Six novels, complete texts — annotated where noted
Jane Austen's first major novel is a comic love story set in Bath. Young Catherine Morland — an enthusiastic reader of Gothic romances — must learn to separate fantasy from reality when she visits the mysterious Northanger Abbey. Miss Austen sold the novel (then called Susan) to a publisher in 1803, but it was never published in her lifetime. Her brother Henry published it posthumously in 1817.
Read Northanger Abbey →Austen's first published novel. The title page declared it written "By a Lady" — only her immediate family knew the truth. Impetuous Marianne Dashwood tumbles into a fairytale romance that goes sour, while her practical older sister Elinor copes with their family's reduced circumstances while concealing her own frustrated romantic hopes. The book was a success, earning a profit for its author.
Read Sense and Sensibility →Probably Austen's most-read novel, and a perennial favorite. Originally titled First Impressions, it traces the misjudgments that color the early acquaintance between the witty Elizabeth Bennet and the proud Mr Darcy — and how those impressions must be overcome before either can find happiness. The 1995 BBC adaptation starring Colin Firth brought it to a new generation of devoted readers.
Read Pride and Prejudice →Austen's most complex and morally serious novel. Fanny Price, a poor relation taken in at the grand Mansfield Park, quietly observes the theatrics, vanity, and moral failures of those around her. During Austen's lifetime the novel was attributed only to "the Author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice." The version hosted here is slightly annotated.
Read Mansfield Park →The play the Bertrams controversially wish to perform in Mansfield Park. Includes the full text, a synopsis, a brief analysis of the novel's objections to it, and a cast list.
Read Lovers' Vows →Self-assured Emma Woodhouse — "handsome, clever, and rich" — fancies herself a skilled matchmaker for the residents of Highbury. Her well-meaning interference leads to a series of comic misadventures and a gradual, hard-won maturation into adulthood. Dedicated to the Prince Regent (a polite command she could not refuse). Slightly annotated.
Read Emma →Austen's final completed novel, written while she was suffering from the illness that would kill her. Anne Elliot, once persuaded to refuse the man she loved, is reunited with Captain Wentworth years later — both of them changed by time and circumstance. A novel of second chances, social expectation, and the constancy of true feeling. Published posthumously by her brother Henry, along with a Biographical Notice that first revealed her identity as author.
Read Persuasion →Jane Austen's childhood writings are full of energy, humor, and very creative spelling. We do not host the texts of the Juvenilia or her unfinished works at Austen.com. The excellent Jane Austen Information Page at the Republic of Pemberley hosts e-texts of the major Juvenilia works, some of Austen's letters, biographical information, and much more.