From Jane Fairfax’s mysterious pianoforte to Mary Bennett’s toe-curling singing, music plays a pivotal role in Austen’s novels. The Austen family music books offer a window into this overlooked dimension of the author’s world.

‘A beautifully detailed account of the importance of music, and especially of song, to Jane Austen.’ – John Mullan, author of What Matters in Jane Austen?

Like her much-loved heroine Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen ‘played and sang’. Music occupied a central role in her life, and she made brilliant use of it in her novels to illuminate characters’ personalities and highlight the contrasts between them.

Delving into the Austen family music books, Gillian Dooley unravels the author’s musical connections with family and friends, revealing the intricate ties between her fiction and the melodies she performed. With these revelations, Austen's musical legacy comes to life, granting us a deeper appreciation of her artistic prowess and the influences that shaped her literary masterpieces.

To fully understand Austen we need to understand her music. She played and sang offers readers an exciting new approach to one of the world’s greatest novelists.