Gentle Readers, (UPDATE: Contest Closed. The random number generator chose Jill! Thank you everyone for participating! Your comments were excellent!)
Maria Beatrice from Italy is conducting a survey the world over. Her question is simple:
How and when did you discover Jane?
When you leave your comment, please include your age and gender. (I know, I know, ahem.)
People who leave a comment will have a chance of winning a copy of Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating by Lauren Henderson. (You must be a US or Canadian citizen to be eligible to win.)
The giveaway contest ends at midnight on June 9th.
Jane Austen's World 
I first became interested in Jane Austen while I was in college. In a humanities class I was introduced to her and was intrigued, but I have to say I did not pick up her book at that time. I only actively started reading Jane Austen after I saw the movie Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson. It was still a few years after seeing the movie that I picked up one of her books. However, since then I usually average one of her books a year. I am female and 41
I’m female, age 19. :)
I first discovered Jane Austen’s books when my mom piqued my interest in a collection of beautiful, big books by Jane in our library. I was about 14 or 15 when I first cracked one open. I began with Sense & Sensibility, which radically changed my views on relationships, and followed with one of my favourite novels- Pride & Prejudice.
I’m 64 and male. I read a lot, but somehow I pushed off a number of classic books to the back burner. Fin*lly I went through a Henry James phase, then Charles Dickens — and suddenly it was Jame Austen’s turn, a few years ago. Since then I’m always reading her works along with my other reading. I find her to have a clarity of vision and ability to confront eternal issues that is transfixing.
I first picked up Jane in high school. I read Pride and Prejudice for an English elective course. I instantly loved this novel and then read a lot of her novels on my own or through college literature courses. I love the spin-offs as well! I’m 29 and female.
I was introduced to Jane Austen by a friend just after I had developed Lupus, an autoimmune disease that is characterized by great fatigue. I was devoid of physical energy but my friend realized that I had a mind that need to be entertained. She showed me Pride and Prejudice, the new BBC version. I remember finding Darcy repulsive as a character and she kept saying, “Just wait, just wait, you’ll see.” I persevered and found great pleasure in doing so. I then proceeded to read all of Jane Austen, including her Minor Works, Oxford Press. Thus began my love affair with all things Jane. I was 35 and a young mother. I am now 51 and my chicks have flown the nest but Jane has become a close friend. My best friends are those who love her as much as I do. I could not count the hours I have spent reading her and any nonfiction about her.
I’m female and 26 years old. I first became interested in Jane Austen just a few weeks ago, after reading a novel about a woman obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. I picked up Northanger Abbey (yes, I know, one of the least liked novels she’s written) and instantly became hooked.
I had to read Pride and Prejudice in high school, but to my thinking, I only discovered Jane after seeing Sense and Sensibility. Before that, I hadn’t heard of anything else she’d written. After I saw the movie, I immediately went to the library, got out every book that Jane had written, and started reading. Or, in the case of Pride and Prejudice, re-reading.
Oh, and I’m 47 and female.
I discovered Jane while I was in high school. Barnes and Noble came out with the nice hardback books for $8, and I bought some. I fell in love and eventually collected them all! I still reread them quite often:)
I’m 25 and a female. Sometimes I still tell people I’m 19 though just because I forget:)
Age 20, Female
I discovered Jane Austen sometime around when I was 10. My mom had seen the 1995 Pride and Prejudice from A&E, and decided to buy it she loved it so much. She started to watch it every so often, and I liked to watch it too. She would explain to me everything that was happening if I seemed confused, and by the time I was 14, I knew the story inside and out. I first started the book when I was 16 without finishing it, but it was mostly because my teenage brain couldn’t handle the language Austen used. It wasn’t until recently that I really got into reading Austen, because now the language doesn’t hold me up as much. I can honestly say I don’t know what I would do without her stories in my brain: I’d probably be a different person all together. I’m glad I at least finished the book before I was one-and-twenty :)
Age:24 Female
I discovered Jane Austen just a few months ago. I had recently graduated from college and was quite bored. A lady i dog sit for offered to let me borrow some movies and i took “Emma with G. Paltrow”. I watched the movie and fell in love. There was something about it that spoke me and i wanted more! The next day i went back to the lady’s house and borrowed her compete Jane Austen Anthology and the rest of her Austen movies. My infatuation soon became love. I’m now a Jane addict and looking for my Mr. Knightly. ^^
F/25
I discovered Jane about 10 years ago during high school. I think it was my senior year, but I’m not sure. I read Pride and Prejudice for some mandatory reading assignment. I then requested the mini series from the library and watched it along with reading the book. I remember just loving both the book and the mini series.
