Jane Austen’s Fans Were Called Janeites—and 9 Other Fascinating Facts about Iconic Authors

Jane Austen graces currency

How we love classic books! Except when we hate them. It is remarkable that a writer could achieve such world-wide, lasting fame with only six novels (but what a glorious six novels they are)! Though Austen originally used the modest pseudonym “A Lady,” and received little enough attention when her work was published in the early 19^th century, books like Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility became cult favorites in World War I with British soldiers who proudly proclaimed themselves “Janeites,” swapping their dog-eared copies around the trenches. Two hundred years after Austen’s death, the Bank of England is about to roll out a ten-pound note with Austen’s image and one of her best known quotes: “I declare, after all, there is no enjoyment like reading.” We agree!