland to finance his education and establish his legal career. If Tom Lefroy later visited Hampshire, he
8374-518: The success of Sense and Sensibility , all of Austen's subsequent books were billed as written "By the author of Sense and Sensibility " and Austen's name never appeared on her books during her lifetime. Egerton then published Pride and Prejudice , a revision of First Impressions , in January 1813. Austen sold the copyright to Pride and Prejudice to Egerton for £110 (equivalent to £9,100 in 2023). To maximise profits, he used cheap paper and set
8480-415: The time for lush romantic fantasies, it was remarkable that her novels with the emphasis on everyday English life had any sort of a market in France. King cautioned that Austen's chief translator in France, Madame Isabelle de Montolieu , had only the most rudimentary knowledge of English, and her translations were more of "imitations" than translations proper, as Montolieu depended upon assistants to provide
8586-409: The time, Austen published her books anonymously. At the time, the ideal roles for a woman were as wife and mother, and writing for women was regarded at best as a secondary form of activity; a woman who wished to be a full-time writer was felt to be degrading her femininity, so books by women were usually published anonymously in order to maintain the conceit that the female writer was only publishing as
8692-542: The transition to 19th-century literary realism . Her use of social commentary , realism, wit , and irony have earned her acclaim amongst critics and scholars. The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816) were modest successes, but they brought her little fame in her lifetime. She wrote two other novels— Northanger Abbey and Persuasion , both published posthumously in 1817—and began another, eventually titled Sanditon , but it
8798-409: The two little ones of the family, who had to go as far as New Down to meet the chaise , & have the pleasure of riding home in it." Le Faye writes that "Mr Austen's predictions for his younger daughter were fully justified. Never were sisters more to each other than Cassandra and Jane; while in a particularly affectionate family, there seems to have been a special link between Cassandra and Edward on
8904-468: The work aloud to her family as she was working on it and it became an "established favourite". At this time, her father made the first attempt to publish one of her novels. In November 1797, George Austen wrote to Thomas Cadell , an established publisher in London, to ask if he would consider publishing First Impressions . Cadell returned Mr. Austen's letter, marking it "Declined by Return of Post". Austen may not have known of her father's efforts. Following
9010-692: The work of 18th-century novelist Laurence Sterne . Among these works is a satirical novel in letters titled Love and Freindship [ sic ], written when aged fourteen in 1790, in which she mocked popular novels of sensibility . The next year, she wrote The History of England , a manuscript of thirty-four pages accompanied by thirteen watercolour miniatures by her sister, Cassandra. Austen's History parodied popular historical writing, particularly Oliver Goldsmith 's History of England (1764). Honan speculates that not long after writing Love and Freindship , Austen decided to "write for profit, to make stories her central effort", that is, to become
9116-532: The year in which they were proposed. Newly elected fellows are introduced at the Society's AGM and summer party. While the President reads a citation for each, they are invited to sign their names in the roll book which dates back to 1820, using either T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen or Byron 's pen. In 2013, Charles Dickens ' quill was retired and replaced with Eliot's fountain pen, and in 2018 George Eliot 's pen
9222-677: Was a "very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man". Five days later in another letter, Austen wrote that she expected an "offer" from her "friend" and that "I shall refuse him, however, unless he promises to give away his white coat", going on to write "I will confide myself in the future to Mr Tom Lefroy, for whom I don't give a sixpence" and refuse all others. The next day, Austen wrote: "The day will come on which I flirt my last with Tom Lefroy and when you receive this it will be all over. My tears flow as I write at this melancholy idea". Halperin cautioned that Austen often satirised popular sentimental romantic fiction in her letters, and some of
9328-452: Was a judge of the Index on Censorship Media Awards. Rausing is a supporter of Hope Not Hate , a UK advocacy group that campaigns against racism and fascism. On 1 December 2018, the Sigrid Rausing Trust began a grant of £450,000 over three years to Hope Not Hate. By that point, Hope Not Hate had received £615,000 from the Sigrid Rausing Trust. In 2024, Rausing was appointed vice-president of
9434-449: Was also at home. Bigg-Wither proposed and Austen accepted. As described by Caroline Austen, Jane's niece, and Reginald Bigg-Wither, a descendant, Harris was not attractive—he was a large, plain-looking man who spoke little, stuttered when he did speak, was aggressive in conversation, and almost completely tactless. However, Austen had known him since both were young and the marriage offered many practical advantages to Austen and her family. He
9540-458: Was also tolerant of Austen's sometimes risqué experiments in writing, and provided both sisters with expensive paper and other materials for their writing and drawing. Private theatricals were an essential part of Austen's education. From her early childhood, the family and friends staged a series of plays in the rectory barn, including Richard Sheridan 's The Rivals (1775) and David Garrick 's Bon Ton . Austen's eldest brother James wrote
9646-431: Was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels , which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are implicit critiques of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of
9752-510: Was baptised at the local church and christened Jane. Her father, George Austen (1731–1805), served as the rector of the Anglican parishes of Steventon and Deane . The Reverend Austen came from an old and wealthy family of wool merchants. As each generation of eldest sons received inheritances, George's branch of the family fell into poverty. He and his two sisters were orphaned as children and had to be taken in by relatives. In 1745, at
