Most of you will be wondering who is Jane Austen ? Jane Austen of the 18th century was a top-notch English novelist. In her days the writer penned some of the best stories which are still held in high regard.
Jane Austen's book always had a take on the challenges and issues faced by the people, especially women in England.With a change in the century, her work started to show change as well, however, it was more of a positive change as the society moved towards the age of realism.
Jane Austen wrote no less than 6 hit novels and many other short stories in her lifetime and it is after her death , Jane Austen's novel started getting more love and appreciation.
Jane Austen's work has gone on to receive so much recognition that most of her work has been made into movies and the books are still being published to date.
With all facts pointing at the fandom of the writer and her books, it is only fair that we crafted a list of all the best Jane Austen books to share with our audiences. Hence, with this list, we look at no less than 15 top books that Jane wrote during her lifetime.
These books not only help us understand the late 18th century and early 19th century but also talk of historical England and various other things that the readers must know. Also, don't forget that these books are well written too.
This article is completely dedicated to some of the best of Jane Austen work .
Jane Austen's Best Books (2022)
1. Pride And Prejudice
Considered to be Jane Austen's famous novel, the book enjoys a prominent following to date.
This English language novel written back in 1813 is a romantic novel and belongs to the classic regency period.
The book is 328 pages long but once you begin reading the book it feels too small.
The book is priced at less than 200 rupees and is available in ebook and audio format.
The book follows the story of two people who are thrown in front of each other time and again.
Elizabeth and Darcy we're never meant to fall for each other but a series of events takes them on a journey where the inevitable ends up happening and now it becomes a question of if or not the pride of a person leads them to be prejudiced against someone else.
Video Review
2. Persuasion
Persuasion is Jane Austen's posthumously published novel .
Available for less than 200 rupees the novel is purchasable in physical, digital, and audio formats.
The book is 256 pages long and is penned in the English language. The book was published in 1817 six months after the death of Jane Austen.
The novel is a romance/young adult fiction genre novel.
The novel is about a young girl named Anne Elliot who goes from breaking off her engagement to still being in love with the same person for years.
Now that the time has passed and the fortunes of her husband have changed will they reconcile or does Anne face a heartbreak?
This is Jane's last completed novel before her death and it has been since translated into a lot of other languages and has also gotten a lot of adaptations in various fields. The novel continues to be popular amongst book readers today.
Video Review
3. Emma
For a price of fewer than 250 rupees, the novel is available in ebook, audio, and physical formats.
The 392-page long novel was written in three volumes which totalled 1,036 pages and was written in the English language and was published in 1815.
The novel belongs to the novel of manners genre wherein the society dictates the flow of the story and the fictional world recreates a setup based on real life.
The story focuses on the character Emma Woodhouse, a girl blinded by pride who believes a little too much in her pair-making abilities
And this leads to a lot of heartbreaks throughout the novel.
The novel has been adapted into various entertainment formats like film, plays, etc. and this also happens to be the last Jane Austen novel published during her lifetime.
Video Review
4. Mansfield Park
Published in the English language in 1814 this is the third novel by Jane Austen that was published.
The novel is 544 pages long and falls under multiple genres which are romance, historical fiction, children's literature, and bildungsroman.
For under 300 rupees the book is available in digital, audio, and physical formats.
The story is about a poor girl who is sent to live at her rich uncle's place.
Here the girl falls for her cousin and her journey from childhood to adulthood mixed with other issues paves way for a story packed with mature and complex elements.
The book has received a lot of strong ratings and reviews from the readers and continues to enjoy its popularity even to date.
Video Review
5. Northanger Abbey
The novel claims to be a satire of Gothic novels and a coming of age story; this novel was published all the way back in 1817.
The English language novel is only 248 pages long and for a cheap price of 150 rupees and less the book can be purchased in physical, digital, or audio formats.
The book has received thumbs up from readers in the past and still enjoys a huge fan following.
The focus of the book is on a young Catherine Morland who is into reading Gothic novels.
Soon she finds herself in the company of Henry Tilney which leads her to speculate that every moment will be filled with twists and turns from here on.
However, reality offers something very different and complicated, and this is what forms the premise of one of Jane's top-class novels.
Video Review
6. Sense and Sensibility
This romance novel was published in 1811 and was penned in the English language. It is the first novel written by Jane Austen.
The novel was only 304 pages long and is available for purchase in multiple formats including an audio version for just under 150 rupees.
The ratings and reviews received by the book are very positive and This novel is Jane Austen's first novel which was ever published.
The book follows the life of two sisters who are of totally different natures.
Both set out to find love and their paths to it are via reasoning and emotions, however, with a lot of twists, turns,
And secrets along the way both the sisters learn that one element is not enough to find true love and that both elements in a balanced manner contribute to attaining true love.
Video Review
7. Lady Susan
This one is an epistolary novel by Jane Austen that might have been written at the end of the 18th century but wasn't published until 1871.
The book is 208 pages in length and is available in the English language for under 350 rupees in audio format along with digital and paperback formats.
The story is about a widowed lady, lady Susan, who is regarded as England's most flirtatious woman.
The widow plans to visit her brother-in-law and once she is there what follows is jealousy, affairs, issues, and a lot of chaos.
