Jane+Austen's+Bio

Jane Austen was born on December 16th, 1775. Jane was born to George and Cassandra Austen in a village called Steventon. She was the seventh child, but their second daughter. In birth order their children were: James, Edward, Henry, Cassandra, Francis, George, Jane, and Charles. Jane Austen was very close to her brother Henry Austen and also to her father George Austen. In 1783, when Jane Austen was eight, she and her sister Cassandra Austen were sent off to boarding school for formal education. Much of what Jane Austen learned was from her father and brother, and from reading on her own. Jane’s father was constantly encouraging her to explore her creative side. Overall, Jane Austen’s home was casual, filled with humor, and debates. The family created productions of plays, writing, and acted out their own creations. Through all of this, Jane’s talent started to shine through.

Jane Austen was encouraged by her family to write, especially by her father, although it was not a recognized profession for women at that time. By the age of fifteen, Jane Austen started to write. Before the age of twenty-three, Jane Austen had finished //Northanger Abbey//, //Sense and Sensibility//, and //Pride and Prejudice//. Although these titles were not the original titles, they changed during revisions. Many of the novels she wrote were based off of her personal experiences in life and family history. Jane Austen had fallen in love with Mr. Tom LeFory, but at the time, he was in school and was preparing to open his own practice. Jane Austen’s family believed she no longer had anything to offer him. Another experience which became the topic Jane Austen based books off of occurred in December of 1802; Jane Austen received her only known proposal from Mr. Harris Bigg – Wither, a childhood friend. Jane Austen accepted. At about the same time Mr. Bigg – Wither was about to inherit a nice amount of real estate. The downfall for Jane Austen was that she was not really in love with him. The reason she had accepted the offer was because she wanted her family to be well off, but because Jane Austen did not love Mr. Bigg – Withers, she withdrew the proposal the next day.

In December of 1800, Jane Austen’s father, announced his retirement from the clergy which shocked the whole family. The family decided to move from Steventon to Bath for retirement. Mr. Austen loved his daughter and wanted her to succeed in life, so he did her a favor; he attempted to get one of her writings published; it is believed that she did not know of this attempt. George sent the piece to Mr. Thomas Cadell, but he refused to even open the package. In 1805, Mr. George Austen died. This devastated Jane Austen especially since she loved her father dearly. Jane Austen, her mom, and her sister, Cassandra were forced to move to a small house provided by Edward in the village of Chawton. Twelve short years later, Jane Austen died on July 18, at the age of forty-one.

Although, publishers were reluctant to publish Jane Austen’s pieces, //Pride and Prejudice// is her most popular and durable piece she had written. Today, many people have read Jane Austen’s novels, and classical literature in classrooms. Even though Jane Austen was a writer, she never sat for an interview, wrote memoirs about herself, or shared her joys, heartaches, and disappointments of love and her own life. All she ever said about love was the advice given to her niece; about not to get married if affection is not there. This advice alone gave insight into Jane Austen’s thoughts about love and marriage.

Jane Austen's Novels and Synopsis:

//Sense and Sensibility// is about Marianne Dashwood who falls head over heels fro Wickham and falls apart when he leaves. All the while, her sister Elinor tries to hold the family together since her father died and then her love life also starts to fall apart.

//Pride and Prejudice// is about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are judgmental when they first met, but when they look beyond first impressions they see they could be a good fit for each other. Not only does Mrs. Bennet want Elizabeth to marry she wants all of her daughters married as soon as possible.

//Mansfield Park// is about Fanny Price who was brought up with wealthy relative and how her life is. Throughout the novel, there reoccurring issues, such as acting in a play, marrying someone for money alone, and the misbehaviors of Fanny.

//Emma// is about Emma Wood house and how she is growing up into adulthood and what some of the bumps she runs into and the trouble she creates.

//Northanger Abbey// is about Catherine Morland, a fan of Gothic Novels, who ends up falling in love with Henry Tilney lives in a Gothic home. This is makes Catherine happy. Jane Austen makes of the Gothic Novels, which were popular when she was writing Northanger Abbey.

//Persuasion// is all about second chances, love, and the expectations of society. Annie Elliot and Captain Wentworth fall in love but decide not act on it, then eight years later their paths cross. They realize they love on another, but mostly throughout the novel, they acted like they do not love each other.