Jane Austen

Jane’s been on the £10 note since 2017. Even King Charles couldn’t write her off.

Jane Austen was essentially the Shakespeare of sarcastic humour — but incognito. All her novels were published anonymously during her lifetime, starting with Sense and Sensibility in 1811, which was modestly credited to “A Lady”. (Nothing screams “mysterious literary genius” like extreme politeness.)

Even Pride and Prejudice, now a global treasure, didn’t have her name on it. She was the original stealth author: skewering the British class system with a quill dipped in irony, then vanishing into the hedgerows of Hampshire.

Her identity stayed secret, but her fan base still grew; to the point that the Prince Regent (a.k.a. royal party animal and future King George IV), who was so enamoured with the story Emma that he more or less ordered Jane to dedicate it to him. She agreed, and likely inscribed the dedication with a silent sigh and the 19th century version of an eye-roll: “To His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent...” (Translation: “Fine. Whatever.”)

So while Shakespeare was out there stealing stages, Austen was quietly revolutionising fiction with elegance, razor-sharp wit, and no name on the cover.

Here are three of her satirical soap operas in empire waistlines:

• Sense and Sensibility (1811)
• Pride and Prejudice (1813)
• Mansfield Park (1814)