Jane Austen biography briefly. Jane's Work in Progress

To this day, Miss Austen Jane is one of the most famous English writers. She is often called the First Lady English literature. Her works are required reading in all British colleges and universities. So who was this woman?

Brief biographical information

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775. Her family's home was in the small provincial town of Steventon, in the county of Hampshire. Her father George, a truly educated and enlightened man, came from an old Kentish family and was a parish priest.

The writer's mother, Cassandra Lee, also came from an old but impoverished family. In addition to Jane, the family had seven more children - brothers James, George, Edward, Henry, Francis and Charles, as well as sister Cassandra. The writer was especially close to her sister. It was from their correspondence that some facts about Jane’s life and hobbies became known.

Childhood and youth of the famous writer

In fact, not much is known about Miss Austen’s childhood and youth. The same applies to her appearance, because descriptions from different sources sound different. However, it is generally accepted that Jane was an elegant, graceful and pretty girl with an inquisitive mind, a subtle sense of humor and incredible curiosity. Moreover, the girl loved fashion, was interested in gentlemen, attended balls, adored joyful walks and playful skirmishes with family and friends.

Where was Miss Austin educated?

The writer’s works demonstrate not only extraordinary talent, but also considerable intellectual development Miss Austin. Jane was educated at several different institutions. In 1783, the future writer, together with her sister Cassandra, began studying at Oxford. But here the sisters were unlucky, as they suffered due to the despotism of the headmistress, and then became infected. Then there was a school in Southampton, after which the girls changed schools again. Educational institution in Reading also did not suit an inquisitive girl, because the kindness of the headmistress was combined with absolute indifference to the education of children.

After so many failures, Jane returned home, where her father took charge of her education. George Austin managed to instill in his daughters not only a love of reading, but also a subtle literary taste. The girl grew up and developed in an intellectual atmosphere, and her evenings were spent reading and discussing classic books.

Influence on the writer’s work

Undoubtedly, home education and her father’s literary knowledge left an imprint on the writer’s work. But there were other factors that influenced the process of creating the novels of the famous Miss Austen. Jane lived in the famous times historical events- this was a revolution in France, on the territory of England, uprisings in Ireland, the War of Independence in America, etc.

Despite the fact that most of Jane spent her life in the provinces, she actively corresponded with her relatives and acquaintances, who vividly described to her the historical events in which they participated. It was these letters that became for the young girl inexhaustible source ideas and useful information.

Jane Austen: Early Works

Not all fans of the writer know that she created her first works at the age of fifteen. For example, one of these works was the epistolary novel “Love and Friendship,” which was created as a kind of parody of the English romance novels popular at that time.

At the same time, she also worked on the “History of England,” which, in fact, was a parody, a pamphlet on O. Goldsmith’s textbook. Here Jane skillfully and wittily satirized the author's claims to objectivity, while at the same time presenting some real historical facts. Another parody of the traditional ones was the short story “The Beautiful Cassandra”.

Famous novels by the writer

Surely almost every person has had the opportunity to become familiar with the works of Jane Austen at least once in their life. Her novels are extremely popular among fans of classical literature.

Jane Austen's first work, Sense and Sensibility, was published in 1811. By the way, she published this book under the pseudonym “Lady”. This is a simple and at the same time exciting story about two sisters with different characters. Marianna is an emotional and sensitive girl who wants to find true love, while Elinor is more reserved, reasonable and practical.

The success of this work allowed the writer to publish her next book in 1813 - to everyone famous novel called "Pride and Prejudice", which, by the way, was written much earlier. It is said that this work was written immediately after the breakup with Tom Lefroy, but because the publishers initially rejected it, it waited fifteen years for its turn. The love story, which has to go through a lot of prejudice and overcome pride, is one of the most written by writers today.

The next published work was the book Mansfield Park. Jane Austen worked on it for three years. By the way, this work is classified as a so-called educational novel. The story about a girl who has to choose between her heart, the rules of decency and reasonable arguments became the plot for a mini-series.