I’m 26 years old, Guatemalan, female. My mother told me about this wonderful book she had read when she was in school. I was then about 14-15 years old. The book is a 1963 edition of Pride and Prejudice, in Spanish and the smells brings me delightful memories. Since then, I’ve read Pride and Prejudice in English and Spanish, in book and ebook, at least twice a year. I’ve also read every other Jane Austen novel. Every character in every novel is unique, and I just love Jane Austen.
It seems as though I’ve always “known” Jane, but I probably discovered her when I was in Junior High school. I really like Pride and Prejudice as well as Sense and Sensibility. I am female and 48.
I’m 39 years old and female. While I had heard of her when I was a teenager, I came to know and love Jane Austen when I took a college class on 19th century novels with Professor Emily Auerbach at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I’ve been hooked ever since then!
I’m a 37-year-young female. I honestly can’t remember when I discovered Jane, but I am thinking that it was when I first saw the P&P A&E miniseries on PBS. I read the novel soon after that, and was hooked. Now, I’m currently rereading Persuasion (my favorite!) for the umpteenth time.
I discovered Jane Austen about 10 years ago. Must be through a university course, as none of my friends and family read Austen then.
37 year old female!
Hmm, I believe I was 14 when I first read Pride and Prejudice but I fellin love with the stories and author just three years ago.
I am a 20 year old young lady.
I’m a late bloomer. I discovered Jane Austen when I was 19 or so and watch SENSE AND SENSIBILITY while working in the AV department one summer at my college. I borrowed the DVD and fell in love with the world of Austen. Immediately, I had to see and read all of Jane Austen.
Amy, 30 year-old female!
I am female, aged 41. I first discovered Jane Austen in high school. My teacher, Sister Barbara, was a fan of English literature and she instilled a love of the same in me!
I discovered Jane Austen when the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility came out, I was 15 or 16. My sister got the complete works of Jane Austen and we fought over it. I am now 30. (female) Now I get get e audio jane fixes for my mp3 player and listen while I work! :)
Female, Age 42.
At the age of 20 I was in my first year of university. My cousin mentioned how much she loved P&P when she read it in her first year of university, and when someone in my dorm received the book as a xmas present, I borrowed it. Loved her intensely ever since.
I discover Jane Austen when I was 12 years old, the movie sense and sensibility with Kate Winslet came out on theaters and from the trailer I feel in love with Jane’s words and story.
I loved the story of the two sisters, being in the country starting a new life and Edward Ferras became the model guy for me.
After that I started to look for anything and everything Jane. As I got older and read more Austen every character seems to take on a different meaning as I go true life, but the people in sense and sensibility now feel like people I know like family and as I grow and learn more about the world I can understand them better, specially Willoughby and Brandon.
It was Saturday, October 28, 1995.
I was on a high school band trip and our director had dropped us off at a mall for lunch and free time. Naturally, I found a book store. While looking at the classics a title rang a bell in my head. I had a vague memory of a commercial for a new mini-series called Pride and Prejudice and here was the book. I read the back and was intrigued.
But the book cost slightly more than I had with me on this trip. I was about to go when I met a sales person who was handing out coupons … it was fate. I bought the book.
At first I had difficulty adjusting to Austen’s writing style. Oddly, the thing I found most challenging was the fact that Austen uses less visual description than I was used to. But I quickly adjusted. I devoured the book in three days. I’ll never forget this because I finished on Halloween!
For the next two months I couldn’t wait to see the mini-series. It wasn’t set to premiere on A&E until January 6. The rest of my family couldn’t understand my excitement. But they were converted once they saw the mini-series themselves.
To pass the time while I waited for January I continued to read Austen and came to love them all, as I still do.
— Female, age 31
I received a beautifully bound copy of Pride & Prejudice at 13 years old for my birthday…
I was hooked immediately and was sure that one day my Mr. Darcy would appear off the pages of the novel.
Well its 32 years later and instead of Mr. Darcy, it was more of Captain Wentworth and I am thrilled that Jane kept me hoping for the best! She never fails.
Female 45 years old
Age 19, Female
When I was about 7 years old my aunt bought the 1995 version of P&P. We loved it of course, and have been Janeites ever since. After that Mom had to read the book. When I got a little older I read the books too. I’ve read them all so many times – and I just keep appreciating them more and more. So insightful. No other auther I have read can pinpoint and describe so accurately human emotions and motives.
I think I’ve always been aware of Jane Austen, but my interest in her truly began I saw Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and skyrocketed when my older daughter discovered her after we watched the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice together.
female, 48
I’m seriously jealous of those who were introduced to Jane Austen at an early age. My education was sadly lacking. I was never required to read her work in high school or college, nor did my mother bring her to my attention as some have said. So, I was in my mid 40’s when, on an impulse, I bought the ’95 P&P with Colin Firth at Costco. It changed my life. After watching it, I voraciously read and watched every JA related book and movie I could get my hands on. Then, I went one step further and turned my mind to writing novels in her style. Serious obsession! (F/55)
I first discovered Jane in college–I was 18 and I read Pride and Prejudice for a British Lit class. I was blown away. I’m a 31 year-old female.
