Juvenilia – Volume II

Jane Austen

Synopsis

"Run mad as often as you choose; but do not faint!"

If Volume I was the spark, Juvenilia – Volume II is the fire. In this volume, a mid-teen Jane Austen takes aim at the "cult of sensibility" that dominated the novels of her day. The centerpiece, "Love and Freindship" (spelled intentionally with Austen's original flourish), is a brilliant epistolary parody featuring heroines who faint on every sofa they encounter and wander the countryside in a state of perpetual, melodramatic "distraction." This volume also features her iconic "History of England," where she gleefully abandons historical accuracy to defend Mary, Queen of Scots, and mock the "vile" Elizabeth I. It is a collection that proves Austen was a master of irony before she was even twenty.

The Masterpiece of Parody: Love and Freindship: Through a series of letters, Austen deconstructs the romantic tropes of the era. Her characters, Laura and Sophia, believe that "feeling" is more important than "common sense," leading to a series of absurd adventures involving stolen money, secret marriages, and dying of a "chill" caught while fainting in the dew.

The Bias of a Historian: In The History of England, Austen mocks the dry, "objective" historians of her time. Writing as a "partial, prejudiced, and ignorant historian," she proves that history is often just a matter of who you like and who you don't—a biting critique of how narratives are constructed that still feels modern today.

A Developing Genius: From the unfinished "Lesley Castle" to the sharp "Collection of Letters," this volume shows Austen experimenting with different voices and structures. You can see the DNA of Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility being formed in these rowdy, rebellious pages.

Join the fun at the Austen family table. Purchase "Juvenilia – Volume II" today.

Disponible depuis: 12/01/2026.

Longueur d'impression: 146 pages.

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