Editing Jane Austen (section)

==Published author==
{{further|Styles and themes of Jane Austen}}
Like many women authors at the time, Austen published her books anonymously.<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15">Irvine, 2005 15.</ref> At the time, the ideal roles for a woman were as wife and mother, and writing for women was regarded at best as a secondary form of activity; a woman who wished to be a full-time writer was felt to be degrading her femininity, so books by women were usually published anonymously in order to maintain the conceit that the female writer was only publishing as a sort of part-time job, and was not seeking to become a "literary lioness" (i.e. a celebrity).<ref>Irvine, 2005 10–15.</ref> Another reason noted is that the novel was still seen as a lesser form of literature at the time compared with poetry, and many female and male authors published novels anonymously, whereas works of poetry, by both female and male writers, were almost always attributed to the author.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=R. Feldman|first=Paula|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20057724 |title=Women Poets and Anonymity in the Romantic Era|journal=[[New Literary History]] |date=2002|volume=33|issue=2|publisher= The Johns Hopkins University Press |pages=282–283 |doi=10.1353/nlh.2002.0014 |jstor=20057724}}</ref>  

During her time at Chawton, Austen published four generally well-received novels. Through her brother Henry, the publisher [[Thomas Egerton (publisher)|Thomas Egerton]] agreed to publish ''[[Sense and Sensibility]]'', which, like all of Austen's novels except ''Pride and Prejudice'', was published "on commission", that is, at the author's financial risk. When publishing on commission, publishers would advance the costs of publication, repay themselves as books were sold and then charge a 10% commission for each book sold, paying the rest to the author. If a novel did not recover its costs through sales, the author was responsible for them.<ref>Fergus (2014), 6; Raven (2005), 198; Honan (1987), 285–286.</ref> The alternative to selling via commission was by selling the copyright, where an author received a one-time payment from the publisher for the manuscript, which occurred with ''Pride and Prejudice''.<ref name="Irvine, 2005 13">Irvine, 2005 13.</ref> Austen's experience with ''Susan'' (the manuscript that became ''Northanger Abbey'') where she sold the copyright to the publisher Crosby & Sons for £10, who did not publish the book, forcing her to buy back the copyright in order to get her work published, left Austen leery of this method of publishing.<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15"/> The final alternative, of selling by subscription, where a group of people would agree to buy a book in advance, was not an option for Austen as only authors who were well known or had an influential aristocratic patron who would recommend an up-coming book to their friends, could sell by subscription.<ref name="Irvine, 2005 13"/>  ''Sense and Sensibility'' appeared in October 1811, and was described as being written "By a Lady".<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15"/> As it was sold on commission, Egerton used expensive paper and set the price at 15 shillings ({{Inflation|UK|{{£sd|s=15}}|1811|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=0}}).<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15"/>

[[File:SenseAndSensibilityTitlePage.jpg|left|upright=.85|thumb|First edition title page from ''[[Sense and Sensibility]]'', Austen's first published novel (1811)]]
Reviews were favourable and the novel became fashionable among young aristocratic opinion-makers;<ref name="Honan 1987, 289–290">Honan (1987), 289–290.</ref> the edition sold out by mid-1813. Austen's novels were published in larger editions than was normal for this period. The small size of the novel-reading public and the large costs associated with hand production (particularly the cost of handmade paper) meant that most novels were published in editions of 500 copies or fewer to reduce the risks to the publisher and the novelist. Even some of the most successful titles during this period were issued in editions of not more than 750 or 800 copies and later reprinted if demand continued. Austen's novels were published in larger editions, ranging from about 750 copies of ''Sense and Sensibility'' to about 2,000 copies of ''Emma''. It is not clear whether the decision to print more copies than usual of Austen's novels was driven by the publishers or the author. Since all but one of Austen's books were originally published "on commission", the risks of overproduction were largely hers (or Cassandra's after her death) and publishers may have been more willing to produce larger editions than was normal practice when their own funds were at risk. Editions of popular works of non-fiction were often much larger.<ref>For more information and a discussion of the economics of book publishing during this period, see Fergus (2014), 6–7, and Raven (2005), 196–203.</ref>