In 1816, another famous novel was published, Emma. Jane Austen here, in a humorous manner, described the story of a cheerful, perky girl who has fun helping her friends get married. Busy with the role of matchmaker, which, by the way, she doesn’t cope with very well, Emma almost overlooked her own happiness.

In 1817, another book entitled “Arguments of Reason” was published posthumously. Jane Austen told the reader the sad story of how Anne Elliot, guided practical advice her mother's friends, rejected the only person whom she loved. By the way, this particular book is often considered a kind of autobiography of the writer herself.

A year later, another novel was published - Northanger Abbey, which is a cheerful and witty parody of mystical Gothic novels.

Jane's Work in Progress

In fact, not all work famous writer were finished. For example, during Miss Austen's lifetime, a short epistolary novel called Lady Susan was not published. Written between 1803 and 1805, the story of a cunning and treacherous woman trying to find a suitable husband raises important issues morals and ethics.

The same theme of hunting for suitors was touched upon in another unfinished novel by the writer called “The Watsons.” By the way, this work was subsequently completed by Jane’s niece and published under the title “The Younger Sister.”

There is another popular work by the British writer, which she never managed to complete. Jane began working on the novel Sanditon several months before her death and only managed to compose a fragment of it. In 2000, this work was completed by the English writer Julia Barrett - a novel published under the title “Charlotte”.

Personal life of the writer

It's no secret that, despite her rather pleasant appearance, Jane Austen remained lonely. In her youth, she received a marriage proposal from the nephew of the wealthy Lady Gresham Weasley, but refused because she did not have any feelings for him.

In 1795, poor law student Thomas Lefroy and Miss Austin met. Jane mentioned these events several times in her letters to her sister. Mutual feelings immediately flared up between the young people, but they had to part. After all, the young people came from poor families, and only a profitable marriage with rich heirs could correct the situation. By the way, Thomas eventually became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. And Jane, at the age of 30, put on an old maid's cap, informing the whole world that she was not going to get married.

After the death of her father, the writer helped her mother with housework, since financial situation family was extremely difficult. In 1817, Jane moved to Winchester, where she received treatment while working on the novel Sanditon. She died here on July 18.

Jane Austen: film adaptations of novels

In fact, the works of the English writer have always aroused great interest. For example, the book “Pride and Prejudice” alone has been filmed ten times. The film based on the novel first appeared on screens in 1938. The last television version of the famous novel was released in 2005 - the role of Elizabeth Bennet went to Keira Knightley, and Mr. Darcy was brilliantly played by Matthew Macfadyen.

The novel Sense and Sensibility has been filmed five times. One more thing popular work entitled “Emma” formed the basis of the plot for eight paintings. Of course, these are not all Jane Austen films. For example, there are four films based on the novel Persuasion. And "Northanger Abbey" was filmed twice - in 1986 and 2006. There are also three film adaptations of Mansfield Park. As you can see, all of Jane Austen's completed novels became the basis for the plot of many films. And despite the time, changes way of life and traditions, these simple stories about love, friendship and morality are still of great interest to viewers and readers.

Films about the life of the writer

In fact, the object of interest on the part of cinema gurus was not only the works of Jane Austen, but also her life itself. To date, three films have been shot, the plot of which is in one way or another based on the biographical data of the famous writer. For example, in 2002 it was released documentary entitled “The Real Jane Austen,” which was based on well-known biographical data and the remaining letters of the writer to her sister Cassandra.

In 2007, a drama appeared on the screens called “Jane Austen's Love Misfortunes,” which tells the story of recent years the life of a talented but lonely writer and her relationship with one of her nieces. Here the role of Jane went to Olivia Williams.

Also in 2007, the melodrama “Jane Austen” (“Becoming Jane”) was filmed, the plot of which is based on sad story the love of an aspiring writer and the poor, arrogant but charming lawyer Tom Lefroy.

