Jane Austen on History

About history, Jane Austen put these words in the mouth of one of her characters: "The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all -- it is very tiresome."

Jane Austen is considered one of the foremost writers of the early 19th century. Her fiction focuses on relationships and the attempts by her heroes and heroines to find fortune and romance. Her ironic tone -- like that in the quote above -- often comes through whether speaking as the narrator of a tale or through one of the characters.

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