“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich.” This is how Jane Austen’s Emma begins and where my relationship with the author also began, then previously unknown to me, but to whom I have since devoted so many hours in the fifteen years that have elapsed since our first encounter.
What did I see in that novel that led me to search for another by this same author, and then another and another? What do Jane Austen’s novels have that make millions of us read them over and over again and include them without hesitation among our favourite titles? The answer to these questions would need another book, a doctoral thesis or more than one. Despite that and however incomplete, these pages may give you some of the answers.
Every work is, to a certain extent, a reflection of its author. It is not necessary to know the biography of a writer to enjoy his or her novels, but it is not unusual that when we like a book, we research the person who wrote it.
This novel’s main objective is to bring the life of Jane Austen closer to all those who have read some of her works, and also to those who have not yet done so but feel a modicum of curiosity regarding her life, her surroundings, her creative work. What was daily life like for one of the writers with the greatest media coverage. More than two hundred years after her death, her books are still popular, there are dozens of adaptations and audio visual versions of her works and hundreds of prequels, sequels, mash-ups, spin-offs and other stories inspired by some of her characters.
Jane Austen is the main protagonist of these pages and I have done my best to portray her exactly as she was. My main concern has been to stay true to the historical facts we know about her and her personality, or at least, what I have perceived of her personality through her writings and the testimonies of those who knew her.
To achieve this, I have tried to ensure that her voice is heard loud and clear throughout the novel by inserting fragments of her letters and many of her own words into the dialogues or reflections, whether drawn from her correspondence or her works. Most of the characters that appear in this story are real and so are almost all the events that are narrated. My job has been to collate all the available information and present it in an organized manner. This has required considerable time and dedication, but it has not been a difficult task.
The real complication–the real challenge of this work–has been to get inside the head of one of the best writers of universal literature, to be able to show her up close and, at the same time, in depth. I do not know if I have achieved it, but I have put all my enthusiasm and all my effort into doing so. I know that the result will not be to everyone’s taste. That is impossible. But I trust that there will be many people who enjoy these pages.
This novel is the fruit of many years of work and deliberation–countless hours of reading, conversations with other readers, especially female readers, conferences, videos, articles and blog entries. This is my tribute to the author who dazzled me, who introduced me to an unknown world of 18th Century British society that captured me. The defects of this novel are mine; everything good about it is due to its protagonist. Here end my sentiments and the real story begins. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jane!
JANE 