Teenage writings

Austen, Jane 1775-1817 (Author). Sutherland, Kathryn. (Added Author). Johnston, Freya. (Added Author).

Summary: Three notebooks of Jane Austen's early writings survive. The pieces probably date from 1786 or 1787, around the time that Jane, aged 11 or 12, and her older sister and collaborator Cassandra left school. By this point Austen was already an indiscriminate and precocious reader, devouring pulp fiction and classic literature alike; what she read, she soon began to imitate and parody. Unlike many teenage writings then and now, these are not secret or agonized confessions entrusted to a private journal and for the writer's eyes alone. Rather, they are stories to be shared and admired by a named audience of family and friends. Devices and themes which appear subtly in Austen's later fiction run riot openly and exuberantly across the teenage page. Drunkenness, brawling, sexual misdemeanour, theft, and even murder prevail. It is as if Lydia Bennett is the narrator.

Record details

ISBN: 9780198737452 (pbk.)
Physical Description: print
lv, 336 p. : ill., maps ; 20 cm.
Publisher: Oxford, UK : Oxford University Press, 2017.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction -- Chronology of the teenage writings -- Note on the text -- Note on spelling -- Select bibliography -- A chronology of Jane Austen -- Map of Great Britain according to the teenage Jane Austen -- Map of London according to the teenage Jane Austen. -- Volume the first. Frederic & Elfrida -- Jack & Alice -- Edgar & Emma -- Henry & Eliza -- Mr. Harley -- Sir William Mountague -- Mr. Clifford -- The beautifull Cassandra -- Amelia Webster -- The visit -- The mystery -- The three Sisters -- Detached peices -- Ode to pity. Volume the second. -- Love and friendship -- Lesley-Castle -- The history of England -- Collection of letters -- Scraps. Volume the third. -- Evelyn -- Kitty, or the Bower. -- Family continuations to the volume the third. -- Continuation of Evelyn by James Edward Austen -- Continuation of Evelyn, by Anna Lefroy -- Continuation of Kitty, or the Bower, by James Edward Austen. -- Appendix: Letter of Sophia Sentiment from <i>The Loiterer</i>, 28 March 1789.