Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 to a large, wealthy family in the English countryside, where she lived out her entire life. Her parents were descended from minor English nobility and she had six brothers as well as an older sister, Cassandra, whom she adored.



Both Jane and her older sister were sent to boarding school at a young age. When they returned, they continued their educations at the hands of their father. Jane's parents, George and Cassandra, were both tolerant and encouraging of her passion for writing, unusual at the time for a young woman. At this time, in the lats 1780s, Jane's writings began to flourish. She began with poems, short stories, fables, and plays, meant initially as entertainment.



Her writings, however, eventually became longer and more carefully organized. She began to bind her works, even though they had not as yet been published. Jane's renown as a storyteller grew from her family and circle of close friends to the surrounding area. During this period, the 1790s and early 1800s, Jane perfected the style she would soon be famous for: witty satire and social commentary, along with a dose of romance, all set in the English countryside she knew so well.



In the year 1800, Jane's father, whose health was beginning to fail, announced that the family would be moving to the warmer climates in Bath. Jane, however, was distressed at the sudden move and her subsequent depression led her to nearly abandon her writing for some time. At this time, she started but did not complete several novels.



In 1802, Jane received what was to be her only marriage proposal, which she initially accepted, only later to regret. Harris Bigg-Wither was a friend of the family, but neither was in love with the other. Jane only considered the marriage as a way ease her family's financial burden. In 1796, Jane had fallen in love with Tom Lefroy, but the two were separated by his parents, who apparently did not consider the match suitable. They never saw each other again.



In 1809, after the death of her father, Jane, her mother, and her sister moved in with one of her brothers. In Chawton, Jane's writings flourished once again, and her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published. It was immediately popular among England's literary set, and in subsequent years, other novels followed: Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma , and The Elliots (Persuasion). Today, all are considered classics.



In 1816, Jane fell ill (some speculate she suffered from Addison's disease, a rare adrenal disease). She continued to work, revising her novels, but died quietly in 1917. Northanger Abbey was published after her death. Today, Jane Austen is remembered as one of the world's most celebrated authors. Her signature style has withstood the ages and her works remain popular to this day.