Jane Austen

Today I would like to tell you something about Jane Austen, one of the most widely read writers
in English literature. Her works of romantic fiction, but also other novels and short stories earned her
recognition and admiration of many readers and also literary critics over centuries.

Jane Austen was born on 16th December 1775 in Steventone, Hampshire, as the 7th child of
Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra, who were both well-respected community members.
All their children grew up in an environment that stressed learning and creative thinking. At the age of 7,
according to a family tradition, Jane and her sister Cassandra were sent to a boarding school in Oxford.
The school was then moved to Southampton, where both girls caught typhus and Jane nearly died. The
two sisters completed their formal education at the Abbey school in Reading, Berkshire. Jane acquired the
rest of her education by reading books, guided by her father.

It was with her only sister that Jane had the best relationship amongst all of her siblings, which
can be proven by extensive correspondence the two girls were keeping for years to come. Cassandra also
drew the only Jane's portrait, currently on display in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Jane was also
close to her brother, two of whom joined the navy and eventually became Admirals. Their careers were a
source of inspiration for one of Jane's novels – Mansfield Park. Another of her brothers, Edward, was
adopted by wealthy childless relatives, which made him their legal heir. Later on Edward provided Jane
with the use of a cottage in Chawton, where she wrote some of her most successful novels.

Her passion for writing was discovered much earlier. It is believed that she began to write short
stories and poems already at the age of eleven. She later compiled copies of 29 of these early works into
three bound notebooks, now referred to as the Juvenilia. Among these works we can also find a satirical
novel Love and Friendship and The History of England, a manuscript accompanied by watercolour
miniatures drawn by her sister.

In her early adulthood, Jane developed her style in more ambitious works such as Lady Susan, an
epistolary novel about a manipulative and selfish woman, who uses her intelligence and charm to trap the
best husband she could find while maintaining a relationship with a married man. Shortly after having
finished this story, Jane started to write some of her future major works, such as Elinor and Marianne,
which was told through a series of letters. The original manuscripts were later put together and published
in 1811 as Sense and Sensibility. This romantic fiction novel portrays the life, loves and heartbreaks of the
two Dashwood sisters.

At the age of 20, Jane began drafts of First Impressions, a novel dealing with the misjudgements
that can occur at the beginning of relationships and how those can change as people get to know each
other more. The story was rewritten and finally published as Pride and Prejudice, one of Jane's greatest
masterpieces. Its publication was followed by other famous works, such as Mansfield Park or Emma.

Early in 1816, Jane began to feel unwell. At first she ignored her illness and continued working on
another novel, until she was forced to stop due to her health conditions. Aged 41, she managed to write a
short will before she died on 18th July 1817. Her brother Henry arranged for her to be buried in the nave
of Winchester Cathedral. Today, tourist from all over the world keep coming to her grave to honour the
life and work of one of the England's greatest novelists of all times.

http://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-timeline.asp
http://www.biography.com/people/jane-austen-9192819#literary-works

http://becomingjane.blogspot.pt/2007/07/biography-of-cassandra-austen.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen

http://www.austen.com/novels.htm

http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/our-heritage/famous-people/jane-austen-a-great-english-
novelist/