Jein Austen Career: Writer
Birth: Great Britain" Steventon, 16.12.1775 - 18.7
Jane Austen - English writer, classic of English and world literature, founder of the family, “ladies' novel.” Born on December 16, 1775. Jane Austen's books “Sense and Sensibility” (1811), “Pride and Prejudice” (1813), “Mansfield Park” (1814) “Emma” (1815) are considered recognized masterpieces and captivate with their artless sincerity and simplicity plot, against the backdrop of deep psychological insight into the souls of the characters and ironic, soft, truly “English” humor. Jane Austen is still rightfully considered the “First Lady” of English literature. Her works are required reading in all colleges and universities in the UK. Austen's work is distinguished by a constant striving for perfection. For the first time, she used the “outside view”, “voice of the author” in the novel genre. She died at the age of 42 years. Her last novel, “Senditon” (1817), even as an unfinished excerpt, arouses genuine interest among the reader.

She was called: “the incomparable Jane,” English young ladies of noble and ignorant families were brought up and tested on her novels, their literary taste was honed, she still attracts and enchants filmmakers, memorial centers and museums and literary clubs named after her are being created all over the world. Moreover, there is a website on the Internet, one that is updated every day - weekly critical articles and essay, dedicated to creativity Miss British Novel!

But, I’m afraid that her existence is still the same mystery for us as it once was, as it was more than two hundred years ago!

Not much is known about her, although Jane’s family, devoted to her memory, reverently preserved her writings: all of them, including unfinished passages!

But here’s the thing: she didn’t keep any diaries, and her letters were either not preserved or were buried in archives. And translating documents from almost three hundred years ago into Russian seems boring to many, if not worthless. I will try to tell you the little that I managed to discover, compose, systematize, and generalize. What I had a chance to reflect on and managed to draw conclusions. It's up to you to judge whether it worked:

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, England, in the family of a rural pastor. Besides her, there were six more brothers and a sister in the family. Due to lack of funds, Jane could not accept a systematic education, but, possessing remarkable talent and a strong will, an open and cheerful character, she did a lot of self-education, read and, together with her brothers and sister, analyzed what she read, writing everything down in notebooks. In the family of a rural priest, they not only read the Bible and spiritual books, but also performed performances - charades, jokes and skits, read novels and argued about what they read, enthusiastically and sympathetically listening to the opinion of Jane, who could capture the essence of the book she read in two or three words and with an indescribable sense of humor in their faces, retell from memory a few scenes of the novel.

At the age of fourteen, Jane wrote her first parody - a joke called "Love and Friendship" - on 18th century didactic opuses with sentimentally dull heroes and heroines smelling roses, sobbing over them, and fainting every five minutes!

Why - novels! She also composed a great parody - a pamphlet on O. Goldsmith's "History of England" - the fundamental work of a historian and political scientist! This dusty tome was kept in a closet in her father’s office, and Jane took the time to examine it, meticulously and sensitively. A local doctor who came to visit her father listened to Jane’s reading for a long time and with interest, and praised her for reading interesting, serious books, and having learned that the girl had presented to his attention her personal humorous work, he laughed in amazement, shook his white-headed head in amazement, and later spent a long time telling his neighbors - patients about how smart little Jane is - the pastor's daughter, not only can collect bouquets and pour tea porcelain cups!

However, housework also gave Jane pleasure. There is evidence that, living quite secluded and secluded, rarely traveling outside the estate, she nevertheless maintained a smooth and amiable disposition, a smile under no circumstances left her face, and until the end of her days, darkened serious illness - no matter how much it is forbidden to judge from the documents, she had signs of a cancerous tumor, with severe metastases throughout the body (author) - she remained the favorite of her nephews, brothers, mother and, especially, father!

Neither she nor her sister had a chance to get married. Whether Miss Jane’s meager dowry played a role here, or her outward ugliness, or the great level of independence and intelligence that was almost immediately noticeable in her, is hard to judge.

