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The History of England
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The History of England
Unavailable
The History of England
Ebook29 pages19 minutes

The History of England

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this ebook

First published in 1791, The History of England is a refreshingly witty, classic account of England’s royal reigns from Henry IV through to Charles I. Written by Jane Austen aged 15, this is a topic she studied when she was a child.

In this mischievous satire on school history books, Austen’s delightful juvinilia highlights her dry wit and advanced talent for writing. The History of England gives a humorous account of the country’s well-known kings and queens, and is complete with Austen’s original spelling quirks.

Describing herself as a ‘partial, prejudiced and ignorant historian’, Austen uses a light-hearted tone to parody the dry history books popularly seen in schools. This lively book mocks historians with outrageous characters and deliciously naughty intelligence.

This satirical volume’s contents includes:

    - Henry the 4th
    - Henry the 5th
    - Henry the 6th
    - Edward the 4th
    - Edward the 5th
    - Richard the 3rd
    - Henry the 7th
    - Henry the 8th
    - Edward the 6th
    - Mary
    - Elizabeth
    - James the 1st
    - Charles the 1st

Proudly republished by Read & Co. Books, this classic treasure is a must-read for collectors of Austen’s work and fans of English history.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 11, 2018
ISBN9781528786096
Unavailable
The History of England
Author

Jane Austen

Jane Austen (1775–1817) was an English novelist whose work centred on social commentary and realism. Her works of romantic fiction are set among the landed gentry, and she is one of the most widely read writers in English literature.

