|
Famous
as:
|
English
Novelist |
|
Born:
|
16
December 1775 in the village of Steventon, Hampshire, England. |
|
Birth
Name:
|
Jane
Austen |
|
Parents:
|
Reverend
George Austen and Cassandra
Leigh |
|
Siblings:
|
James
(b.1765);
George (b.1766); Edward
(b.1767);
Henry (b.1771); Cassandra
(b.1773),
Francis (b.1774);
Charles (b.1779). |
|
Nationality:
|
English |
|
Height:
|
Was described as tall
and slender by those who knew her. |
|
Eyes:
|
Hazel |
|
Hair:
|
Curly Brown |
|
Education:
|
Jane
was mostly educated at home, but in 1783 she briefly attended a boarding
school ran by her father at Steventon Rectory. From 1785 to 1786 she attended
a boarding school in Reading. |
|
Career:
|
One of the first writers
to develop the Traditional English Novel. |
|
Wrote six novels that
have inspired, entertained and amused generations of readers for their
wonderful stories, wit, humour and satire:
1. Sense and Sensibility
- first published 1811
2. Pride and Prejudice
- first published 1813
3. Mansfield Park
- first published 1814
4. Emma - first
published 1815
5. Northanger Abbey
- published posthumously 1817
6. Persuasion -
published posthumously 1817 |
|
Jane Austen's minor writings
include:
The History of England - a short
satirical work
The Watsons - Incomplete novel
Stories in letters:
Lesley Castle
Love and Friendship
The Three Sisters
Lady Susan |
|
Achievements:
|
Widely
regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. |
|
One of the best selling
authors of all time. |
|
Jane
Austen's novels are frequently adapted for film, television and stage. |
|
Her novels are studied
by literature students all over the world. |
|
Miscellaneous:
|
Jane
Austen published her work anonymously, using the words by a lady. |
|
Only four of her novels
were published in her lifetime:
Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Emma
Mansfield Park |
|
Northanger Abbey and
Persuasion
were published after her death by her brother, Henry. They were the
first publications to bear Jane Austen's name. |
|
The title of Northanger
Abbey was not given by Jane, but her brother, Henry, in preparation
for publication following her death. Jane's working title was Miss Catherine. |
|
Her
most famous work is Pride and Prejudice. |
|
The Prince Regent (later
King George IV) was a fan of her work. |
|
A number of Jane's letters
survive. |
|
Jane and her elder sister,
Cassandra, were exceptionally close. Cassandra was devastated by Jane's
death and sadly wrote 'she was the sun of my life, the gilder of every
pleasure, the soother of every sorrow, I had not a thought concealed from
her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself'. |
|
Jane Austen's house in
Chawton, where she lived with her family, is open to the public. |
|
Jane
was portrayed by Anne Hathaway in a semi-biographical film Becoming
Jane (2007) |
|
Marital
Status:
|
Never
married. |
|
Children:
|
No
children. |
|
Died:
|
18
July 1817, Winchester, England. |
|
Cause of Death:
|
Prolonged
ill-health. It has been suggested that she died ofAddison's Disease or
Cancer. |
Buried:
|
Winchester
Cathedral, England. |
