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)

BOOKINGS NOW CLOSED

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?

Saturdays, fortnightly, 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

Recordings

This is a 4-session course, with a live online lecture and seminar each fortnight. The lectures are recorded so that participants can listen again during the course if they wish. The seminars are not recorded.

Editions of the books

We recommend the most recent editions from Oxford World’s Classics, but any good edition will be fine. A handout with key extracts will be provided for each lecture. Please read/re-read each book in advance of the relevant lecture, so it is fresh in your mind.

Optional Further Reading

The essential reading is the four novels. If you want to read some criticism or biography, we recommend any of these titles:

Edward Copeland and Juliet McMaster, The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen (CUP, 1997; 2006)
Jenny Davidson, Reading Jane Austen (CUP, 2017)
Fiona Stafford, Jane Austen: A Brief Life (Yale UP, 2017)
Claire Tomalin, Jane Austen: A Life (Penguin, 2012)
John Wiltshire, The Hidden Jane Austen (CUP, 2014)

Link

• Chronology and details of the novels: Jane Austen Society.

Course fees

£210.00 Full price
£190.00 CAMcard holders
£190.00 Students/Unwaged on a low income

Click on the image below for the booking page.