Author Quotes
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Her novels are notable for their wit, social observation and insights into the lives of early 19th century.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
— Pride and Prejudice (1813)
The most famous opening line in English fiction after "Call me Ishmael." Austen's irony is surgical — the "universal truth" is really the neighbourhood's mercenary wish.
“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.”
— Emma (1815)
From Austen's most psychologically complex novel. Against the social values of wit, beauty, and wealth, she elevates simple emotional generosity.
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!”
— Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Spoken by the insincere Miss Bingley. The irony is that she says this to impress Darcy while not reading at all — Austen skewering performative intellectualism.
“Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.”
— Emma (1815)
Austen on social context shaping moral judgment. Identical acts are read differently depending on who performs them — a sharp observation of class dynamics.