Jane Austen and the French Revolution

In this book, Warren Roberts argues that Jane Austen was very much aware of the French Revolution and its Reign of Terror, of the Revolution's impact on British society, and of England's long and bitter military struggle with France. She not only knew about, but was profoundly affected by, the events of her day, in both her thinking and writing. Raised in the collective security of the 18th century, she tried to remain aloof from the new forces that disrupted the contours of her world, but when revising "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice", and even more when writing "Mansfield Park", she became involved in the most pressing of contemporary issues. In addressing herself to those issues, she revealed her own stand on such areas of British life as politics, war, religion and feminism, all of which were deeply influenced by the French Revolution. Her novels show her attitude to many key issues, and they provide a record of the Revolutionary experience. The author previous publications include: "Morality and Social Class in Eighteenth-Century French Literature and Painting" (1974) and "Jacques-Louis David, Revolutionary Artist" (1989).