I have to say I’m a late bloomer. I had heard of the movie with Colin Firth years ago by teenagers no less and Jane Austen herself as an author before that. But I have to say it wasn’t until a few years ago when I was almost 50 that I decided I needed a hobby besides my grandkids (who are with me daily). I felt I deserved a hobby to call my own. I finally made a way to have the time to read and watch all of Austen’s works as well as Gaskell’s and Charlotte Bronte. I love the classic brit literature and regency era. The customs, mannerisms, elegance etc. I love the architecture. I’m not so wild about women’s limited freedom and reliance totally on a mate (I’m sure I would have ended up a maid of some sort) but I love the usually happy endings and witty women. Jane’s women are all witty, some more likeable than others. I admire that. Doesn’t matter so much about size, education, wealth, beauty. I enjoy doing research on the history, clothing, etc. I enjoy the fan fiction related. What a wonderful hobby and I’m so glad I picked such a rewarding one so late in life.
F/33
Discovered Jane Austen at 15 with Emma, which seemed oddly contemporary to me, a histrionic, middle-class suburban high school kid with a penchant for matchmaking. Read through S&S soon after and really identified with Marianne; naturally, it wasn’t until I reread both as an adult that I caught on that she had been satirizing people like me the whole time! Now I happily teach Jane Austen to histrionic, middle-class suburban high school kids.
F/55
A friend talked endlessly about watching the 1995 BBC P&P with her adult daughter, eating Dove ice cream bars during each of the 6 episodes. Then there was all the chatter about the wet shirt. I took the plunge and purchased the DVD and it’s been Jane Austen all the way ever since.
I was first introduced to Jane Austen when I was thirteen years old, thirty-one years ago. My mother gave me a copy of Pride and Prejudice and I enjoyed it.
My interests in literature were then tilted the way of science fiction and fantasy before I dove back into the classics in my junior year of high school. By the time I went to college, I was an English major. I took my Author’s Seminar with a wonderful professor and studied Jane Austen’s works.
And I became and devoted fangirl. ;-)
I now have nine different editions of Pride and Prejudice in print, a Kindle edition, and every single version of the movie on DVD. Additionally, I own multiple copies of all of her major canon novels and I was even given a Jane Austen action figure for my last birthday! My friends know me well. Did you know there WAS an action figure?
I’m forty-four and female (in case that wasn’t already spelled out above) and even though my mother teases me about my involvement in Austen, I am always able to remind her that she started it. ;-)
I happened upon her books at the library when I was in grammar school (8th grade). Been in love with her books ever since. :)
I’ve seen Pride and Prejudice, on TV, BBC series.
I can’t remember the year, but I was a teenager.
I just LOVE the story!!!
Many years after this, I’ve gained the book and I’ve read it low because I’ve wanted to savor the story again.
Now, I’m 40 and I’ve been invited to tell a story to some people and I’ve chosen Pride and Prejudice (that I love too much) and I’ll talk a little about the author Jane Austen and I’m glad with the great number of information we can find about her!
Now I want to read all her books and be in touch with her world!
I’m brazilian and a woman.
I just discovered Jane Austen this past year! Ok, I should say rediscovered her. I am not sure why, I picked up Pride & Prejudice to read. Shall, I say I was hooked. I have in this year, I have collected all her works, plus can you really have to many copies of Pride and Prejudice, etc. My favorite bookstore is always looking for anything Jane Austen for me.
I am 43, I enjoy my coffee every morning in my Jane Austen mug. I can’t say that I have a favorite of all her works. Yes, I might say, Pride and Prejudice due to it was my first. However, I believe that which ever one I am reading at the time is my favorite.
Jane and I became acquainted my junior year of high school. We read Pride and Prejudice and then my teacher put on the 1995 miniseries for us to watch.. Needless to say, it was the best part of the year. I was skeptical that her other novels could be as good as P&P, but was pleasantly surprised every time I cracked open a new one. We are quite close now.
27 yr old female
Age 21, Female
I first discovered Jane Austen when I watched the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, which aired one or two years ago on tv. I was hooked up!
Since then, I’ve seen other TV/movie adaptations of Jane’s novels: Pride and Prejudice (2005 movie), Emma (2009 BBC and 1996 movie), Northanger Abbey (2007 TV movie), Mansfield Park (1999 movie and 2007 TV movie) and S&S (2008 BBC mini-series).
I have yet to see any Persuasion adaptations, and I know I have to see the S&S 1995 movie (I love Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman). And to read the actual books! That’s it for now anyway lol.
