NEW YORK – “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Thus begins Jane Austen’s most well-known and best-selling novel Pride and Prejudice. A stroll throughout boutique book shops and major retail book stores will reveal at least a notebook or mug with these words emblazoned upon it.

Today, those words ring true with the same good-natured banter as when they were first penned – the moment that Jane’s pen scratched across the surface of the page. Even in our busy world with AI technology and self-parking cars, people are drawn to English country living, candlelight ballrooms, and an orderly society. The friendship and love between sisters, cousins, and close-knit families beckon to us. Even with their familiar dysfunction. Perhaps that is what we all looking for: connection and community.

This year marks Jane’s 250^th birthday and millions are celebrating across the globe. It is as if time itself is pausing for us to lift the veil of time and take a closer look at why Austen, and her novels, matter more than ever.

Becoming Jane

Born on the 16^th of December, 1775, Jane entered a world in transition. Great Britain occupied an unprecedented place of prominence, peace, and prosperity. Industrialization was on the rise, commerce flourished, and scientific advances, i.e., medicine, hot air balloons, electricity, etc., sparked excitement and bettering society. Yet, poverty and poor living conditions in cities rivaled the progress unfolding about the Austen family.

The daughter of a clergyman, Jane grew up in a home and society largely at peace. Jane’s quiet Christian faith is the underpinning of her novels like a solid stone wall. But the wall is not without adornment or grace. According to family accounts, she devoured books and spent a great deal of time writing stories and plays throughout her childhood, to the delight of her family.

Jane grew up fifth in line before her youngest brother, Charles, who entered the Royal Navy and served throughout the French Revolution and subsequent Napoleonic Wars. Many believe it was Charles who helped his sister with all things nautical in her novel Mansfield Park, published in 1814. Austen’s admiration and love for the navy is not hidden. Especially in her hero Captain Frederick Wentworth from her final novel, Persuasion.

“The navy, I think, who have done so much for us, have at least an equal claim with any other set of men, for all the comforts and all the privileges which any home can give. Sailors work hard enough for their comforts, we must all allow,” Austen wrote in Persuasion.

Prolonged Sensibility

“At length the Day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, & when you receive this it will be over—My tears flow as I write, at the melancholy idea,” Jane wrote to her sister, Cassandra, in 1796. As the January wind blew across southern England, Jane faced her first disappointment in affection.

Just turned twenty, Jane was full of life, laughter, and exuberance – much like her future heroine, Elizabeth Bennet. She met the charming Irishman, Tom Lefroy, at a series of Christmas parties where they danced, talked, and, yes, flirted. He came from a higher social standing than Jane, adding barrier to whatever feelings passed between them.

According to the Jane Austen’s House website, “The tone of her letters to Cassandra is light and playful; she does not sound genuinely disappointed. But then we know that she was a realist. She might be romantic in her novels, arguing for mutual love in marriage, but she was also practical and knew how essential a sufficient income was to domestic happiness. Neither Tom nor Jane had the money to make a match possible.”

Like any other young woman, Jane most likely expected to marry and secure her future. However, although her stories are deemed to be romances, realism anchors her novels and characters. Those who stray beyond the guardrails of duty, decency, and decorum, face a battery of consequences.

Her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, strongly echoed this theme. Marianne, a warm-hearted, impulsive girl, nearly loses her chance at happiness as she pines after John Willoughby. Meanwhile, her elder sister, Elinor, who loves just as deeply, chooses caution as her suitor, Edward Ferrars, stays silent.

Persuaded to Act

“There is a lot published and on the internet about Jane that is conflicting or inaccurate, and I think it’s very difficult for anyone to be sure about Jane’s life and personality – so much is assumed from letters and the memories of those around her,” Caroline Jane Knight said. Knight is the fifth grand-niece of Austen and runs the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, in the UK.

Jane remains something of a mystery to fans and scholars alike. Significant portions of her life (1801-1804) are blank with no record of what she said, thought, or wrote. Why was her sister, Cassandra, so eager to burn Jane’s diary from this period? History leaves us no definite answers.

Her father, the Rev. George Austen, abruptly announced to his family his intention of retiring from the ministry, in December 1800. The family relocated from Steventon, in Hampshire, to the city of Bath, a social hub in Somerset. Biographers do agree that living in Bath impacted Jane and her writing forever. Some claim she fell into depression while others contend she merely did not have time to write due to a larger society and engagements.

Upon the death of her beloved father, Jane, Cassandra, and their mother faced an uncertain future. Thus, persuaded by sheer necessity and love of her craft, Jane set to writing. In part two, we will examine the results of her labor and the richness of her legacy.

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This article is intended for informational and editorial purposes only. It does not constitute an endorsement of any individual, political stance, or policy position. Opinions expressed by readers are their own and have been shared with their permission. Presence News strives for balanced reporting and welcomes feedback at editor@presencenews.org.

Jane Austen Religious Beliefs

• Austen was raised in a Church of England (Anglican) household, with her father and two brothers being clergymen.
• Her letters and novels reflect a moral worldview shaped by Christian principles, especially around duty, humility, self-control, and charity.
• She read the Bible regularly and even wrote personal prayers.

Not Radical

• She was conservative in her religious expression—there’s no indication she was pushing radical reforms, evangelizing fervently, or adopting fringe theological views.
• Her Christianity was quiet, personal, and traditional—more about lived ethics and subtle spiritual conviction than loud proclamation.

In Her Novels

• Clergy figures appear often (e.g., Mr. Collins, Edmund Bertram), sometimes satirized, sometimes honored.
• Her novels promote virtues like integrity, modesty, and compassion, in line with Christian ethics.
• But her religious content is subtle—she didn’t write explicitly religious fiction or theology.

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In short: Jane Austen was a thoughtful, practicing Christian, but not a “radical” by historical or modern standards. She believed in faith expressed through daily life and moral clarity, not dramatic confrontation or doctrinal extremism.