Jane Austen’s families

Jane Austen’s Families 

Live online course with Tom Zille, University of Cambridge.

1.        Dependants: Sense and Sensibility (1811)

2.        The Family Circle: Pride and Prejudice (1813)

3.        Distant Relations: Mansfield Park (1814)

4.        The Smooth Surface of Family-Union: Persuasion (1818)

Family is the most important unit across all of Jane Austen’s novels. It is inescapable. To her characters, the family is the source of socialisation and social status. And it provides them with the wider connections that will determine the course of their lives.

Much like the characters themselves, many of Austen's families have strong identities and are vividly remembered by her readers. At the same time, Austen’s families serve as the building-blocks of the larger social body, from the management of country estates to the affairs of Empire. The marriages of her main characters often forge unions between political or economic dynasties.

This course will examine how the lives of characters in four of Austen’s novels are shaped by family. This was an age when the role of the family was changing under the influence of British imperialism, the enlightenment, and industrialisation. We will consider the ways in which Austen’s portrayal of families was shaped by her own life experience and circumstances.

Austen’s novels are always concerned with values and ways of living. How far do her families secure happiness and moral conduct for their members - and how far do they undermine these values?

With Dr Tom Zille, Cambridge.

Course fees

£220.00 Full price
£200.00 CAMcard holders
£200.00 Students/Unwaged on a low income

Saturdays, 11 April to 23 May 2026

18.00-20.00 British Summer Time
19.00-21.00 Central European Summer Time
Morning/lunchtime in the Americas

Click on the image below for booking page.