I first discovered Jane when I was in high school, then rediscovered her later in life, in my forties, when I was reading a lot of British history. I love all things “Jane”.
I’m female, age 55.
Living in Brazil, Jane Austen is not a common author to appear in Literature classes.
I first became interested in her when I found a copy of Sense and Sensibility for a very low price and bought it for my mother. She was very ill at the time and she was a big fan of books, but she used to read so fast that this habit became quite expensive!
This copy was very cheap and I’ve heard about the movie… so I thought “it must be a good book”. No previous reference of Jane Austen at the time…
My mom took this book to the hospital were, a few weeks later, she died and I brought the book back with me and read it some time later.
After that, I became addicted to Jane.
I’m a female, 25 years old.
Unfortunately, I’m not elegible for the contest, but I wanted to share my story :)
I forgot to mention I was about 19 at the time ;)
One of my cousins played the video of A&E P&P at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I could only watch a few minutes each time as my family had to leave early. I decided to read it alittle later on and was hooked. I’m a member of a Jane Austen Book Club thru Meetup(The Greater Boston Jane Austen Book Club). I have read five of the six full novels this year(3 with the book club and two on my own) and Sanditon as well.
Male 35+(I suppose this rules me out of the contest but I will not give my exact age…laugh at myself!)
My first encounter with Jane Austen was reading Pride and Prejudice as a teenager in English lessons at my multicultural inner London Comprehensive school.
I admit I didn’t really understand all the nuances of manners and social protocol until re-reading as an adult many years later.
Then there was no stopping me!
The BBC series in 1996 of Pride and Prejudice and the film of Sense and Sensibility by Emma Thompson re-ignited my interest in Jane Austen and I now have read all her major works. They are witty, clever and keenly observed.
I am a 48 year old female and live in the UK.
I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was 14 over a boring summer vacation. I loved it and instantly related to Elizabeth Bennet, who is still one of my favorite literary characters. During my senior year of HS, we had an assignment to conduct a year long study of an author. I immediately chose Jane and pured through the rest of her works. It was a wonderful year and I was struck at how her observations on society and culture still apply. Whenever I need an escape, I can still curl up with one of her books and let the real world melt away.
I have been pleased with every production of her works, and I try not to compare them to her actual writing. They are good interpretations, but her books are simply magical.
Like Kirk, I am also in the Jane Austen Book Club, re-reading and enjoying the group discussions. It brings a whole new dimension to the stories I know and love.
f/40
I saw the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, and I was hooked on Jane Austen and her world for life (even though this particular version wasn’t exactly accurate)! About two years after seeing the film I bought my first Jane Austen novel (P&P) at an educators conference/book sale, and I just couldn’t put it down, since then I have inhaled everything by and about Jane that I can get my eyes on!
I am a female and I am 25 years old.
I discovered Jane when I was 14 and read her P&P for the first time. Then I re – discovered her at University when I studied her novels, P&P and S&S. But I go on re-discovering her and each time she surprises me with something totally new when I leaf through one of her novels or minor works.
I’m so sorry I can’t be entered the giveaway since I live in Italy ! And , by the way, who’s Maria Beatrice from Italy?
I didn’t give Jane a chance until one of my friends dragged me to see Pride and Prejudice when the movie came out. I fell in love with the characters, so I purchased the book. From there I read everything Jane that I could get my hands on. I’m still re-reading them … and all of the fan fiction that I can find as well! :)
Congratulations! This is the winning comment by random number generator!!
Dear all,
I would like to thank you for stopping by and let me know your stories. It is always a surprise when you happen to meet with so many people who have the same interests as you. I am reading all your posts and I hope to gather many and many responses so to have enough material to write something about our common love. Thank you to everybody.
Maria Beatrice
I first encountered Jan Austen when a book club I belonged to sent out a boxed set of four Austen novels (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion) some 25 years ago. I liked them very much but my fandom got a big boost when the 1995 BBC version of P&P came out on DVD. My sister and I watched it frequently then my dad got interested and we continued to watch and discuss. I have now read all the novels numerous times and many of the minor works. I have Claire Tomalin’s biography, some books of criticism and several books about Regency England. I no longer yearn for sequels, however. I am content to admire Miss Austen’s work for what it is. That said, I must say that I liked Lost in Austen very much.
I am female and 61.
I am female and 22 years old. I first discovered Jane in an English elective course in high school that was all about Jane. What excited me even more was that we share the same birthday! I enjoyed Sense and Senibility and then loved Pride and Prejudice so I decided to read all her books, even if we weren’t going to read them in class. I was hooked and still go back and reread them and any suitable adaptations. I love historical fiction and reading her books and seeing them on film (Colin Firth!) as well is a wonderful way to pass the time.
