The Loiterer, a periodical work, in two volumes

Creator

Date

1790

Identifier

De Beer Eb 1789 L

Publisher

[Oxford]: Printed for the Author and sold by Messrs Prince and Cooke [and six others]

Abstract

Is this letter Jane Austen’s first appearance in print? Some scholars think so. The Loiterer was a weekly periodical launched in early 1789 by James Austen, Jane’s brother. Printed in Oxford, it lasted for about fourteen months; the final issue appeared on 20 March 1790. ‘Sophia Sentiment’ was a character in William Hayley’s comedy The Mausoleum (1785), a work that Jane Austen owned. This three-paragraph letter shows the spark of humour that might well have come from a teenage Jane Austen.

Files

Cab 2- loiterer.jpg

Citation

[James Austen], “The Loiterer, a periodical work, in two volumes,” ourheritage.ac.nz | OUR Heritage, accessed March 29, 2024, https://otago.ourheritage.ac.nz/items/show/10804.