2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, and we just had to mark the occasion here at LoveReading. Born on 16th December 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, 2025 is a significant milestone to celebrate her life and literary legacy. As well as tons of events, exhibitions, and celebrations dedicated to her timeless works like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma, there are some notable books coming to a bookshelf near you, to honour her enduring legacy.
Few novelists have conveyed the subtleties and nuances of their own social milieu with the wit and insight of Jane Austen. Through her vivacious and spirited heroines and their circle, she paints vivid portraits of English middle-class life as the eighteenth century came to a close. And I for one was hooked as soon as I read Pride and Prejudice in my teens. Obsessed with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, one of the most iconic characters in English literature - aloof, complex, misunderstood at first, and ultimately beloved. I raced through all of Austen's books.
Jane Austen's Books In Order
Six major novels were written by Jane Austen and published, all known for their wit, social commentary, and strong female characters. Here's a list of her novels in order of publication:
Sense and Sensibility. Published: 1811
Two sisters of opposing temperament but who share the pangs of tragic love provide the subjects for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Elinor, practical and conventional, the epitome of sense, desires a man who is promised to another woman. Marianne, emotional and sentimental, the epitome of sensibility, loses her heart to a scoundrel who jilts her. A powerful drama of family life and growing up, Sense and Sensibility is at once a subtle comedy of manners and a striking critique of early nineteenth-century society.
Pride and Prejudice. Published: 1813
One of previous LoveReading Guest Editor P.D. James' favourite books:
"When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life."
Mansfield Park. Published: 1814
Mansfield Park is considered Jane Austen's first mature work and, with its quiet heroine and subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, one of her most profound.
Emma. Published: 1815
While Pride and Prejudice may sit at the top of many people’s favourite Jane Austen books, Emma has to be a contender for the title too. Our Liz Robinson comments: "For me Emma has a little more bite, it isn’t quite as comfortable a read as Pride and Prejudice, and that makes it more interesting. In terms of lead characters Emma is right up there, she may be headstrong, snobbish, convinced she knows best, yet because of those characteristics, because she isn't perfect, she also feels so very real. Emma is a bright, beautifully written novel with real heart and I love it."
Northanger Abbey. Posthumously published: 1817 (officially in 1818)
Full to the brim with ready wit and arch social commentary, this amusing and intelligent book is as relevant today as it was when published nearly 200 years ago. If you haven't previously read any of Austen’s works, this is the perfect place to start, it’s one of her lesser known but more stimulating and provocative novels. Quite literally a book of two halves, we have a story of a young woman learning the difference between reality and fantasy and then a consummate commentary from the author on the literary world at the time.
As well as the engaging story, you also discover an author who appears to be somewhat on the warpath. She actually talks to you from the page, her views are so clear, you could be having a face-to-face discussion with her.
Persuasion. Posthumously published: 1817 (officially in 1818)
Previous LoveReading Guest Editor Daisy Goodwin comments on Persuasion, one of her favourite books ever...
"I love Jane Austen with a deep and enduring passion, and I think the story of Anne Elliott’s second chance is possibly my favourite. The way that she revives as a character like a flower soaking up water is quite miraculous. It is also has a plot of clockwork perfection. I read this book at least once a year and I always find something new to marvel at."
Sanditon was left unfinished at her death in 1817 but was later completed by other authors and has been adapted into a TV series.
2025 Books Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen
A Jane Austen Year: Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen
Awarded a LoveReading Star Book, this is a beautifully curated book celebrating the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with specially picked highlights sitting across the calendar year. Authored by Jane Austen's House, this beautifully illustrated book offers a seasonal journey through Austen's life, works, and legacy. It features extracts from her letters, stories behind her novels, and insights into the objects she cherished. It would make an absolutely gorgeous gift and one that would be truly treasured. Richly informative and colourful, A Jane Austen Year is quite simply, a slice of literary heaven.