Austen made £140 ({{Inflation|UK|140|1811|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=-2}}) from ''Sense and Sensibility'',<ref>Irvine (2005) p.15</ref> which provided her with some financial and psychological independence.<ref>Honan (1987), 290, Tomalin (1997), 218.</ref> After the success of ''Sense and Sensibility'', all of Austen's subsequent books were billed as written "By the author of ''Sense and Sensibility''" and Austen's name never appeared on her books during her lifetime.<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15"/> Egerton then published ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', a revision of ''First Impressions'', in January 1813. Austen sold the copyright to ''Pride and Prejudice'' to Egerton for £110 ({{Inflation|UK|110|1813|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=-2}}).<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15"/> To maximise profits, he used cheap paper and set the price at 18 shillings ({{Inflation|UK|{{£sd|s=18}}|1813|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=0}}).<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15"/> He advertised the book widely and it was an immediate success, garnering three favourable reviews and selling well. Had Austen sold ''Pride and Prejudice'' on commission, she would have made a profit of £475, or twice her father's annual income.<ref name="Irvine, 2005 15"/> By October 1813, Egerton was able to begin selling a second edition.<ref>Sutherland (2005), 16–17, 21; Le Faye (2014) xxii–xxiii; Fergus (2014), 10–11; Tomalin (1997), 210–212, 216–220; Honan (1987), 287.</ref> ''[[Mansfield Park]]'' was published by Egerton in May 1814. While ''Mansfield Park'' was ignored by reviewers, it was very popular with readers. All copies were sold within six months, and Austen's earnings on this novel were larger than for any of her other novels.<ref>Le Faye (2014), xxiii; Fergus (1997), 22–24; Sutherland (2005), 18–19; Tomalin (1997), 236, 240–241, 315, n. 5.</ref>

Without Austen's knowledge or approval, her novels were translated into French and published in cheaply produced, pirated editions in France.<ref name="noel king">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3044273 |jstor=3044273 |last1=King |first1=Noel J. |title=Jane Austen in France |journal=Nineteenth-Century Fiction |year=1953 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 }}</ref>{{rp|1–2}} The literary critic Noel King commented in 1953 that, given the prevailing rage in France at the time for lush romantic fantasies, it was remarkable that her novels with the emphasis on everyday English life had any sort of a market in France.<ref name="noel king"/>{{rp|2}} King cautioned that Austen's chief translator in France, Madame [[Isabelle de Montolieu]], had only the most rudimentary knowledge of English, and her translations were more of "imitations" than translations proper, as Montolieu depended upon assistants to provide a summary, which she then translated into an embellished French that often radically altered Austen's plots and characters.<ref name="noel king"/>{{rp|5–6}} The first of the Austen novels to be published that credited her as the author was in France, when ''Persuasion'' was published in 1821 as ''La Famille Elliot ou L'Ancienne Inclination''.<ref name="noel king"/>{{rp|5}}

Austen learned that the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince Regent]] admired her novels and kept a set at each of his residences.{{efn|The Prince Regent's admiration was by no means reciprocated. In a letter of 16 February 1813 to her friend Martha Lloyd, Austen says (referring to the Prince's wife, whom he treated notoriously badly) "I hate her Husband".<ref>Le Faye (1995), 207–208.</ref>}} In November 1815, the Prince Regent's librarian [[James Stanier Clarke]] invited Austen to visit the Prince's London residence and hinted Austen should dedicate the forthcoming ''[[Emma (novel)|Emma]]'' to the Prince. Though Austen disapproved of the Prince Regent, she could scarcely refuse the request.<ref>Austen letter to James Stannier Clarke, 15 November 1815; Clarke letter to Austen, 16 November 1815; Austen letter to John Murray, 23 November 1815, in Le Faye (1995), 296–298.</ref> Austen disapproved of the Prince Regent on the account of his womanising, gambling, drinking, spendthrift ways, and generally disreputable behaviour.<ref name = "halperin734">Halperin (1985), 734</ref> She later wrote ''[[Plan of a Novel, according to Hints from Various Quarters]]'', a satiric outline of the "perfect novel" based on the librarian's many suggestions for a future Austen novel.<ref>Litz (1965), 164–165; Honan (1987), 367–369, describes the episode in detail.</ref> Austen was greatly annoyed by Clarke's often pompous literary advice, and the ''Plan of a Novel'' parodying Clarke was intended as her revenge for all the unwanted letters she had received from the royal librarian.<ref name = "halperin734"/>

In mid-1815 Austen moved her work from Egerton to [[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]], a better-known publisher in London,{{efn|John Murray also published the work of Walter Scott and Lord Byron. In a letter to Cassandra dated 17/18 October 1816, Austen comments that "Mr. Murray's Letter is come; he is a Rogue of course, but a civil one."<ref>Honan (1987), 364–365; Le Faye (1995) 291.</ref>}} who published ''Emma'' in December 1815 and a second edition of ''Mansfield Park'' in February 1816. ''Emma'' sold well, but the new edition of ''Mansfield Park'' did poorly, and this failure offset most of the income from ''Emma''. These were the last of Austen's novels to be published during her lifetime.<ref>Le Faye (2014), xxv–xxvi; Sutherland (2005), 16–21; Fergus (2014), 12–13, 16–17, n.29, 31, n.33; Fergus (2005), 10; Tomalin (1997), 256.</ref>

