British novelist Jane Austen (b. 1778, England - d. 1817) is currently the subject of much discussion as a Christian novelist. No less a thinker than C.S. Lewis was convinced that Austen was a Christian novelist. Do a search for the following terms, "Jane Austen" & "Christian novelist" and you will get numerous hits.
Jane Austen was the daughter and sister of Anglican clergymen and was at least nominally Christian. Little is actually known about her; after her education, from the age of eleven until her death, she was a proud seamstress who lived at home with her family who called her "good quiet Aunt Jane." Her novels were published anonymously by her brother, who was her literary agent. She was never noticed until after her death.
There is nothing overtly Christian about her novels (Pride and Prejudice,1813; Sense and Sensibility,1811; Mansfield Park, 1814; Emma, 1816; Persuasion, 1818, and Northanger Abbey, 1818) but they stress respect for others, courtesy, self-control, morality, and that those who refuse to "repent" will finally come to regret it. Her female characters often have a moment of "reflection" in which they make a turn in their lives.
Jane Austen was apparently a Christian and her novels show her Christian understanding of morality, but there is nothing about a personal God and no mention of Jesus.
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