"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
No doubt, a phrase that could be spoken in Utah today.
Although her novels were written hundreds of years ago, Jane Austen's writing still resonates, and her work seems to be held in especially high regard in the Beehive State.
"(There's a) general nostalgia for a period where seemingly life was simpler and love was always in bloom," said Nicholas Mason, an associate professor of English and chair of the English department at Brigham Young University. "There's a certain longing in a world where courtship codes have become so lax for an earlier time when men and women knew exactly how they were supposed to act."
The desire for romance and courtship in today's society has grown as civility as faded, Mason says.
"There's some nostalgia, especially among women for gradual courtship, especially in the hook-up culture," Mason said. "In our era, when quite often sex comes well before love, Austen's novels provide an escape."
Interestingly, the setting of Regency England, as portrayed in Austen's books, draws parallels to today's Mormon culture in Utah.
"While society has shifted away from the culture and morals of Jane Austen's world, Latter-day Saints still believe in abstinence before marriage and complete fidelity afterwards," said Aspen Anderson, Utah chapter president of the Jane Austen Society of North America.
"Our standards are still similar to hers: abstinence and fidelity. We identify a lot more with the standards of the time period."
In Utah culture, as in Regency England, there is importance placed on marriage.
"There is that loneliness that comes from that pressure," Anderson said. "Single adult women of any age are attracted to her novels because it supplements that romance that they feel that lack of."
Aspen recently founded the Utah chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America where self-proclaimed "Janeites" can meet to share their love of Austen's novels and similar works.
Jennifer Adams, author of the recent book "Remarkably Jane: Notable Quotations on Jane Austen," thinks Austen's writings appeal so much to Utahns because of her emphasis on family.
"Her work is about many things — from the economics of sex to English country manners," Adams said. "But in the end, Jane Austen is ultimately about family and marriage: two topics that occupy the minds and dominate the culture of many Utah women."
Editor and publisher Howard Clark, who is from Texas, has benefitted from the interest Utah women have in Austen novels. After releasing his book "Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters, A Family Record" on Amazon.com, he noticed that it sold more copies in Salt Lake City than any other spot in the United States — by a ratio of eight to 1, he said.
"I'm not sure why or to whom the books were sold," Clark said.
Chances are, to single Mormon women.
E-mail: smoreton@desnews.com