Home ›   |   Jane Austen ›   |   250 (& More!) Reasons We Love Jane Austen

250 (& More) Reasons We Love Jane Austen

Austen at 250 logo with fireworks in background



Born on December 16, 1775, Jane Austen turns 250 this year. Help us celebrate! 

Everyone has their own reason for adoring Jane Austen, and we would all love to hear yours. Whether it's as simple as "Mrs. Bennet's nerves," a favorite witty line, or a heartfelt toast, we're gathering a joyful collection of 250—and more!—reasons you, her readers and fans, appreciate her. Join us in celebrating the incomparable Jane!

This virtual tribute book is moderated to prevent spamming and off-topic posts. Comments will not appear immediately.

Comments

  • Mary Hamric Aug 27, 2025, 2:51 PM (4 days ago)

    Jane Austen has encouraged me to be a better person and she did it mostly through Emma. I related to Emma so much because I had made major mistakes in my life and nearly lost everything. I felt seen and I felt validated that being a better person was possible.

  • Gabriella Spatolisano Aug 26, 2025, 4:44 PM (5 days ago)

    I love Jane Austen because she is funny, she creates complex and real characters, she writes in a beautiful language. And because I can re-read her again and again and never get tired.

  • CHRISTINA DADFORD SIMPSON Aug 23, 2025, 12:26 PM (8 days ago)

    I can read a little or a lot of Jane Austen and always enjoy it. When I was in hospital and drained of energy I would read perhaps a page or two at random and it was like having a visit with an old friend. Jane Austen is timeless - we all know people from her books.

  • Sue A Scott Aug 22, 2025, 10:48 AM (9 days ago)

    I was quiet, but I was not blind.
    ---Fanny Price

  • Hilary Aug 22, 2025, 9:54 AM (9 days ago)

    I love Jane Austen because she has such a brilliant way of depicting how the group-think in a room can go from right to wrong, without anyone noticing the change. For example, in Mansfield Park, originally more characters than Fanny question the propriety of putting on the play the "Lover's Vows," but in the end, Edmund agrees to act in it, and somehow even Fanny is roped into rehearsing lines with others! And in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, both mothers realized after the fact that they long mistrusted the young men who jilted their daughters.

  • Joanne Cybulski Aug 20, 2025, 2:43 PM (11 days ago)

    I have been reading Jane Austen since I found her books in the library in Middle school.

  • Debra Matheney Aug 20, 2025, 11:08 AM (11 days ago)

    Her insights into women's place in society first attracted me to Jane. She understood marriage was just about the only way for women to attain stability, both financially and socially. Her understanding of human psychology adds to the pleasure of reading her. Her satirical wit was the next layer I enjoyed. She is a marvel at portraying local societies: Look at the differences between those of Emma and Mansfield Park, for example. My appreciation of her writing has grown over the years.

  • Kartiki S. Aug 20, 2025, 7:54 AM (11 days ago)

    She is someone I can be while am reading. She is someone who has been just like me when she was alive. Made similar choices. Her books are a live representation of the same.

  • Laurie Rolland Aug 19, 2025, 7:01 PM (12 days ago)

    Jane Austen's incomparable writing has inspired the endlessly fascinating critical discourse that engages and delights me.

  • Margaret Christmann Aug 19, 2025, 4:19 PM (12 days ago)

    I love how Jane Austen understands so well human nature and how it plays out in social situations.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Post your comment