For all of the Jane Austen fans out there...

I didn't know this (though I am a fan of Jane Austen): her birthday is December 16th...but remember, it isn't polite to ask a girl her age! Well, maybe just this once...Jane would be turning 235 years old this year (if she had managed to survive, vampire like, through the ages). While she isn't here to celebrate with us, it doesn't mean we can't!

In honour of this momentus occasion, Sourcebooks has a special offer for the biggest Austen fans out there. Here's what they have to say:

"Sourcebooks, the world’s leading publisher of Jane Austen fiction, is offering a unique deal to readers who want to celebrate Jane by reading special editions of all six of Austen’s beloved novels in a 21st century format.

Special e-book editions of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Mansfield Park will be available for free for one day only. These celebratory editions include the full novels, plus the legendary color illustrations of the Brock brothers, originally created to accompany the books in 1898.

In addition to the Jane Austen classics, readers can also enjoy these bestselling Austen-inspired novels. The following bestselling e-books will be free on December 16th in honor of her birthday:

Eliza’s Daughter by Joan Aiken
The Darcys & the Bingleys by Marsha Altman
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown
The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins
The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview
Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange
Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan
Lydia Bennet’s Story by Jane Odiwe
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Abigail Reynolds

Available wherever eBooks are sold."

What do you think, folks? Pretty awesome deal! I've personally read Rebecca Ann Collins and was pleasantly surprised at how well she continued the feel of the original Austen novel. I'm looking forward to reading all of the others too. (Plus, I have it on good authority that I'll be getting a Kobo for Christmas, just don't tell Santa I peeked, k?).

Mark the day on your calendar and lets all celebrate together ;-)

Addendum to the above from Sourcebooks:

"First off let me sincerely apologize for all the confusion regarding the free offer of Jane Austen special edition titles as well as the 10 Austen inspired novels. Please extend this apology to your readers and followers as well.

We have been trying to fix the problem all morning. It takes a lot of cooperation from different parties to make the offer happen and it unfortunately it took some extra time to iron out the kinks.

Let me tell you know that iBooks and Google books currently has everything correct.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony are currently working to get their prices adjusted. They should be correct shortly. Sourcebooks.com will also have our books and the illustrated versions available for free within the next hour!

Because of this confusion we want to celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday an extra day! This offer will be good tomorrow as well.

Again I am sorry for the confusion and thank you for being patient!"