Let me first say that I don’t want to be entered into the giveaway; I already have a copy of this (delightful!) book and I want to give someone else a chance. But in the interest of the survey and community, I’ll share anyway.
I’m female, I’m nearly five-and-twenty.
I was first “introduced” to Jane Austen by being forced to watch the 1995 S&S with my stepsister. Unfortunately, my rebellious nature and bad taste (I was 14, come on) would not allow me to enjoy or even appreciate it. (Plus, I had not yet developed my anglophilia and found the characters confusing.) I had to read P&P for a college class years later, so some of my girlfriends had me watch the A&E version as an introduction and warm-up. Fortunately, my tastes had already changed since high school. I loved the movie, loved the book even more, and since then have called myself a fan.
My middle school librarian pushed me in the direction of Pride and Prejudice. I spent much of 5th grade reading Jane Eyre over and over. I think she feared I would turn a bit too dark in my preferences, or as silly (see Northanger Abbey). Soon I could quote P&P and my adoration of the other novels followed. Second year of high school I wrote a research paper on P&P of more than 20 pages (my teacher was not thrilled with that!). My love of Jane Austen has continued unabated.
Jennifer 29
F/30
I first came to know Jane’s work when I was 17 and read Persuasion after stumbling upon a discounted paperback at my local bookstore. Over the next few years I read all of her novels, but Persuasion remains my favorite.
Like Kirk and Marianne, I am also a member of the Jane Austen Book Club (of greater Boston) and it’s been wonderful to reread her works and talk about them with others who love her and her fiction.
I first saw the Olivier & Garson version of P&P sometime in the late 80’s on tv. We managed to tape it on VHS and I would always watch it whenever I was home sick from school. It always cheered me up. It was my first experience of Jane Austen and my only one for a decade at least, until I read P&P in college. I discovered then that the old MGM movie wasn’t very true to the real story, but I’ve still got a terrible soft spot for that version. Later, after the 1995 version was on tv, I read P&P again, along with a couple of the other novels. I’ve read them all now, dozens of times, and enjoy seeing each new movie version.
(Female – 40)
I 1st read P&P after seeing the mini-series, and read all the books by the end of the 90’s. I spent the millenium New Year’s reading Mansfield Park, trying to finish new years resolutions from the previous year to finish all 6 novels.
I first encountered Jane in 1969 in my h.s. English class. I was assigned Pride & Prejudice. I loved it so much that I went on an Austen marathon and read her other five completed novels. I am 58.
Of all the Summer Reading books we were FORCED to read inhigh school – “Pride & Prejudice” was the one I truly liked. I felt that this “girl” book was the perfect answer to the “boy” books, especially “Red Badge of Courage”. Jane Austen’s world was captivating…and P&P went on to become my favorite, and the book (I still have the paperback I read that summer) I have re-read the most. Hollywood and all things Austen caught up in the 90’s…and the rest is history. In 2001 while visiting my cousin and his wife, I did have the honor of visiting Winchester Cathedral were Jane Austen is buried. That was pretty special!
F/43
My discovery of Jane Austen and her work started in January 1996 when, on our first date, my now-husband and I went to the movies to watch Ang Lee’s “Sense and Sensibility”. I instantly fell in love with the story… (and my husband!) and rushed to buy the book the next day. Since then, I have read and re-read all of her books, watched (and watched over and over) most of the film adaptations out there.
I am also a member of the Greater Boston Jane Austen Book Club, like Kirk, Marianne and Corrie, and we are having a ball discussing every minute detail of a scene, a dialogue, or a sentence!
f/40 (Cannot enter the contest being a French citizen)
A friend of mine introduced me to the novels and the BBC DVD of P&P in around 2001 and I was hooked. Two years ago another friend (also a fan) introduced me to amazon.com and that wonderful wishlist and recommendations. My shelves are now full.
I forgot- I am female and 38.
F/17
I first discovered Jane Austen when I was around 10 (?) years old. A friend had lent me some books and movies, including the 1995 P&P. I hadn’t watch it because I thought it looked long and boring. (!!!) Eventually, I got the flu, putting me out of comission for a week or two. During that time, I watched and rewatched P&P, spellbound. ;) The rest is history, as the cliche goes.
First, I’m just a plain and simple young girl at 33yrs old. *cough* anyhoo. . . I started reading romances a few years ago, maybe 7ish. . . and once I discovered Regencies (and what they were and all), a couple years in, I finally tried Jane. Never really heard of her before then until I started seeing authors and other readers mentioning her (and Mr Darcy). . . and was quite glad we didn’t read her in high school. Almost figure because I quite disliked the books we were forced to rush in reading, I almost figure I wouldn’t have liked her then. . . but luckily, sure don’t have to find out! LOL
Lois
I was first introduced to Jane Austen as a child. My mother would read me her novels at night before I would go to bed, and it wasnt until I was in high school that I began to read them myself and fell madly in love with them! I am now of mother of two, one boy and one daughter and I cant wait to pass Jane Austen on to my daughter!
