Jane Austen Biography

1789: Aged 14, she wrote her first novel "Love and Friendship" and "A history of England".

1795: Aged 20, she wrote novels which were later re-worked and published as "Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice" and "Northanger Abbey".

She enjoyed dancing, attended balls, loved the country.

1801: She had a great schock when her parents announced that the family will move away to Bath.

1801/1805: These years were difficult one for Jane because she disliked her new environment and missed
her life in Steventon.

1805: Her father died. The family was left in financial difficulties. They have to rely on the charity of the Austen sons. They moved to Southampton (lived with her brother Frank and his wife Mary). Visited occasionally London (stayed with her brother Henry a banker).

1805: She falls in love, but the young man died. Accepted then a proposal of marriage from Harris
Bigg-Wither, but changed her mind and broke the relationship.

1809: Moved back to Hampshire (her brother Edward offered his mother and sister a permanent home on Chawton Estate).

1809/1816: She entered in a period of intense litterary activity.

1811 and 1813: Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice were published.

1814: Mansfield Park came out.

1816: Emma came out.

1816: Started "Sanditon", but because of her illness she could'nt finish it.

1818: After her death, "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey" were published.

Oddly enough, none of the books published during her life-time had her name on them. They were simply written "by a Lady".

Jane Austen was suffering from the Addisons Disease (a tubercular disease of the kidneys). As she could not walk far, she drive out in a little donkey carriage (it can be seen at the Jane Austen Museum at Chawton).

Back then as there was no cure for this type of illness, she died in the arms of her sister Cassandra in the early hours of 18 July, 1817. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral, near the center of the north aisle.

Here some titles of her books, novels:

LADY SUSAN, 1793-94
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, 1811
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, 1813
EMMA, 1815
NORTHANGER ABBEY, 1817
PERSUASION, 1818
THE WATSONS, 1871
LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP, 1922
THREE NOVELS, 1923
LETTERS, 1925
SANDITON (unfinished), 1925
FRAGMENTS, 1934

Some of her quotations, like:

"One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other".

"Business, you know, may bring you money, but friendship hardly ever does".

"Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings".

"Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable".

seem to be harmless but they make one think about their real meaning.