Jane Austen: the life of a Regency literary icon

You're Dead to Me

BBC

Comedy, History

4.7 • 10.9K Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Greg Jenner is joined in Regency England by historian Dr Lucy Worsley and actor Sally Phillips to learn all about the life and works of literary legend Jane Austen on the 250th anniversary of her birth in December 1775. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Austen is one of England’s best-loved authors, and the creator of such indelible characters as Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Emma Woodhouse and Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Whether you have read one of her six books – Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park – or seen one of the many adaptations, most of us have some experience with Austen. But her life story and how it influenced her writing is perhaps less well-known. This episode explores her early life as the daughter of a rural clergyman, takes a peek inside the books a teenage Jane was reading, and delves into her romantic and familial relationships to see what shaped Austen into the formidable literary talent she was. And it asks a key question: was Jane Austen, who wrote such wonderful women characters, a feminist? If you’re a fan of iconic authors, Regency romances and women succeeding in a man’s world, you’ll love our episode on Jane Austen. If you want more incredible women authors with Dr Lucy Worsley, check out our episode on Agatha Christie. For more from Sally Phillips, listen to our episode on Fairy Tales. And for more Regency romance, there’s our episode on Georgian Courtship. You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Clara Chamberlain and Charlotte Emily Edgeshaw Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:05.6	Your time starts now.
0:07.2	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast.
0:09.4	Absolutely right.
0:11.5	So, you might like to know that the BBC makes loads of other podcasts.
0:15.6	Really?
0:16.4	Wow.
0:17.2	Many of them are very funny.
0:19.1	Which I think means...
0:20.3	A hatful of ha-hars. And energy. Even if you do say so ourselves. I agree 100% to that. Find them all on BBC Sounds. Just tell us a joke. Come on, tell us a joke. Tell us a joke. Come on, tell us a joke. Just search comedy on BBC Sounds. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in. Hello, Greg here. Just a reminder before we get going that episodes of Your Dead to Me are released on Fridays
0:41.2	wherever you get your podcasts.
0:43.1	But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes 28 days earlier than anywhere else.
0:49.3	First on BBC Sounds.
0:52.2	Hello and welcome to You're Dead To Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history
0:56.4	seriously. My name is Greg Jenner. I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster. And today
1:01.0	we are donning our bonnets, seeking an eligible bachelor and promenading back to George
1:05.5	and England to learn all about literary icon Jane Austen for her 250th anniversary year. Happy birthday, Jane!
1:12.7	And to help us explore her life with pride, but no prejudice, we have two very special guests.
1:17.6	In History Corner, she's a historian, curator, author and broadcast. She's the host of the fantastic
1:22.1	BBC Sounds historical true crime podcasts, Lady Killers, and Lady Swindlers. She's the presenter of many wonderful BBC TV documentaries. She's the author of many bestselling books, including, lucky for us, Jane Austen at home. And you'll remember her from our episode about another literary giant Agatha Christie. It's Dr Lucy Worsley. Welcome, Lucy. Hello, thank you for having me. Delighted to have you back. And in Comedy Corner, she's an award-winning, actor, writer, sketch comedian and presenter. You will know her from all of the things, including The Beloved, Smack the Pony, Miranda, Green Wing, Taskmaster. I'm Alan Partridge, Veep, and of course, the Bridget Jones movie franchise, which is basically Pride and Prejudice. And you'll definitely remember her from our episode about fairy tales. It's only Sally Phillips. Welcome back to the show, Sally.
2:02.0	Hello, Greg.
2:03.0	Thank you for having me back. Delighted to have you back. Sally, it's lovely to have you back in. It's lovely to be here. I mean, you're in a BBC sitcom called Austin. Different spelling. It's a lovely show. But it is not an adaptation. No. But you were in Pride and Prejudice, sort of, because Bridget Jones's diary, is Pride and Prejudice?
	...

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