Our Dear Jane

This essay also ran 29 January 2015 in The Houston Chronicle:

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Five-reasons-to-celebrate-Pride-and-Prejudice-6041425.php?t=9d6399fdf3&cmpid=twitter-premium#/0

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Any objections?

As the evening wanes, I cannot help but note that today was the anniversary of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice (hey, students, that’s right, I said beloved), which was published in 1813 by Thomas Egerton of London.  The novel did not even have Austen’s name on it:  it was remarked to be “By the Author of ‘Sense and Sensibility.'” Continue reading →