Reception history of Jane Austen
For years, people thought the same of Austen as Scott and Whately. Only a few people actually read her novels. In 1870 the first important Austen biography, A Memoir of Jane Austen, was written by Jane Austen's nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh and printed. This changed the way people thought of Austen. When it came out in print, Austen's popularity and critical standing increased greatly. The Memoir made people think of an untrained writer who wrote masterpieces. People thought Austen was a quiet, middle-aged unmarried aunt. This made them feel that her works were safe for respectable Victorian families to read. The Memoir made Austen's books be printed again in great numbers. The first popular editions came out in 1883. They were a cheap series printed by Routledge. This was followed by editions with pictures, collectors' sets, and scholarly editions. However, critics still said that only people who could really understand the deep meaning of Austen's books should read them. However, after the Memoir was printed, much more criticism about Austen was printed. More came out in two years than had come out in the last 50 years.