Jane Austen's Hidden Genius: A Modern Novelist?

Jane Austen's 250th anniversary is prompting a deeper look at her literary contributions, with prominent thinkers and writers sharing their connections to the author. Biographer Dr. Paula Byrne is exploring these personal encounters alongside Austen's significant places.

Among those reflecting is writer and comedian David Baddiel, who encountered Austen as a student. Baddiel asserts that Austen is often misunderstood, emphasizing her radical technical prowess and proposing she invented the modern novel. He considers her a paramount artist in English literature.

Baddiel traces this artistic foundation to Austen's 1811 debut, 'Sense and Sensibility.' Byrne notes Austen's persistence in getting published. The conversation highlights how the core elements of Austen's genius were present from her first book, with her art transforming the mundane into something extraordinary, a quality Baddiel deeply admires.