Richard Whately, an early reviewer of Jane Austen (1775-1817), remarked that she was ‘evidently a Christian writer: a merit which is much enhanced, both on the score of good taste, and of practical utility, by her religion being not at all obtrusive’. Austen’s Christianity is, in fact, so unobtrusive that critics and readers now tend to neglect its importance entirely. Many assume that Austen is mostly interested in satirising the church through characters like Mr. Collins. Even scholars who admit that Austen was a devout Anglican, such as Claudia Johnson, take her faith to be entirely separate from her artistic identity, a mere matter of social conformity.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This lecture, presented to mark the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth, will discuss the evidence her own life of faith as an Anglican born into a family of clergymen: two of her brothers and her father were ordained. It will then make the case that her novels only make sense when read through a Christian moral framework for two reasons. Firstly, because her stories depend on her heroes and heroines exercising distinctly Christian virtues, such as humility and repentance. Secondly, because she chose to write comedies, the genre that most closely mirrors the Christian story of our redemption.

To read the handout that Beatrice has prepared for this lecture, click here.