Cassandra Austen: Jane’s Adored Sister

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Cassandra Austen is certainly not as famous as her author sister, Jane, but one thing is for certain: she was a massively significant presence in Jane’s world. In this episode of Footnoting History, Christine takes a look at Cassandra’s life and her close, protective, bond with the author of Pride and Prejudice.

Host: Christine

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Further Reading 
​​Neil Armstrong, “'The truth is she did the right thing': The mystery of why Jane Austen's letters were destroyed – by her own sister”, BBC, (2025).

Caroline Austen, My Aunt Jane Austen: A Memoir, The Jane Austen Society, (1991).

James Edward Austen-Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen: And Other Family Recollections, Kathryn Sutherland, ed., Oxford University Press, (2008).

Laura Boyle, “Cassandra Austen: Jane Austen’s Beloved Older Sister”, Jane Austen Centre, (2011).

Marilyn Butler, "Austen, Jane (1775–1817)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, (2004; online edn, Jan 2010).

Jane Austen, The Beautifull Cassandra, via Jane Austen's House.
​
Jane Austen's Letters, Deirdre Le Faye, ed., 4th edition, Oxford University Press, (2011).

Jane Austen Society of North America.

Helena Kelly, Jane Austen: The Secret Radical, Knopf (2016).

Devoney Looser, The Making of Jane Austen, Johns Hopkins University Press, (2017).

Lizzie Rogers, “Jane Austen and her “Beloved Sister””, CCTDigital, (2023).

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This episode is part of our Women's History Collection

​Music: "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin Macleod (www.incompetech.com)