Female 26 years old.
I’m female, 29 years old. I got into Jane Austen through good ole BBC/A&E’s P&P 1995 production during high school (with Colin Firth). Of course, that got me reading Jane Austen. I think during college is really when I became obsessed with all things JA and it’s only increased since then :)
I was forced to watch (not even to read!) Sense and Sensibility in high school. I think I was 16. The notion that a woman’s greatest and most important possible achievement in life was to marry well did not sit well with me, and on that basis, I largely wrote off Austen’s work until about 5 years later, when I read both Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice and realized how stupid I had been at 16.
Female, 26
I first discovered Jane my senior year of undergraduate. I finally had an open time slot in my schedule, completing my engineering degree. My husband recommended I take a completely different class, discover the other side of the library, and enjoy another type of study.
I found an English literature class that caught my interest, 18th Century English literature, but I had none of the prerequisites. When I asked the Professor if I could join the class, she just asked if I needed the credits to graduate. Since I did not, she said come join us! I loved it and my favorite novel of the class was Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I still remember the paper I wrote about Jane’s relationship with her father.
I re-acquainted myself with Jane about 20 years ago and am now an avid Janite. That English lit class is still my favorite!
Wow. It’s amazing! I never thought I could receive such a help from you with your survey. I started this survey in Italy on anobii.com, a website for books addicts and I can tell you that movies from Jane’s novels have helped people discovering her in Italy, too. So let’s thank movies for a while, even though they’re not always so faithful to the spirit of the novels!!!
Thanks again to all.
kisses from Italy
M Beatrice
I am female, 38 years
I have two of her books in my shelf since 1996 (Persuasion and sense and Sensibility). I bought it because I knew Austen is a world classic, and I had the plan on getting acquainted to the author when possible.
But I started really the movement after I watched the movie Jane Austen’s Book Club. I was very moved by the way the lives of those XXIth century women could be reflected in Austen’s themes (way beyond matters of marriage!).
At the occasion I bought a copy of Pride and Prejudice as a birthday gift for my mother-in-law, and bought myself a copy, so that we would read at the same time and comment our impressions with each other.
I fell in love with Austen work, then. It goes further than the novels, since I fell in love also with reading on women in the XIXth century and how much the way they lived has a lot to be with the way we live until today, like for instance, the setting of patterns of models for polite people, for romantic partners, for female behaviour and so on.
I was 14. I’d finished reading Louise May Alcott. It was summer. I went to the A shelf at the library and found Jane Austen, to my everlasting delight.
oh, and yes, I am 61 and female.
Hello!
I was 12 and I discovered “Sense and Sensibility” book thanks to my mum who gave it to me as a birthday presentm in 6th Juloy.
And 1 month later I could see Ang Lee’s film in the cinemas, so it was a perfect year!
Now that I’m 26, I’ve read all the books (in Spanish and later in English as well) and a lot of film adaptations.
Jane Austen is my favourite author.
Greetings from Barcelona (Spain)!
Marta
I first became aware of Jane Austen when I found a copy of Pride and Prejudice on the bookshelves in my parents’ livingroom the summer I turned 18. Reading it left me in a blissful literature-induced fog for days.
female and 53 years old
I was introduced to Jane Austen when I was a fifteen year old sophomore in an all-girls Catholic high school. A gentle nun who regarded introducing English literature to clueless young women her second calling, assigned Emma. I loved it, went on to major in English literature, completed my graduate studies in England, taught for a time at the same high school I attended, and now age 59, remain an enthusiast of all things Austen.
(Thank you, Sister Ursula Marie!)
I discovered Jane Austen at the public library when I was twelve. I found Pride and Prejudice, and I thought it was the funniest book I had ever read. I then read Sense and Sensibility, and then all of them. I couldn’t say how many times I’ve read each book, but I wore out a paperback copy or so of each one. I didn’t get much of an example of anything good at home, so I got all my moral values from Jane. I’m 58 now, and I don’t want to figure out how many years I’ve been enthralled with Janes’s world.
Of course this was before all of the popular Jane movies that everyone watches now, but there was an old (and horrible) version of Pride and Prejudice then that had absolutely nothing of Jane in it! I remember thinking how very little Laurence Olivier was like Mr. Darcy, and I wondered if anyone in that movie had ever read the book. I watched about half of it once, and then determined never again to watch the film version of any book that I loved. My great aunt, who was born just before 1900, had told me not to watch it since she had had a similar experience with Mutiny on the Bounty!
By the way, I’m female.
I didn’t discover Jane until I was 50! I was more of a fantasy reader when I was younger.
