An Overview of Jane Austen
Jane Austen was born on December 16 of 1775, at
the Rectory, Steventon Parish, New Hampshire, England. She was
the seventh child and second daughter of the Rev. George Austen
and Cassandra Leigh-Austen. Jane was devoted to her older sister,
Cassandra- Elizabeth, and when she was sent away to school in
Oxford, Jane begged to be sent along with her. Mr. Austen,
however, couldn't really afford their schooling and the girls
were back home after less than three years. From then on, it was
their brother James who, on his return from Oxford, took charge
of the reading of the two girls. Thus, they ended up very well
educated, compared to any female at that time. (1, 2)
Jane began writing at age twelve, and devoted
all her spare time to this matter. During her lifetime, she
published four stories anonymously: "Sense and
Sensibility", 1811; "Pride and Prejudice", 1813;
"Mansfield Park", 1814; "Emma", 1816. In the
spring of that year, her health began to fail-some say due to
worry over some family misfortunes-. At the time when her mind
had begun to reach its greatest brilliancy, her life began to
decay. Her cheerful letters showed faint signs of the disaster
which was to come. She died July 18th, 1817, at Winchester.
"Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion" were
published in 1818, when her authorship of the whole six novels
was first acknowledged. (1, 2, and 3)
In "Jane Austen, and the Novel of Social
Comedy", W.J. Dawson says that, in order to justly
appreciate Jane Austen, readers must respect the limitations of
her art, as she herself did. "She painted the world she
knew... not only with fidelity, but with sympathy; with a lively
sense of its blemishes, and with an ever-present satire... as
well as with a true insight into its redeeming pieties and
virtues." He further explains that, if romance and sentiment
and large passions are not found in her pages, it is because they
were not found in the world she knew. "She was born into a
world of unredeemed dullness, yet it was from this material that
Jane Austen extracted stories that have survived for a century.
She was like a miniature painter who worked with infinite
patience and fineness, until she portrayed a picture as near
perfection as one can conceive." Quoting Walter Scott,
Dawson explains it is the truth of the description and the
sentiment, her exquisite touch, which renders ordinary
commonplace things and characters interesting.
According to Dawson, Jane Austen has been a key
writer in the development of English fiction and the nature of
her genius and influence demands careful consideration.
""Pride and Prejudice" was written when she was
only twenty-one; her last book, "Sense and
Sensibility", in 1797-8. Her entire literary life was
comprised in the twenty-one years between 1786 and 1817. Within
her own limits, she comes as near perfection as any human genius
can."
Bibliography:
-Dawson, William James. "Jane Austen, and the Novel of
Social Comedy". Chapter IV of Makers of English Fiction.
-Dean, Cathy. "Jane Austen E-texts". Illustrated
Cabinet Edition of Sense and Sensibility.
-MacLeod, Laura. Document from "Incompetech's British Author
Series.
Check out my list of Jane Austen Resources on the Net if you wish to access the complete works of Jane Austen, check out other links on this author, or submit your comments to a discussion group devoted to her.
Or try the following links to see other people's homepages of Jane Austen.
Johnson, Meredith's Homepage of Jane Austen- includes basic descriptions of the storyline of Pride and Prejudice, the characters, and the author.
Ostentatious Jane's "Jane Austen" Page