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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!

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Comments

  • Kira Adams Sep 18, 2025, 11:20 AM (4 days ago)

    Jane Austen’s words are as relevant today as they were when they were first published.

  • Ashley Given Sep 17, 2025, 4:36 PM (5 days ago)

    Each time I read Austen I pick up on new nuances I missed in previous readings. I love that I can relive the stories that I enjoy but still have a different experience with new discoveries each time. I adore Austen's wit and satire and her brilliant critiques on class, society, and gender roles all well being entertaining stories in their own right.

  • Yvonne MILLER Sep 16, 2025, 4:19 PM (6 days ago)

    I love it Austen for all the reasons mentioned by other readers in this space. I particularly love her, though for two reasons:
    Her penetrating insight and wit into the foibles and frailties of some of her characters. I must say, though that I was older before I actually began to notice these subtle digs…
    I also had to be older before I could appreciate some of her works. Persuasion has become especially dear to me as I mature. I went through a period last year where I listened to a recording of Persuasion almost every night as I lay waiting to go to sleep.. It was so comforting to me.
    I think I understand why soldiers carried copies of Austen into the trenches.
    I love her also for the clarity of her writing. This clarity is so inviting and yet, contains within layers and layers of illusion which the author then proceeds to reveal.
    She is definitely an author for all seasons of life.

  • Lynn M Sherick Sep 16, 2025, 3:31 PM (6 days ago)

    She is a genius and has enriched my life immensely. The truth-telling and revelation of human nature captured in every day life with universal characters applies today and will continue to always apply. Her insights help us navigate and understand our relationships today. Thank you, Jane.

  • David Lewellen Sep 16, 2025, 8:46 AM (6 days ago)

    There once was a writer named Austen
    Whose work we all love to get lost in.
    Wit and truthfulness make
    Her succulent cake
    And excellent style is the frostin'.

  • Ilene Steele Sep 16, 2025, 8:45 AM (6 days ago)

    I love Jane Austen for all the reasons listed. I do notice her use of letters to great effect. My favorite, and favorite line, is in the letter Wentworth writes to Anne after she speaks of the constancy of love by women. He writes, "You pierce my soul." I always feel a little thrill for Anne because her dreams are finally coming true.

  • Sabrina Bartholomew Sep 16, 2025, 7:43 AM (6 days ago)

    My love of Jane Austen's work came on gradually. I had read her books and seen the adaptations. I loved her wit and dialogue. Years later I joined a regency LARP group and it rekindled my love for her work. These days Jane's never far from my thoughts. I joined JANSA last year when I found out about it. I love discussing her work and those inspired by it. Truly her genius has no end. May it ever be so.

  • Karen Field Sep 15, 2025, 6:04 PM (7 days ago)

    I met Jane for the first time when I became bedridden with Lupus and Lyme Disease. A friend brought over the 1995 Pride and Prejudice and we watched it a few episodes at a time.i was hooked. I then read all of her books and early works. I then began to obtain them and haven’t stopped reading them since! I love her accessibility to real life and her joy in her characters.

  • Jean M Zhuño Sep 15, 2025, 5:51 PM (7 days ago)

    My favorite aspect of Jane Austen’s writing is her sly digs at her own mother. Through the witty, wry commentary on Mrs Bennett, Mrs Musgrove, Lady Bertram, Lady Middleton, and many other mothers, we can hear Jane’s own mother whinging away! As the oldest daughter of a 90-year-old mother, with many decades of fraught relationships behind us, I truly enjoy joining in Jane’s ridicule. In other words, she sanctions my critiques of my own dear mother.

  • Lisa Caffee Sep 15, 2025, 4:32 PM (7 days ago)

    I've loved Jane Austen since college. On a whim, as a graduating senior, I asked a literature professor what this economics major had missed taking all math, stats, and business. She sighed...deeply... then recommended Pride and Prejudice. I read it twice in two weeks...then everything else by Austen in a great rush.

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