I first was introduced to her by Masterpeice Theater when I saw Pride and Prejudice. I ran out the next day and bought the entire series of her books and devoured them.
Now I’m reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which my son gave me as a joke, but I’m rather enjoying it.
Cenya
I am trying to remember…Jane Austen was the perfect series after I outgrew Anne of Green Gables, so that would mean sometime during high school. I fell in love immediately and – now at age 50 – the romance is still going strong!
A Jane Austen girl,
Carol
I first got introduced to Jane austen when I was 13. I have been reading her ever since. I love all her stories, but I read pride and prejudice at least 3 times a year. It is of course my favorite. I am 44 and don’t think I will ever tire of dear Jane.
The 2005 P&P.
I’m an 18 year-old female.
I met Jane when Pride and Predjudice was given as a gift to my friend. She read it and commented on how good it was so, being an avid-book reader I took it up. I instantly fell in love and bought all 7 of her novels.
I was a late bloomer to Jane, arriving to actually reading my first novel several years ago when I was 35 and I’ve been in lurve ever since. Getting saturated in all regency era things!
luv luv…. Jane Austin and getting lost in her books and movies..
I think of what she would think now of all the attention in the 20th century…
Would love a copy as my out goal is to collect all connected to her.
Or the century…
:)
A Jane Austin fan…. of the 20 th century…. bring her alive threw her works..
Monique
A slim book with the picture of a beautiful regency lady gracing it’s cover caught my I. I read a few sentences and was hooked. Curled up on the couch with “Emma” and the neighbor’s cat (that I was there just to feed while she was away), I was transported to Jane’s World and I didn’t want to leave! It was the first of many wonderful trips!
Age, 19
Gender, Female
During summer break before eighth grade, when I was 13, I got sick. Wishing to try a new book I went to my parents’ bookshelf in the basement to try to find one, it’s always been packed with books. There I saw Pride an Prejudice, which my sister had warned me was a terrible book. Feeling that as I was already miserable, and I should probably read it at some point for the experience, I chose it. I fell in love with it on the first page and have loved Jane ever since.
The funniest and coolest thing is, I was raised on Jane Austen. From the moment I was born, everything was historical fiction for me. It was great, I think the first movie I saw was a Jane Austen film, I forget which one, I am thinking it was “Emma” with Jeremy Northam and Gwyenth Paltrow. I find her books funny and honest, showing how people are, not how we would like them to be. I think the way I made Jane Austen’s world my own obsession is my obsession with romance, the way she does not believe in love at first sight, the way people cannot help but be drawn into the vortex of love, it’s a power that is unamatched and undeniable. Jane Austen was not a discovery I made alone, but that’s what I love, while most people would whisper asking what certain things mean during a showing of “Pride and Prejudice”, I would say the lines with the actors, quote from the book and get their jokes, their sense of humor and fall in love again with the characters. So, Jane Austen may have not been my discovery, but she is truly my own.
Forgot about the age and gender- 15 years old and female.
I discovered JA when I was around 11 or so. The first book I read (and fell in LOVE with) was Emma…and now, 20+ years later, I have a daughter named Emma.
I first got hooked on Jane when I was fourteen, after I started working in my highschool library my freshman year. I had heard of Jane before when I spotted Pride and Prejudice on the shelf and, having nothing else better to do and a taste for old books, I started reading. For the next two weeks I couldn’t put it down, and I have been an avid fan of Jane Austen ever since. I love how her characters are so believable, yet this could be the stuff of fairytales for how romantic and just plain awesome they are.
I’m seventeen and female.
Unfortunately it took so darn long for me to discover Jane. It was until I was in my senior year of high school. To think I could have read her books before then! How happy that would have made me. Still, at least I found her :)
19, girl ;)
Female, 36, hopeful romantic.
I love Jane Austen. I discovered her in my early twenties. Like most of your commenters, it was the movie Sense and Sensibility introduced me to Jane’s world.
Her writing has shaped my life. I used to be a desperate romantic. I wanted romance and didn’t care how it came into my life. It was “love” and I wanted it.
Then I started reading Jane Austen, and found things in the characters of Eliza Bennett, Emma, Anne Elliot, and Elinor Dashwood that resonated. For me it was their forward looking vision of how they wanted their lives to be, secret yearnings for something more, ability to be content and appreciate the life they had, unwillingness to compromise themselves for anything short of love, quiet sense of self respect and especially their hopeful romanticism. It seemed to me that these women embodied so much of what I hoped for my life and my love. I began to change my outlook on dating, myself and my life as I came to know these characters.
Thank God I found Jane Austen. I grew up because of her writing.
I’m Taylor, age 18.
