Jane Austen’s novels ranked: Where to start and what to read next

Jane Austen wrote six novels. All six are still in print, still taught, still argued over, and still capable of making readers feel things they did not expect to feel about a woman navigating a drawing room in 1813.

With a new Netflix adaptation of Pride and Prejudice arriving later this year, written by Dolly Alderton and starring Emma Corrin, a lot of people are going to pick up Austen for the first time. Some of them will start in the right place. Some will not. This guide is designed to make sure you do.

Should you read Jane Austen in order?

No. Austen did not intend her novels to be read in any particular sequence, and there is no overarching story connecting them. Each novel stands entirely on its own. The more useful question is which novel suits the kind of reader you are right now.

Where should I start with Jane Austen?

For most readers, the answer is Pride and Prejudice. It is the most immediately engaging of the six novels, with a plot that moves quickly, a heroine you root for from the first page, and a central relationship that has defined romantic tension in English fiction ever since. If you have never read Austen and want to understand why she still matters, start here.

If you are a confident reader who enjoys character study over plot, start with Emma instead. It is slower, more demanding and more rewarding. The central character is not always likeable, which is precisely the point. Many readers who have already loved Pride and Prejudice consider Emma to be the better novel.

A guide to all six Jane Austen novels

Pride and Prejudice (1813)

The obvious starting point and for good reason. Elizabeth Bennet is one of the most fully realised heroines in English literature: intelligent, funny and entirely unwilling to marry someone she does not respect, regardless of what society expects of her. Mr Darcy is the template for every brooding romantic lead written since. The novel is also, underneath the romance, a sharp and occasionally savage comedy of manners.

Best for: First-time Austen readers, anyone who loved the 1995 BBC adaptation or is anticipating the Netflix series.

Emma (1815)

Austen’s most complex novel and, arguably, her best. Emma Woodhouse is handsome, clever and rich, and almost entirely wrong about everything. The plot turns on a series of matchmaking disasters, but what makes the novel extraordinary is how gradually and uncomfortably the reader is made to share Emma’s blind spots before having them corrected. Austen described Emma as a heroine whom no one but myself will much like. She was wrong.

Best for: Readers who want more than a love story, those returning to Austen after Pride and Prejudice.

Sense and Sensibility (1811)

Austen’s first published novel, following sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood as they navigate love, loss and financial instability after their father’s death. Where Pride and Prejudice is witty and sparkling, Sense and Sensibility is quieter and more emotionally demanding. Elinor in particular is one of Austen’s most underrated creations: a woman who feels everything and shows almost nothing. A new film adaptation starring Daisy Edgar-Jones arrives in UK cinemas in September 2026.

Best for: Readers who found Pride and Prejudice too light, fans of the Dashwood sisters story ahead of the film.

Mansfield Park (1814)

The most morally serious of the six novels and the one that divides readers most sharply. Fanny Price is quiet, passive and frequently overlooked, which is entirely the point. The novel asks uncomfortable questions about what it means to have good values in a world that rewards charm and confidence over integrity. It is also Austen’s most explicit engagement with the slave trade, a strand of the novel that has attracted significant critical attention in recent years.

Best for: Readers who want to be challenged, those interested in Austen’s moral and political thinking.

Northanger Abbey (written c.1803, published 1817)

A gothic parody and a coming-of-age story in one. The heroine Catherine Morland has read too many sensational novels and approaches the world accordingly, seeing mystery and danger where there is mostly just ordinary social awkwardness. It is the lightest and funniest of the six, and the shortest.

Best for: Younger readers, anyone who enjoys literary humour, a quick and entertaining Austen if you are short on time.

Persuasion (written 1816, published 1817)

Austen’s final completed novel and the most melancholy. Anne Elliot is older than Austen’s usual heroines, quieter, and carrying the weight of a decision she made years earlier that she now regrets. The novel is about second chances and the question of whether it is ever too late. Many readers consider it the most emotionally affecting of the six.

Best for: Readers who want something more reflective, those returning to Austen later in life.

What if I want to read everything?

If you want the full Austen experience in one edition, the Wordsworth Complete Jane Austen Collection brings all six novels together in a single volume. It is also one of the most considered gifts you can give a reader who loves classic fiction.

Is there anything else worth reading about Jane Austen?

Yes. A Memoir of Jane Austen, written by her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh and published in 1869, remains one of the most intimate accounts of her life and character. It is the source of much of what we think we know about Austen as a person, and it is a genuinely affecting short read for anyone who has come to love the novels and wants to understand the woman behind them.

What about Sanditon?

Sanditon is the novel Austen was writing when she died in 1817, left incomplete at eleven chapters. It is not essential Austen but it is fascinating as a fragment: lighter in tone than her later work, set in a newly fashionable seaside resort, and full of comic energy. Worth reading once you have explored the main six.

Austen has been read continuously for over two hundred years because she understood something about human nature that has not dated. Her novels are funny and precise and occasionally merciless, and they reward rereading in a way that very few books do.

Whether you are coming to her for the first time ahead of the Netflix series, returning after years away, or looking for a gift for someone who deserves a beautiful edition of something that will last, you are in the right place.