9858-411: Was carefully kept away from the Austens, and Jane Austen never saw him again. In November 1798, Lefroy was still on Austen's mind as she wrote to her sister she had tea with one of his relatives, wanted desperately to ask about him, but could not bring herself to raise the subject. After finishing Lady Susan , Austen began her first full-length novel Elinor and Marianne . Her sister remembered that it
9964-542: Was confined to bed. In May, Cassandra and Henry brought her to Winchester for treatment, by which time she suffered agonising pain and welcomed death. Austen died in Winchester on 18 July 1817 at the age of 41. Henry, through his clerical connections, arranged for his sister to be buried in the north aisle of the nave of Winchester Cathedral . The epitaph composed by her brother James praises Austen's personal qualities, expresses hope for her salvation, and mentions
10070-407: Was described as being written "By a Lady". As it was sold on commission, Egerton used expensive paper and set the price at 15 shillings (equivalent to £69 in 2023). Reviews were favourable and the novel became fashionable among young aristocratic opinion-makers; the edition sold out by mid-1813. Austen's novels were published in larger editions than was normal for this period. The small size of
10176-521: Was elected an Honorary Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford . In January 2016, Rausing was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs . Her favourite music choice was Chopin ’s " Études Op. 10, No. 1 in C major ". Other choices were: " Hallelujah " by k.d. lang , " The Vatican Rag " by Tom Lehrer , " Bird on the Wire " by Leonard Cohen , "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant , "The Last Goodbye" by The Kills , " I Get
10282-514: Was feeling unwell by early 1816, but ignored the warning signs. By the middle of that year, her decline was unmistakable, and she began a slow, irregular deterioration. The majority of biographers rely on Zachary Cope 's 1964 retrospective diagnosis and list her cause of death as Addison's disease , although her final illness has also been described as resulting from Hodgkin's lymphoma . When her uncle died and left his entire fortune to his wife, effectively disinheriting his relatives, she suffered
10388-503: Was from then home-educated, until she attended boarding school with her sister from early in 1785 at the Reading Abbey Girls' School , ruled by Mrs La Tournelle. The curriculum probably included French, spelling, needlework, dancing, music and drama. The sisters returned home before December 1786 because the school fees for the two girls were too high for the Austen family. After 1786 Austen "never again lived anywhere beyond
10494-701: Was hardly a conducive environment for writing a long novel. Austen sold the rights to publish Susan to a publisher Crosby & Company, who paid her £10 (equivalent to £1,020 in 2023). The Crosby & Company advertised Susan , but never published it. The years from 1801 to 1804 are something of a blank space for Austen scholars as Cassandra destroyed all of her letters from her sister in this period for unknown reasons. In December 1802, Austen received her only known proposal of marriage. She and her sister visited Alethea and Catherine Bigg, old friends who lived near Basingstoke . Their younger brother, Harris Bigg-Wither, had recently finished his education at Oxford and
10600-421: Was ignored by reviewers, it was very popular with readers. All copies were sold within six months, and Austen's earnings on this novel were larger than for any of her other novels. Without Austen's knowledge or approval, her novels were translated into French and published in cheaply produced, pirated editions in France. The literary critic Noel King commented in 1953 that, given the prevailing rage in France at
10706-504: Was left unfinished upon her death. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, the short epistolary novel Lady Susan , and the unfinished novel The Watsons . Since her death Austen's novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her reputation occurred in 1833, when they were republished in Richard Bentley 's Standard Novels series (illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering and sold as
10812-404: Was offered as a choice, the first time in the RSL's history that a pen that belonged to a woman writer was an option. In 2018, the RSL honoured the achievements of Britain's younger writers through the initiative "40 Under 40", which saw the election of 40 new fellows aged under 40. In 2020, pens belonging to Andrea Levy and Jean Rhys were added to the choices offered to fellows for signing
10918-511: Was read to the family "before 1796" and was told through a series of letters. Without surviving original manuscripts, there is no way to know how much of the original draft survived in the novel published anonymously in 1811 as Sense and Sensibility . Austen began a second novel, First Impressions (later published as Pride and Prejudice ), in 1796. She completed the initial draft in August 1797, aged 21; as with all of her novels, Austen read
11024-464: Was the first child to be born there, in 1771. At about this time, Cassandra could no longer ignore the signs that little George was developmentally disabled . He had seizures and may have been deaf and mute. At this time she chose to send him to be fostered. In 1773, Cassandra was born, followed by Francis in 1774, and Jane in 1775. According to the biographer Park Honan the Austen home had an "open, amused, easy intellectual atmosphere", in which
11130-494: Was the heir to extensive family estates located in the area where the sisters had grown up. With these resources, Austen could provide her parents a comfortable old age, give Cassandra a permanent home and, perhaps, assist her brothers in their careers. By the next morning, Austen realised she had made a mistake and withdrew her acceptance. No contemporary letters or diaries describe how Austen felt about this proposal. Irvine described Bigg-Wither as somebody who "...seems to have been
11236-803: Was the joint winner of the International Service Human Rights Award, in the Global Human Rights Defender category. In 2005, she won a Beacon Special Award for philanthropy. In 2006, she was awarded the Women's Funding Network's "Changing the Face of Philanthropy" Award. Rausing is a judge on the jury of the Per Anger Prize for human rights defenders, and an emeritus board member of the Order of
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