A lively, well-researched, expert study of aging in the literature of Jane Austen There is no doubt that Jane Austen is enduringly popular with both a general readership and academics. But amid the wealth of approaches to her life and work, no one has made a full-length study of the concept of aging in her novels, and this book sets out to fill that gap. With chapters on the loss of youth and beauty, old wives, old maids, merry widows, and dowager despots, the theme allows for a lively exploration of many of Austen's most memorable characters. There are also chapters on hypochondria and illness, age and poverty, and death and wills. The book draws on the six novels, major literary fragments, Austen's own letters, and the reminiscences of family members and contemporaries. Real-life examples are used to underline the fidelity of Austen's fictional representation. Austen's wry approach to the perils and consolations of growing older is bound to strike chords with many.