Selected Letters, 1796-1817

This representative selection from R. W. Chapman's collected edition of Jane Austen's letters contains about one-third of the surviving letters and forms a delightful introduction to Jane Austne's world. The charm of the letters lies in their content, which unfolds a family saga over different gnereations: births, marriages, and deaths, family tensions, and even the occassional whiff of scandal. Jane Austen wrote most of her letters to her sister Cassandra and to other intimate friends, without a thought for prosperity. Thus they provide a moving, unaffected record of the experiences, frustrations, and pleasures familiar to many women of her day, which Austen illuminates with flashes of characteristic wit.