Memoir of Jane Austen: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Memoir of Jane Austen, credited to James Edward Austen-Leigh (1798-1874), is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

Librivox recording of Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh. "The Memoir of my Aunt, Jane Austen, has been received with more favour than I had ventured to expect. The notices taken of it in the periodical press, as well as letters addressed to me by many with whom I am not personally acquainted, show that an unabated interest is still taken in every particular that can be told about her. I am thus encouraged not only to offer a Second Edition of the Memoir, but also to enlarge it with some additional matter which I might have scrupled to intrude on the public if they had not thus seemed to call for it. In the present Edition, the narrative is somewhat enlarged, and a few more letters are added; with a short specimen of her childish stories. The cancelled chapter of ‘Persuasion’ is given, in compliance with wishes both publicly and privately expressed. A fragment of a story entitled ‘The Watsons’ is printed; p. iii and extracts are given from a novel which she had begun a few months before her death; but the chief addition is a short tale never before published, called ‘Lady Susan.’ {0a} I regret that the little which I have been able to add could not appear in my First Edition; as much of it was either unknown to me, or not at my command, when I first published; and I hope that I may claim some indulgent allowance for the difficulty of recovering little facts and feelings which had been merged half a century deep in oblivion." - James Edward Austen-Leigh in the Preface to Memoir of Jane Austen

Recording facts

• Recording title: Memoir of Jane Austen
• Author credits: James Edward Austen-Leigh (1798-1874)
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 14
• Listed recording duration: 4:59:37

Catalogue topics

• Jane Austen
• biography

Track guide

1. 01 - Preface and Chapter 1: Introductory Remarks--Birth of Jane Austen--Her Family — 23:38
2. 02 - Description of Steventon--Life at Steventon--Changes of Habits and Customs in the last Century — 33:08
3. 03 - Early Compositions--Friends at Ashe--A very Old Letter--Lines on the Death of Mrs. Lefroy--Observations on Jane Austen's Letter-writing--Letters — 36:37
4. 04 - Removal from Steventon--Residence at Bath and at Southampton--Settling at Chawton — 23:26
5. 05 - Description of Jane Austen's person, character, and tastes — 18:50
6. 06 - Habits of Composition resumed after a long interval--First publication--The interest taken by the Author in the success of her Works — 18:20
7. 07 - Seclusion from the literary world--Notice from the Prince Regent--Correspondence with Mr. Clarke--Suggestions to alter her style of writing — 31:46
8. 08 - Slow growth of her fame--Ill success of first attempts at publication--Two Reviews of her works contrasted — 13:07
9. 09 - Opinions expressed by eminent persons--Opinions of others of less eminence--Opinion of American readers — 13:40
10. 10 - Observations on the Novels — 9:04
11. 11 - Declining health of Jane Austen--Elasticity of her spirits--Her resignation and humility--Her death — 27:08
12. 12 - The Cancelled Chapter of 'Persuasion.' — 23:11
13. 13 - The Last Work — 20:41
14. 14 - Chapter 14: Postscript — 7:11

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.