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Jane Austen

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  Not a whole lot is known about Austen's life as most of her letters were destroyed by her older sister Cassandra. Most of what is known is second or even third hand except for a few bare facts.

  Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 the seventh child (of eight) of Rev. George Austen and his wife Cassandra (nee Leigh) in the small town of Steventon in Hampshire. Reverend Austen was the rector in that area with a decent income but certainly by no means rich.

  The only formal education Jane received was a short stint with an relative in 1783 and a brief time at a boarding school in Reading in 1785, both with Cassandra. Higher education for women was generally considered unnecessary at that time. However, she was taught by her family some things such as History, Italian, and Music. Jane was also a large reader as was the rest of her family.

  Jane's Juvenilia (a collection of young works), of which Love and Freindship (sic.) and History of England are the most famous, was written in a dressing room next to her bedroom from 1787 through 1793. Many of these works poke fun at popular literature and culture of that time and were written to entertain her family.

  In 1795 Jane began work on Elinor and Marianne as an epistolary (a story told through letters) and in 1796 First Impressions was started. First Impressions (eventually changed to Pride and Prejudice) was first offered for publication in 1797 and it was quickly rejected without a reading. A year later she began writing Susan.

  Jane's life was not all writing and in between times she went to balls and did everything other young women did. She also frequently visited with family and friends.

  In 1801 Jane's family moved to Bath on her father's account and shortly after, in 1803, Jane sold Susan to a publisher for a small sum. However, he decided not to print it.

  In 1805 George Austen died and in 1806 Mrs. Austen, Cassandra, and Jane moved to Clifton and then Southampton. Then in 1809 they moved again to Chawton in Hampshire to a small house belonging to Edward, Jane's second oldest brother.

  In Chawton Jane revised Elinor and Marianne and the title was changed to Sense and Sensibility which was then published in 1811. She began writing Mansfield Park at this time and in January of 1813 Pride and Prejudice was published. All Jane's novels were published anonymously during her lifetime, although she was widely known as the author by now. In May 1814, Mansfield Park was published and Jane began work on Emma which was in turn published in December 1815. Around this time she bought back Susan which would later be called Northanger Abbey. She then spent a year writing Persuasion from 1815-1816.

  In 1816 the business belonging to Henry, Jane's favorite brother, went bankrupt and Jane became ill. In 1817 she began what is known as Sanditon, another novel, but was forced to give it up as she became sicker. On July 18th 1817 at 41 Jane Austen died (most likely of Addison's disease) and a few days later was buried in Winchester Cathedral.

  Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published posthumously in December of 1817 through Henry's efforts who selected the titles and formally named Jane as the author.

  As most of Jane Austen's writings center around courtship and marriage you may be surprised that she never married. Not much is known for sure but rumor has it that she was proposed to several times and had a few serious suitors. One was a Tom Lefroy in 1796 but he couldn't afford to marry her and it is likely she would have received very little as a dowry. During the time she was in Bath she met a young man while at the shore one summer and he was expected to resume attentions but quite soon after Jane learned of his death. Another was Harris Bigg-Wither whose proposal was accepted in 1802 however Jane changed her mind in the morning and returned to Bath the next day.

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