In this fictional romance novel, a lot of back and forth happens when lady Susan unknowingly creates some very dangerous webs which start to get tangled one by one.
Video Review
8. The Watsons
Priced all the way up to rupees 2,000 the book is available in audio format as well as digital and physical.
This English language novel was originally left unfinished and is only 80 pages long.
The novel was published in 1871 and is a fictional novel that has to date gotten a lot of adaptations, completed versions, and additions from various people.
The unfinished novel spoke of a girl Emma who had 3 sisters and 2 brothers.
Emma was lucky to get educated as she lived with her rich aunt, however, post the second marriage of her aunt she is forced to return home where a chaotic life waits for her.
The novel manages to introduce quite a few characters before it ends abruptly and from there a lot of people have tried to take it ahead in their version.
Video Review
9. Juvenilia - Volume 1
Written in English this 142 pages long book is a compilation of multiple stories written by Jane Austen between 1787 and 1793 which have been divided into 3 volumes.
The book has a collection of short fictional humorous and romantic stories and for less than 100 rupees an ebook format of the book is available with no physical or audio option available.
The first volume of juvenilia contains the following stories Frederic & Elfrida, Jack & Alice, Edgar & Emma, Henry and Eliza,
The Adventures of Mr.Harley, Sir William Mountague, Memoirs of Mr. Clifford, The Beautifull Cassandra, Amelia Webster,
The Visit, The Mystery, The Three Sisters, and Detached Pieces (A Fragment, A beautiful description, The generous Curate, Ode to Pity).
Video Review
10. Love and Friendship
From 900 rupees to a little over 1,500 rupees the book can be purchased in physical, digital, and audio formats.
The 44-page long book is available in English and was published in 1790.
The story is a parody of romantic novels that young Jane read and is written in an epistolary format like her novel Lady Susan.
This story was written by Jane when she was around 14 years old and it was intended to be for recreational purposes for herself and her family.
The book has the same writing style and maturity that Jane's later books have
And that shows the skill of the acclaimed writer who had shown promising signs from a very early stage in her life. The story is written letter by letter which is 15 letters long.
11. Lesly Castle
48 pages in length, this unfinished novel was written in English.
This fictional epistolary novel remained unfinished and can be purchased in physical and digital formats between price ranges of 200 rupees and 850 rupees.
There is no audio version available and the book is available in letter format. The book was first published in 1793.
The story is a series of letters written by in-story characters to each other talking about marriages and each other.
The story is set in Scotland where Jane never went and she wrote the story when she was only 16 years old.
Unlike love and friendship this story is just 10 letters long but on a similar note has female characters interacting.
12. Sir Charles Grandinson
From 250+ rupees to almost 14,000 rupees the book is only available in physical and digital format.
Published in 1980 the book is only 164 pages long.
This piece of content is the only known attempt of Jane at writing a play and here she has penned a light-hearted dramatized version of an old play along with a similar name and lines.
The story looks at the life of the character after which it had been named.The protagonist saves a kidnapped lady and frees her. The book goes on to look at the life and history of the protagonist.
13. The Beautiful Cassandra
Originally published in 1793, the short novel was penned in the English language.
72 pages in length the book is available in physical and digital editions for prices between 1,000 and 1,500 rupees.
The short novel was written as a parody of overdramatized, overly emotional, and picaresque novels of that time.
The story was a part of Jane's juvenilia collection that she wrote in her teenage years. The story is focused on a woman who is out in the world to make herself a fortune and the book is heavy on murders, treachery, murders, jailbreaking
And a lot of other dark stuff.
14. The History Of England
From 900 to a little over 9,000 rupees the book is available in digital and physical formats.
Originally 34 pages long the English language story was written by a fifteen-year-old Jane.
The book was first published in 1922 and is a burlesque. In 2009 the book was published in German by Luxbooks.
The book written by Jane in her teenage years gives her prejudiced, half-baked, strong, and harsh criticism of England's monarchy during her time.
The story is compiled with other short stories in the second part of Jane's juvenilia. The more up-to-date version of the book is 60 pages long.
15. Catharine and Other Writings
Originally published in 1993 the book is 372 pages in length and is available in the English language.
For 190 rupees the book is available in physical form and is a literary work of fiction.
This book is a collection of a lot of prose, poems, prayers, etc. written by Jane.
Some of the works were originally intended to console or entertain friends and family and much of the content available in the book is not available individually.
The work in this book also includes accounts of Jane's life and gives some knowledge about her life
And her growth into a writer who showed maturity with her content from very early on.
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is considered the best Jane Austen novel?
When you search for Jane Austen's best novel pretty much all the names show up because the writer is celebrated even today and all of her writings have found fans in someplace or the other.
However, if we still had to pick one then it would undoubtedly be 'Pride and Prejudice' the book that still enjoys a lot of fan following all over the world.
2. What is the best Jane Austen book to read first?
For first-time readers of Jane Austen, there can only be two books that should be their starting point. First, 'Pride and Prejudice' again takes the cake because of the love it has received over the years. A
part from that 'Sense and Sensibility' is a novel that is an all-time classic and thus gets a mention.
Here are the best books for jane austen
