The Honorary American: Jane Austen at 250

“Jane Austen had little to say about America,” scholar Lauren Gilbert wrote in a 2012 article, adding, “and that little was not good.” Yet, whatever her opinions about us were, Americans do indeed love the author of Pride and Prejudice—and all her works. Born on December 16, 1775, fewer than six months before the Declaration of Independence, Jane Austen is as beloved on this side of the Atlantic as she is in her native land. For good reason!