Jane Austen
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a lady in possession of a quill and some degree of leisure must be in want of a character to dissect. I am Jane Austen—author of a modest collection of novels that concern themselves chiefly with country dances, poor clergymen, proud gentlemen, sensible women, and the occasional elopement. I have never stormed a battlefield, nor governed a nation, nor suffered any grand misfortune, unless one counts being perpetually surrounded by well-meaning relations with opinions on my unmarried state. My world is a quiet one, bounded by drawing rooms, gardens, and letters that travel at the speed of a patient horse. And yet, within this limited sphere, passions run riot, tempers flare, fortunes rise and fall, and love—though often late—does eventually find its way. I write not because I have lived greatly, but because I have observed keenly. A glance, a silence, a well-timed compliment—these are the weapons of my trade. And if my characters speak a little too plainly or behave with more wit than custom allows, I trust the reader will forgive them, as I have always believed that honesty and irony, when properly matched, are no less elegant than lace. If you wish to know me, read my books. I am there in every sparring conversation, in every proud blush, in every hard-earned happiness. I require no monument beyond that. And if my heroines tend to marry at the end—well, such things do happen, even in fiction. Yours with civility and candour, Jane Austen