Jane Austen, an English novelist in the 18th century, is known for her six major novels, of which, Pride and Prejudice is the most well-known. Born on December 16, 1775, she is the seventh child of George Austen, a country clergyman, and his wife, Cassandra. Jane was born a month later than her parents expected. Her family had moved to Steventon in Hampshire in 1768. She and her siblings were born there. Jane’s father provided for his family by farming while teaching three to four boys at a time, who would also board at his home. Jane and her sister, Cassandra, were sent to Oxford for their education. Both were sent back home in the autumn when they caught typhus, and Jane was then homeschooled. She later attended boarding school with her sister at the Reading Abbey Girls School but soon returned home as the school fees were too high for the two girls. Jane was guided by her father and her brothers for the remainder of her education. Reading and private theatricals were also part of her learning. Jane Austen’s literary passion began with writing comic stories as a child. She was fond of writing poems and stories for herself and her family to read. She began writing these as early as eleven years old. Jane tried her very first dramatic writing when she was twelve years old. During her teenage years, she also wrote three short plays. Between 1787 and 1793 she compiled 29 works, bound in three notebooks, now called “Juveniliaâ€. One of these works is what she called “Love and Friendshipâ€, which is a satirical novel written in letters. It was written when she was fourteen years old. Austen also wrote a thirty-four-page manuscript with her sister, Cassandra’s watercolor miniature entitled “The History of Englandâ€. Austen began writing longer and more sophisticated works by the time she was eighteen years old. In 1795, Tom Lefroy, a politician, and a judge was introduced to Jane at a social neighborhood gathering. Austen wrote letters to her sister, Cassandra about him and it was evident that she was genuinely attracted to Lefroy. However, the family of Lefroy intervened and sent him away. After that, every time Lefroy visited Hampshire, he was always kept away from Austen, and she never saw him again. Sometime later, Austen’s father decided that the family should move to Sydney Place in Bath, following his decision to retire from the ministry. Jane seemed to have had less time spent writing while in Bath due to her social life and frequent travels in England during this time. In 1802, Austen received her only known marriage proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither which she accepted for practical reasons but later withdrew her acceptance.Â
Austen’s father died early in 1805 and his sudden death left their family in an unsecured financial situation. They lived in rentals in Bath but later moved to Sussex Coast, where they resided at Stanford Cottage. They moved to Southampton and shared the same house with one of her siblings’ wives. In 1809, her father’s brother, Edward, offered that they move to a large cottage in Chawton village. There the family had a quieter life, where they made themselves busy working and also teaching students to read and write.
Jane was determined to be a published author so she took a financial risk and published Sense and Sensibility on a commission basis. In this book, she identified herself as the author with “a Lady†written on the title page of the book. The novel was well-received by the public and gained praise and favorable reviews, it sold out in less than two years. At the age of 20, Austen began writing “Pride and Prejudiceâ€, which she initially called “First Impressionsâ€. As she continued to write, she decided to revise the title to avoid duplicating a title of a book published in 1800. “The author of Sense and Sensibility†was how she was referred to as the author. “Pride and Prejudice†was so well-received that it sold out in less than a year and the publisher printed a second edition in 1813, and the third edition in 1817. To date, there are at least 17 films and TV series adaptations of “Pride and Prejudiceâ€, not including sequels.
Austen’s third published novel, “Mansfield Park†was announced as “a new novel by the author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudiceâ€. Its first edition was sold out within six months; however, some readers were disappointed that it lacked the humor of her previous novel, Pride and Prejudice. This novel was not reviewed by critics in her time but in her eagerness to know how her work was being received, she collected reviews from her friends and family members in a list she called “Opinions of Mansfield Parkâ€. Their views of the novel were just as divided as modern readers are today.
Emma, her fourth and last novel published during her lifetime was published with a new publisher – John Murray, the prominent publisher of The Quarterly Review as well as other works of some leading authors of their day. Emma had the largest first print edition among her four novels published at 2000 copies. It was also published anonymously, with the title page showing “by the Author of ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ etc, etc.†as the author. It was first available for sale in December of 1815 and by October 1816, it only had 1,248 copies sold—slightly less than two-thirds of the initial print run. The most frequent feedback is that the plot lacked “incident†and that many readers expected more action. According to a note left by her sister, Cassandra, “Northanger Abbey†may have been inspired by Jane Austen’s visit to Bath in her youth. It was first titled Susan but was then renamed Northanger Abbey when it was published. Austen changed the name of the heroine from Susan to Catherine as another novel called Susan was published in 1809. She also wrote a preface to explain to the readers that it had been finished thirteen years earlier. Northanger Abbey was praised by critics and was also well-received by the public.
Persuasion is Austen’s last completed novel and was published posthumously along with Northanger Abbey in 1817. According to her sister, Cassandra, the novel has gone through revisions by Jane Austen by writing two new chapters, as she was unhappy with the first draft. In Austen’s letter to her niece, Fanny Knight, she mentioned “..I have something ready for publication which may perhaps appear about twelve months hence. It is short, about the length of Catherine [Northanger Abbey].†That “something†was Persuasion. Jane Austen died four months after. The novel has gained popularity, having numerous adaptations on television, theater, radio, and film including a Netflix film of the same title starring Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis.
Her first four novels were published anonymously. Some of Austen’s novels were also translated into French and were pirated and reproduced in France without her consent. Her novel �
Jane Austen, an English novelist
in the 18th century, is
known for her six major
novels, of which, Pride and
Prejudice is the most well-known.
Born on December 16, 1775,Â
she is the seventh child
of George Austen, a country
clergyman, and his wife, Cassandra.
Jane was born a month
later than her parents expected.
Her family had moved to
Steventon in Hampshire in 1768.