Several years ago my family watched the BBC 1990s miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. About one episode into it I was reading the book. I finished the book before we finished the series. And the rest is Austen history. :)
I am a 43 year old woman from Texas.
I discovered Jane Austen while in college. Dr. Joyce Palmer, Enghish Professor at Texas Woman’s University, introduced me to Emma– (English Women Authors class). I was hooked and have never looked back. Jane’s wit and style of writing had me go as far to join JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) – Life Member.
I first discovered Jane Austen in grade 11 English. Our assigned reading was ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and I believe we wrote a paper on it. I loved the wit Jane Austen used and began reading all of her novels after that. I reread ‘Pride and Prejudice’ every year and will often pick up any of her other books to fill a few minutes.
I was 14 when I discovered Jane Austen and I haven’t let go! I have read these books again and again. And of course PBS has certainly helped revive my interest. But how could you not love her characters. I recently got hooked again on Persuasion. When I visited England I went to Winchester Cathedral and would not leave until I had paid my respects to her burial place.
I first learned about Jane when my daughter was away in college. She was madly in love with all things Jane and one time I went to visit her and we watched Pride and Prejudice 95 together. I was intrigued and found the books soon after. I am now a lover of all things Jane as well!
I am a 62 year old female.
My mom kept trying to get me to read Pride and Prejudice when I was 11 or 12, but I kept getting bounced back by the old-fashioned style of putting indirect discourse in quotation marks and things like that. I also had a prejudice against The Classics, due to the terrible way literature was taught in our school system, thinking they were all Terribly Serious and Stuffy and Boring.
But when I was in high school, my best friend raved on and on about the book and finally I just had to read it in self-defense. When I discovered how delightful and witty and unstuffy it was, I was forever hooked. I go back and forth between P&P and Persuasion as my favorites, but there’s much to love in all the novels. And I continue to find more and more meaning as I grow older and my understanding of history deepens.
I’m female and 49.
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Like most students I was forced to read numerous books in high school (I would say 16 or 17 years old) and Pride and Prejudice happened to be one of them. I was intrigued by the character’s complexities, and from the very beginning fell in love with the idea of this intricate notion of pride and prejudice being one in the same. Even today I live my life by what would Jane do, or Elizabeth Bennet; so clever, so concise with her comments and how she deals with those around her who are trying to encourage her to conform to their ideals and silly improprieties. Jane’s sense of humour is what made me the woman I am today, thanks Jane!
When I was getting a BA, I knew my English-major friends were all reading Austen, but as a science student I had no time for it. Then I had a career as a software engineer and worked all the hours there were, decided that wasn’t what life should be, went back to university for a master of liberal arts and read lots of wonderful stuff, but somehow missed Austen. In the lull after finishing my thesis I decided I was going to read all of those books that “everybody” (except me) had read, and started with “Wuthering Heights” (hated it), “Rebecca” (loved it), and “Pride and Prejudice”–ah! Made the acquaintance of Miss Austen at last!
For the record, and since you asked, I’m female and I’m (mumbles quietly) fiftytwoyrsold
I discovered Jane Austen when I was probably around 13 years old. My big sister was and still is a huge Kate Winslet fan. So my first memory of anything Austen-related is watching Sense and Sensibility the movie (1995) with Kate Winslet. That was probably one of the first time piece movies that caused me to fall in love with the historical fiction genre. Then I started watching Masterpiece Theatre and all the renditions of Austen adaptations. Eventually, I moved from the movies and reading the books. (Female, I’m now 25)
i have always been a hungry reader, reading way above my age as a child. so i don’t know the age i read jane austen, but i am sure the 1st one was pride and predjudice. when sense and sensibility came out i realized there were many more of her books i would love. historial fiction is my favorite. after reading it then i would do research on the era. does anyone else see a similarity between betty neels and jane austen? both you go along for the ride through their gentle lives, not hurring the plot. but betty neels doesn’t have jane’ wonderful wit and variety of characters. i am now 55 yrs old and female.
How and when did I discover Jane?
The mini-series with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth (yum)
I am over 18; that’s all I’m sayin’.
I am FEMALE (should be a dead giveaway with the name Karen.)
I think it was from watching the BBC 1995 P&P.
Erin, Female, Age 26
I was twelve or thirteen. My mom had a cheap Dover collection of P&P, S&S, and Persuasion. I picked up Pride and Prejudice…and my life was never the same! I am a Lit. Major now!
Emily, female, 22
It is amazing!!! So many Jane’s fans and everybody with her/his own story. I will go through your posts!!!! Thank you very much and have a wonderful day.
M Beatrice
first time i read jane austen’ book was jane eyre. i got it from my lovely aunty yennie. i would like to say that it was a very good book. it’s quite an old book but very precious amongs all my books on the shelves.
lynne, female, 27 year-old, and i love your blog. thanks!