In order to understand Jane Austen's sense of humor, it is helpful to examine her youthful writings to see how that characteristically witty sense of humor developed.

Jane Austen's is known for her delightful irony and sense of humor; how exactly that humor operates and is constructed can be difficult to discern, since her touch as an author is so delicate and skillful. An examination of her youthful writings called her "Juvenilia" is helpful in pointing out the direction that her sense of humor would take in her later novels.