A Latter-day Bluestocking

I was once challenged to write a limerick about Jane Austen.  A limerick is a humorous verse, frequently bawdy.  In fact, it’s really no fun at all if there isn’t a bit of the naughty in it.  I am sure this person thought it would be impossible to write such a thing given Jane Austen’s reputation for lady-like gentility.  Ah, ignorant fool!  Little did this person know that Jane Austen, far from being a blushing prude,  knew what was what and wrote a famous pun referring to sodomy in the Royal Navy.

So here is my effort:

There once was a lady named Jane
Her scribblings are considered most tame;
But far from being dour,
Wrote a quip, to make us cower,
Of ‘rears and vices’ without shame.