She and her siblings were
born there. Jane’s father provided
for his family by farming
while teaching three to four
boys at a time, who
would also board at his
home. Jane and her sister,
Cassandra, were sent to Oxford
for their education. Both were
sent back home in the
autumn when they caught typhus,
and Jane was then homeschooled.
She later attended boarding school
with her sister at the
Reading Abbey Girls School but
soon returned home as the
school fees were too high
for the two girls. Jane
was guided by her father
and her brothers for the
remainder of her education. Reading
and private theatricals were also
part of her learning. Jane
Austen’s literary passion began with
writing comic stories as a
child. She was fond of
writing poems and stories for
herself and her family to
read. She began writing these
as early as eleven years
old. Jane tried her very
first dramatic writing when she
was twelve years old. During
her teenage years, she also
wrote three short plays. Between
1787 and 1793 she compiled
29 works, bound in three
notebooks, now called “Juveniliaâ€. One
of these works is what
she called “Love and Friendshipâ€,
which is a satirical novel
written in letters. It was
written when she was fourteen
years old. Austen also wrote
a thirty-four-page manuscript with her
sister, Cassandra’s watercolor miniature entitled
“The History of Englandâ€. Austen
began writing longer and more
sophisticated works by the time
she was eighteen years old.
In 1795, Tom Lefroy, a
politician, and a judge was
introduced to Jane at a
social neighborhood gathering. Austen wrote
letters to her sister, Cassandra
about him and it was
evident that she was genuinely
attracted to Lefroy. However, the
family of Lefroy intervened and
sent him away. After that,
every time Lefroy visited Hampshire,
he was always kept away
from Austen, and she never
saw him again. Sometime later,
Austen’s father decided that the
family should move to Sydney
Place in Bath, following his
decision to retire from the
ministry. Jane seemed to have
had less time spent writing
while in Bath due to
her social life and frequent
travels in England during this
time. In 1802, Austen received
her only known marriage proposal
from Harris Bigg-Wither which she
accepted for practical reasons but
later withdrew her acceptance.Â
Austen’s father
died early in 1805 and
his sudden death left their
family in an unsecured financial
situation. They lived in rentals
in Bath but later moved
to Sussex Coast, where they
resided at Stanford Cottage. They
moved to Southampton and shared
the same house with one
of her siblings’ wives. In
1809, her father’s brother, Edward,
offered that they move to
a large cottage in Chawton
village. There the family had
a quieter life, where they
made themselves busy working and
also teaching students to read
and write.
Jane was determined to
be a published author so
she took a financial risk
and published Sense and Sensibility
on a commission basis. In
this book, she identified herself
as the author with “a
Lady†written on the title
page of the book. The
novel was well-received by the
public and gained praise and
favorable reviews, it sold out
in less than two years.
At the age of 20,
Austen began writing “Pride and
Prejudiceâ€, which she initially called
“First Impressionsâ€. As she continued
to write, she decided to
revise the title to avoid
duplicating a title of a
book published in 1800. “The
author of Sense and Sensibilityâ€
was how she was referred
to as the author. “Pride
and Prejudice†was so well-received
that it sold out in
less than a year and
the publisher printed a second
edition in 1813, and the
third edition in 1817. To
date, there are at least
17 films and TV series
adaptations of “Pride and Prejudiceâ€,
not including sequels.
Austen’s third published
novel, “Mansfield Park†was announced
as “a new novel by
the author of Sense and
Sensibility and Pride and Prejudiceâ€.
Its first edition was sold
out within six months; however,
some readers were disappointed that
it lacked the humor of
her previous novel, Pride and
Prejudice. This novel was not
reviewed by critics in her
time but in her eagerness
to know how her work
was being received, she collected
reviews from her friends and
family members in a list
she called “Opinions of Mansfield
Parkâ€. Their views of the
novel were just as divided
as modern readers are today.
Emma,
her fourth and last novel
published during her lifetime was
published with a new publisher
– John Murray, the prominent
publisher of The Quarterly Review
as well as other works
of some leading authors of
their day. Emma had the
largest first print edition among
her four novels published at
2000 copies. It was also
published anonymously, with the title
page showing “by the Author
of ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ etc,
etc.†as the author. It
was first available for sale
in December of 1815 and
by October 1816, it only
had 1,248 copies sold—slightly less
than two-thirds of the initial
print run. The most frequent
feedback is that the plot
lacked “incident†and that many
readers expected more action. According
to a note left by
her sister, Cassandra, “Northanger Abbeyâ€
may have been inspired by
Jane Austen’s visit to Bath
in her youth. It was
first titled Susan but was
then renamed Northanger Abbey when
it was published. Austen changed
the name of the heroine
from Susan to Catherine as
another novel called Susan was
published in 1809. She also
wrote a preface to explain
to the readers that it
had been finished thirteen years
earlier. Northanger Abbey was praised
by critics and was also
well-received by the public.
Persuasion is
Austen’s last completed novel and
was published posthumously along with
Northanger Abbey in 1817. According
to her sister, Cassandra, the
novel has gone through revisions
by Jane Austen by writing
two new chapters, as she
was unhappy with the first
draft. In Austen’s letter to
her niece, Fanny Knight, she
mentioned “..I have something ready
for publication which may perhaps
appear about twelve months hence.
It is short, about the
length of Catherine [Northanger Abbey].â€
That “something†was Persuasion. Jane
Austen died four months after.
The novel has gained popularity,
having numerous adaptations on television,
theater, radio, and film including
a Netflix film of the
same title starring Dakota Johnson
and Cosmo Jarvis.
Her first four
novels were published anonymously. Some
of Austen’s novels were also
translated into French and were
pirated and reproduced in France
without her consent. Her novel
â€