While Murray prepared ''Emma'' for publication, Austen began ''The Elliots'', later published as ''[[Persuasion (novel)|Persuasion]]''. She completed her first draft in July 1816. In addition, shortly after the publication of ''Emma'', Henry Austen repurchased the copyright for ''Susan'' from Crosby. Austen was forced to postpone publishing either of these completed novels by family financial troubles. Henry Austen's bank failed in March 1816, depriving him of all of his assets, leaving him deeply in debt and costing Edward, James, and Frank Austen large sums. Henry and Frank could no longer afford the contributions they had made to support their mother and sisters.<ref>Le Faye (2014), xx, xxvi; Fergus (2014), 15; Tomalin (1997), 252–254.</ref>

===Illness and death===

{{main|Causes of Jane Austen's death}}

[[File:Jane Austen's House - geograph.org.uk - 1314316.jpg|thumb|left|upright|8 College Street in Winchester where Austen lived her last days and died]]
Austen was feeling unwell by early 1816, but ignored the warning signs. By the middle of that year, her decline was unmistakable, and she began a slow, irregular deterioration.<ref>Honan (1987), 378–379, 385–395</ref> The majority of biographers rely on [[Zachary Cope]]'s 1964 [[retrospective diagnosis]] and list her cause of death as [[Addison's disease]], although her final illness has also been described as resulting from [[Hodgkin's lymphoma]].<ref>For detailed information concerning the retrospective diagnosis, its uncertainties and related controversies, see Honan (1987), 391–392; Le Faye (2004), 236; Grey<!-- , "Life of Jane Austen," in Grey --> (1986), 282; Wiltshire, ''Jane Austen and the Body'', 221.</ref>{{efn|Claire Tomalin prefers a diagnosis of a lymphoma such as Hodgkin's disease.<ref>Tomalin (1997), Appendix I, 283–284; see also A. Upfal, [http://mh.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/31/1/3 "Jane Austen's lifelong health problems and final illness: New evidence points to a fatal Hodgkin's disease and excludes the widely accepted Addison's"], ''Medical Humanities'', 31(1),| 2005, 3–11. {{doi|10.1136/jmh.2004.000193}}</ref>}} When her uncle died and left his entire fortune to his wife, effectively disinheriting his relatives, she suffered a relapse, writing: "I am ashamed to say that the shock of my Uncle's Will brought on a relapse&nbsp;... but a weak Body must excuse weak Nerves."<ref name="Todd13" />

Austen continued to work in spite of her illness. Dissatisfied with the ending of ''The Elliots'', she rewrote the final two chapters, which she finished on 6 August 1816.{{efn|The manuscript of the revised final chapters of ''Persuasion'' is the only surviving manuscript for any of her published novels in her own handwriting.<ref>Tomalin (1997), 255.</ref> Cassandra and Henry Austen chose the final titles and the title page is dated 1818.}} In January 1817, Austen began ''The Brothers'' (titled ''[[Sanditon]]'' when published in 1925), completing twelve chapters before stopping work in mid-March 1817, probably due to illness.<ref>Tomalin (1997), 261.</ref> Todd describes ''Sanditon''{{'}}s heroine, Diana Parker, as an "energetic invalid". In the novel Austen mocked [[hypochondriacs]], and although she describes the heroine as "bilious", five days after abandoning the novel she wrote of herself that she was turning "every wrong colour" and living "chiefly on the sofa".<ref name = "Todd13">Todd (2015), 13</ref> She put down her pen on 18&nbsp;March 1817, making a note of it.<ref name = "Todd13"/>

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Austen made light of her condition, describing it as "bile" and [[rheumatism]]. As her illness progressed, she experienced difficulty walking and lacked energy; by mid-April she was confined to bed. In May, Cassandra and Henry brought her to [[Winchester]] for treatment, by which time she suffered agonising pain and welcomed death.<ref name = "Todd13"/> Austen died in Winchester on 18&nbsp;July 1817 at the age of 41. Henry, through his clerical connections, arranged for his sister to be buried in the north aisle of the [[nave]] of [[Winchester Cathedral]]. The epitaph composed by her brother James praises Austen's personal qualities, expresses hope for her salvation, and mentions the "extraordinary endowments of her mind", but does not explicitly mention her achievements as a writer.<ref>Le Faye (2014), xxv–xxvi; Fergus (1997), 26–27; Tomalin (1997), 254–271; Honan (1987), 385–405.</ref>