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Rating: 3.7403845615384617 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I don't love reading histories as much as I used to, but this was a hilarious read. It's so opinionated and pointed and done in the way only Jane could, thumbing her nose and complimenting in the same breath of truly gorgeous words.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In one of her early works, Austen offers short biographical sketches of the English monarchs from Henry IV to Charles I. These are not objective sketches. Indeed, Austen warns readers that the work is written by “a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant historian.” She concludes that “my principal reason for undertaking the History of England being to Prove the innocence of the Queen of Scotland, which I flatter myself to having effectually done, and to abuse Elizabeth, tho’ I am rather fearful of having fallen short in the latter part of my scheme.” The author reveals herself as a Yorkist with a partiality for the Roman Catholic religion. Readers with any familiarity with English history will learn more about Austen than they will about England’s kings and queens.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    An amusing short history of recent kings of England by a highly opinionated young Jane Austen. One can see a glimpse of future writings in the ramblings displayed in this volume. Recommended for lovers of this author, and the curious.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Written at age sixteen to entertain her family, Jane Austen provides a rather unorthodox account of England's rulers from Henry IV to Charles I. The edition I read contained facsimiles of her handwritten work plus a transcription of it and illustrations by her sister Cassandra. It also contained an introduction written by A. S. Byatt and a note on the text by Deirdre Le Faye. I found Jane's writing quite legible and could read it nearly as fast as the transcription.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This delightful bit of juvenilia, written when Jane Austen was sixteen years old, is a hilarious and highly individual history of the English monarchy, from 1399 to 1649. Described by its author as being written "By a partial, prejudiced & ignorant Historian (Note: There will be very few Dates in this History)," this book more than lives up to its billing!A facsimile of the original manuscript, with illustrations by Austen's sister, Cassandra, Jane Austen's The History of England, contains a host of amusing snippets about the various monarchs, from Henry VI, whom the author disliked for being a Lancastrian, to Mary, Queen of Scots, whom she felt was much maligned.Truthfully, there isn't much to this little book, although it will certainly provide any Jane Austen aficionado with an hour's enjoyment. I myself value it for its evidence of Austen's boisterous high spirits - something that is sometimes lacking in her more sedate, adult literature.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    THIS book’s title is misleading: it is not a collaborative history written by two doyens of 19th-century English literature, but rather the entire text of The History of England from the Reign of Henry I to IV, to the Death of Charles I by Jane Austen, and an excerpt from Charles Dickens ’s A Child’s History of England . Austen’s work, written when she was only 16, comprised a mere 20 pages, while Dickens ’s was far more substantial. Hers was intended as an amusing satire but Dickens ’s work, although much of it seems tongue in cheek to the modern reader, was taken seriously enough to be a setwork for British schools until well into the 20th century. How survivors of today’s dry-as-dust history syllabus must envy children who learned of the past by means of Dickens ’s fast-paced, gossipy and partisan prose! In his introduction, David Starkey encourages us to read the histories as works of literature, pointing out how Dickens was true to the sentiments he expressed in his novels, and Austen developed themes here that she was later to master. “Austen’s opinionated frivolousness had a point. More than whimsy, her History of England is a satire on the style of history writing and pedagogy to which young girls of her class and station were routinely subjected,” Starkey says. “Austen’s implicit objection was to the vapidity of history education.” In complete contrast, Dickens wrote a male-centred history bristling with dates, and with the names of the main characters capitalised. Despite using the standard and predictable tools of the sort of history book against which Austen had rebelled, his use of language, his irony, humanity, use of evocative detail and sardonic wit make his writing a pleasure. “Throughout the book he shows himself wholly intolerant of the follies and arrogance of many of England’s rulers, at whose feet he lays much of the blame for the copious ‘turmoil and bloodshed’ of his nation’s history,” Starkey says. After completing the entirely admirable and informative introduction, it is fascinating to examine the varied opinions of the two authors at face value, as might a schoolchild. Austen condemns Elizabeth I as “wicked”, largely because she ordered the death of Mary Queen of Scots. Dickens judges her as “vain and jealous … a hard swearer and a coarse talker. She was clever, but cunning and deceitful.” But while they may broadly agree on the subject of the so-called Virgin Queen, Mary Queen of Scots is another matter entirely. Described as “amiable … this bewitching princess” and “entirely innocent” by Austen, Dickens argues that although she was “captivating”, she was also “deceitful … artful and treacherous”, and he had no doubt whatsoever that she was involved in plots to overthrow Elizabeth. Strangely enough, given the levels of anti-Catholicism that persisted in England well into the 20th century, both writers were generally sympathetic to the Church of Rome, and respected Mary’s devotion to her religion. “Could you Reader have believed it possible that some hardened & zealous Protestants have even abused her for that Steadfastness in the Catholic Religion that reflected on her so much credit?” Austen asks plaintively. In a milder vein, Dickens observes: “In their Protestant zeal, (they) made some very unnecessary speeches to her; to which she replied that she died in the Catholic religion, and they need not trouble themselves about that matter.” Of James I, the teenaged Austen admits: “I cannot help liking him”, while the best Dickens can come up with is that “he was ugly, awkward, and shuffling both in mind and person”. That might not seem very complimentary, but compared with the other things Dickens has to say about “his Sowship”, it is high praise indeed. His loathing for James was such that he was almost sympathetic towards Guy Fawkes and the others involved in the Gunpowder Plot to assassinate King James I, although Austen comments sadly: “I am necessitated to say that in this reign the Roman Catholics of England did not behave like Gentlemen to the Protestants.” The last monarch both writers examine is Charles I, whom they agree was “amiable”. Dickens offers a far more detailed and informative account of Charles’s dispute with parliament, the civil war, and his execution. “With all my sorrow for him, I cannot agree with him that he died ‘the martyr of the people’; for the people had been martyrs to him, and to his ideas of a King’s rights, long before,” Dickens writes. Austen dismisses “the disturbances, Distresses, & Civil Wars” in a single paragraph, and ends her history with the breath-taking candour of youth: “The Recital of any Events … is uninteresting to me; my principal reason for under taking the History of England being to prove the innocence of the Queen of Scotland, which I flatter myself with having effectively done, and to abuse Elizabeth, tho’ I am rather fearful of having fallen short in the latter part of my Scheme.” Do not rely on these authors for a definitive account of the history of England . This is no textbook — it has been published for the enjoyment of fans of these two quintessentially British authors. Austen and Dickens are refreshingly unselfconscious, witty without being deliberately clever or precious, non-PC, but never cheeky, and they are a true delight to read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ah, Jane, even as a young person you had such talent. Her sarcasm is much more obvious than later in life. Very fun for anyone who likes English history (and have a sense of humor) or Jane Austen.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A stunning tour-de-force by the young Austen. The sophisticated voicing used to convey the tongue-in-cheek humour of her later works is laid bare here, with the young historian's admission that she will only give a fair hearing to those monarchs she feels deserve it. Read this if you want to learn the stories of the English Monarchs in a brief and amusing way. Also, if you want a way-in to to the sophistication of her novels, this is a great primer for the wicked humour that is voiced in such an urbane way in her adult works.