Jane Austen

British writer, the first renowned female novelist of England. Her six major novels interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her use of biting irony, along with her realism, humour, and social commentary, have long earned her acclaim among critics, scholars, and popular audiences alike. With the publications of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. The seventh of eight children born to a scholarly village rector, she wrote from age 12 with her first novel at 15. For family entertainment, the entire family would tell stories, stimulating her young imagination. Her father was a kindly, reserved cleric and her mother, witty. She had six brothers and a beloved sister, Cassandra. There were few opportunities available to a young woman in that time and place; women were not even allowed into the universities. Jane Austen had two years of formal education. As a young girl she was as high-spirited and silly as any and had several suitors. Her flirtation with the attractive but impecunious Tom Lefroy, whose family insisted that he marry money, set neighbourhood tongues wagging. Later, she suffered a deeper embarrassment in first accepting, then rejecting the very next morning, the proposal of Harris Wither, who was suitable from a social viewpoint, but not to her romantic heart. She remained a lifelong spinster, later becoming somewhat tight-lipped with chastity. Having six full-length novels published was a remarkable accomplishment for a woman in that era. Her health failed in 1815, probably from Addison's disease, and she died peacefully at home on 18 July 1817 at 4:30 AM in Winchester, England. Her six full-length novels have rarely been out of print, although they were published anonymously and brought her moderate success and little fame during her lifetime. Austen has inspired many critical essays and literary anthologies. Her novels have inspired many films, from Pride and Prejudice (1940) to more recent productions like Sense and Sensibility (1995), Emma (1996), Mansfield Park (1999), Pride & Prejudice (2005), and Love & Friendship (2016). Link to Wikipedia biography