Victorian Readers, 1850s–1900s

The second half of the nineteenth century saw the publication of the first biography of Jane Austen, A Memoir of Jane Austen (1870) by her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh, alongside new editions of the novels in 1857, 1870 and 1897. Despite renewed interest in Austen’s work and life, there is little critical engagement with Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, whereas Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Mansfield Park seem to be favourites with readers for whom Austen is uncontestably one of the greatest novelists. On the other hand, there is more sustained analysis of key features of her art.