'A' is for ... Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Abstract

Jane Austen (JA), English novelist and astute observer of human conduct and character, lived a quiet and all-too-brief life, producing merely six completed novels, several compositions of ‘Juvenilia,’ many brief historical sketches, and thousands of letters, mostly to her sister who destroyed 2/3 of them before her own death. Nevertheless, the products of JA’s pen remain respected, even beloved, more than 200 years after her death. ... JA is often referred to as a ‘moral’ writer, a writer concerned with how a person achieves or retrieves goodness in life, a focus some consider the very essence of good literature. ... JA’s expertise in character study and moral dilemma resolution shows us how to apply, to ourselves, the same expertise in understanding our personal conscience.