Jane Austen at Home: 250th Birthday Edition
Where better to celebrate the 250th anniversary of one of Britain's most beloved novelists than the very rooms from which she quietly changed the world? In this bestselling biography, Lucy Worsley travels from room to room, house to house, showing us how and why Jane Austen lived as she did, examining the places and spaces that mattered to her. It wasn't all country houses and ballrooms, but a life that was often a painful struggle. Jane famously lived a 'life without incident', but with new research and insights Lucy Worsley reveals a passionate woman who fought for her freedom. A woman who far from being a lonely spinster in fact had at least five marriage prospects, but who in the end refused to settle for anything less than Mr Darcy.
Featuring a guided tour of all the best Jane Austen sites to visit specially written for this birthday edition, this gorgeous book is perfect for Austen fans everywhere.
Gill Hornby is the author of the novels The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. Her subsequent novels, Miss Austen and Godmersham Park, were Sunday Times bestsellers, and Miss Austen will be a four-part BBC adaptation starring Keeley Hawes as Cassandra Austen.
Hornby's forthcoming novel The Elopement continues her exploration of the Austen family, focusing on a significant event in 1820 involving Jane Austen's niece, Fanny Knight.
Jane Austen in 41 Objects by Kathryn Sutherland
Kathryn Sutherland offers a unique biography that examines Austen's life through 41 objects she encountered, providing intimate insights into the author's world.
More than 200 years after Jane Austen's death at the age of just forty-one, we are still looking for clues about this extraordinary writer's life. What might we learn if we take a glimpse inside the biographies of objects that crossed her path in life and afterwards - things that she cherished or cast aside, or that furnished the world in which she moved, or that have themselves been inspired by her legacy?
The Jane Austen Insult Guide for Well-Bred Women
A celebration of the sharpest, wittiest, most beloved Jane Austen characters and their timeless retorts Why use plain words to scold those nearest to you when fancier insults are available? With The Jane Austen Insult Guide for Well-Bred Women, you can clap back at irritating strangers, tiresome guests, bad dates and micromanaging bosses with top-notch snipes from the ultimate literary genius.
The novels of Jane Austen are full of great feasting, from picnicking on Box Hill and strawberry picking at Donwell Abbey in Emma, to supper at the Netherfield Ball and Mrs. Bennet's sumptuous family dinners in Pride and Prejudice. The Jane Austen Recipe Book takes inspiration from the celebrated author's works and serves up over 70 of these delicious Regency era delights for you to recreate at home.
Jane Austen Box Sets
Jane Austen: The Complete Works: Classics Hardcover Boxed Set (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
A box set doesn’t get much better than the swoonworthy Penguin Clothbound Classics. Featuring Austen’s complete works, this is an absolutely stunning set including Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Love and Friendship. Simply divine.
The seven books in this box set contain some of the most brilliant, dazzling prose in the English language.
Books Inspired by Jane Austen
Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull
This cosy crime marks the arrival of a new literary sleuth and a delicious treat for fans of Austen's novels. Lavish balls, fetching bonnets, and dead bodies . . . It's time for Jane Austen to put down her pen - and find a killer…
Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter
This is a funny, romantic, feel-good novel to just sit down and wallow in. Since having read Pride and Prejudice at the age of twelve Emily has been in love with Mr Darcy. Dating men in New York she finds that no-one comes quite up to the standards set in place by Jane Austen, no one even comes close. When the offer of a drunken girlie holiday in Mexico is made to her, Emily decides it’s time to change tactics and decides to head for England and find her Mr Darcy.
The Austen Project Series
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
In Val's trademark style of great storytelling and suspense meet modern day Cat whose world is turned upside down and her innocence lost as she is taken from rural Dorset to experience the bright lights of Edinburgh and the festival. Seamless prose complementing dialogue that's speckled with wit, it is clear that Val McDermid clearly relished the writing of this contemporary and page-turning take on Northanger Abbey.
The titles in the Austen Project series are:
Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
Emma by Alexander McCall Smith
Children’s Books about Jane Austen
123 Tea Party: Jane Austen's 250th Anniversary Edition
Illustrated by Ailie Busby, this charming board book invites young readers to join Fox as he prepares a magnificent tea party, introducing them to counting in a delightful setting inspired by Austen's love of gardens.
These publications, along with various events and exhibitions, underscore the enduring influence of Jane Austen's work and the continued fascination with her life and legacy.
Comments (1)
DonaldKIgIK D - 10th April 2025
This comment is currently awaiting moderation.
Leave A Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.