'On the Wrong Side of Five-and-Thirty': How Jane Austen Grew Up
As a teen writing a draft of the book that would become <em>Sense and Sensibility</em>, the novelist poked fun at her older characters<em>. </em>By the time it was published, she was their age.
Every year, I try to read a book by an author who was my age when the book was published. This year, that book was Sense and Sensibility. It’s not a perfect match: Jane Austen had not yet turned 36 (my age) when it was published in 1811. But given the occasion—this month marks the 200th anniversary of her death—I figured I’d cheat the rules this once.
It turned out to be an appropriate choice. A principal trait of Colonel Brandon, one of the book’s main characters, is that he’s also viewing his 35th birthday in
