Today marks her 200th birthday. In 11th grade I was required to read Emma for English and was struck by how contemporary her social commentary was in its reflection of the ornate and painful relationships which permeated the private girls boarding school I attended. It was a very wise English teacher who encouraged me in my writing despite pervasive adolescent self-doubt and shyness. Austen is an early feminist hero for her representation of a strong female voice at a time when women were not supposed to read let alone write. Austen had to publish anonymously under the byline- "by a Lady" and many of her books were published after her death. She herself never married though she played with notions of marriage and love defining and defying social codes of the 19th century with characters like Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice and Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility.
Many of her books have been adapted for film and most people now know the stories from Hollywood - even updated versions such ad Clueless starring Reese Witherspoon as a Valley Girl Emma. This is a shame since you are robbed of the richness of her social satire and acute observations of life without reading her words.
The Bank of England issued a new ten pound note today bearing her image in honor of her birthday.
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