Jane Austen's Men

The society in which Jane Austen lived and set her novels was a patriarchal one. Men ran the country nationally and locally, and had professional or business careers. Women were relegated to the subservient roles of wife, mother and housekeeper. What was it like to be a man in late Georgian and Regency England? How did Jane Austen, who lived in a predominantly male household, portray her male characters? How much inspiration did she draw from real men? This book explores the lives of the men in Jane's life, her relationship with them, how typical they were of men of their time and the impact they had on her life and writing. It also considers how accurately the novels portray the lives of men and what they reveal of their author's views on the relationship between the sexes and the male domination of society.