It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of some free time must be in want of a Jane Austen reading challenge.
July has long been an active month for Austen fans (sometimes called Janeites), with conferences, festivals, tours, and book clubs popping up around the world. Austen died in July 1817, and readers take the month of July as an occasion to celebrate her life, literature, and legacy. In recent years, Janeites have organized a summer reading challenge: during the month of July, readers are invited to:
- Read one of Jane Austen’s six novels
- Read something by Jane Austen that is not one of her main six novels
- Read a non-fiction work about Jane Austen or her time
- Read a retelling of a Jane Austen book OR a work of historical fiction set in Jane Austen’s time
- Read a book by a contemporary of Jane Austen
- Watch a direct screen adaptation of a Jane Austen book
- Watch a modern screen adaptation of a Jane Austen book
See below some of our top titles written and inspired by Jane Austen, or click here to see a more complete list.