Jane Austen is one of the UK’s most celebrated authors. Born in 1775, today (December 16th) marks what would have been the iconic writer’s 250th birthday. Despite two and a half centuries passing since her birth, her books are still read and held in high regard to this day.
Austen penned six novels before her passing at the age of 41 in 1817, and she was known for using her novels to explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of better social standing and economic security. Her works are often considered to be critiques of the popular novels of the 18th century, and her use of realism, wit, and social commentary has earned her acclaim amongst critics and scholars over the past 250 years.
Almost all of us will have read at least one Jane Austen book during our school days, as novels like Pride and Prejudice and Emma have rotated in and out of the English curriculum several times over the centuries.
But there’s one thing about the famed author that many of us don’t know – as you would have had to have been alive during her lifetime to have seen the odd detail in action, which nobody alive today was.
It turns out that Austen did not publish her books under her own name and instead used a pseudonym to maintain anonymity when publishing her work.
Austen’s first novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published in 1811 and was credited as being written « By a Lady ». Her subsequent novels, including 1813’s Pride and Prejudice, were credited as « By the author of Sense and Sensibility ».
The four novels published within her lifetime, also including Mansfield Park in 1814 and Emma in 1816, were moderate successes, but she managed to maintain anonymity and was not the subject of public fame.
It is believed she was known to be the author of the novels by certain people, including the Prince Regent at the time. But her true identity wasn’t made public knowledge until after her death, when her brother revealed she was the author of her two posthumously released novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
The topic was previously discussed on Reddit after someone asked when Austen’s name was attached to her work. Many commenters were unsure, with some having no idea she ever published her work anonymously, but some asserted that she was properly credited after her death.
One person said: « If memory serves, she was named as the author with the posthumous publication of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey in December 1817 (ish). »
Another added: « This is correct. I have editions of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey that include the foreword by her brother. »
Someone else also confirmed the same information in another Reddit post revealing Austen’s anonymity.
They said: « Her identity was not revealed until after her death. For a hilariously overdone mini-biography written by her brother, check out the preface of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which were published together posthumously. »
Austen’s novels have rarely been out of print since her death, especially after they were republished in Richard Bentley’s Standard Novels series in 1833. This helped her gain wide acclaim and popular readership, and she’s been considered one of the greatest writers of all time ever since.
Her works have also been adapted into numerous films and other pieces of media, and since 2017, her face has also been on the Bank of England’s £10 note.
Happy birthday, Jane Austen!
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