Affectation of candour is common enough-one meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design—to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone.

Austen's letter marked "Declined by Return of Post". It is unlike any of Austen's other works. Marriage was impractical as both Lefroy and Austen must have known.

She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer. Her realism and biting social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.