It is unknown whether Jane herself had sincere feelings for anyone. She preferred to lock her soul and heart, openly, fully, expressing herself only in her books, which became famous during her lifetime. By the way, she published them all under the pseudonym: “a certain Lady D” and, of course, could not fully enjoy her fame, but, nevertheless, having read in English newspapers an analysis of her novel “Emma” by Sir Walter Scott himself, (he reviewed the book almost this minute after its release, in 1816 - the author) she felt truly happy!

Walter Scott, reviewing the writer’s final novel, published during her lifetime, noted that the main thing in Austen’s works is “the subtlest touch, thanks to which, moreover, vulgar events and characters become interesting from the truthfulness of the descriptions and feelings.” Austen doesn't put himself above his characters. She just teases them a little. There are no absolutely bad people in Emma. Even the slob Frank Churchill finds a decent apology and a wonderful missus. Such a complacent attitude towards the characters apparently comes from the character of the author herself - she had a wonderful sense of humor and irony, but she was constantly restrained by tact and rare kindness, as a result - irony could rarely turn into sarcasm.

Another time, Jane is noted to have a certain predilection for the theme of “hunting for suitors,” which she develops and shows from different angles in most of her novels. Even tactlessly, as the reason for such an obsessive plot of the works, the “old maidenhood” of Jane Austen herself is mentioned!

But, I think, the final fact did not have any significance in this place.

Jane Austen - a master of everyday life, a master of the finest depiction of characters and faces through the prism of irony, humor, unobtrusive reasoning, shows us with the help of a “simple chronicle of the life of two or three families” the history of feelings and souls, the struggle between dark and light in a person’s character, somewhere maybe a story national type, the history of the country through a piece of life individual, the whole history of an era in one, roughly outlined, memorable character.

What are the heroes of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” worth: Miss Elizabeth Bennet, her dad, always immersed in thoughts and books; disheveled and always clucking like a hen, a mother concerned only with secular gossip and an easy arrangement for the fate of her daughters! Or the caricature of the young girl from Northanger Abbey, who was obsessed with Gothic horror novels and seriously believed that real life was also full of mystical ghosts!

Jane perfected her close skills all the way. She tried several forms of the novel and they were all finished, moreover, if they remained magically imperfect under her light and flying pen, which increasingly fell out of her thin fingers: due to periodic pain, she could no longer hold it for long!

She tried all forms of novel prose; moreover, she wrote little novel- a short story in letters "Lady Suzanne" - a dazzling and intriguing portrait of a heartless society lady and an epic novel (in small form) "Mansfield Park", with a lot of characters and many storylines. Both novels were extremely popular; London's social drawing rooms never tired of wondering who this mysterious lady was, giving readers a new book every year - one more interesting than the other! They borrowed novels from a friend, read them until they became old, the young ladies reasoned and behaved like the heroines of “Lady D,” and she still enjoyed the silence of the small estate and was quietly fading away, despite all the attempts of her relatives to help her. Outwardly, her existence was uneventful. She lived hundreds of other lives in her books, where her heroines laughed, fell in love, ironized and made fun of themselves and their loved ones, despaired and fought for their love to the end.

Was "lady" happy in her own way? English novel"? Probably, yes. She did not put herself above her heroines. She did not identify herself with them. She effortlessly created her own personal world, in which she lived not only “by the right of the author,” but also “by the right of feeling and heartfelt attraction.” And it continues to exist to this day.

Jane died on July 18, 1817 in Winchester. Before her death, she tried to complete her last novel, Sanditon.

She left only a few pages unfinished, leaving her readers with the eternal mystery of the name: “Jane Austen.” The writer's family conscientiously collected and stored everything she wrote. Even rough scraps. These three thick hand-bound volumes became the basis for full meeting works of Jane Austen, published smoothly a hundred years after her death!

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The writer Jane Austen truly deserves the most high marks in English literature, and it is not for nothing that she is known as the “First Lady” of her era and work. Below you can read the biography of Jane Austen. She wrote novels in the most different forms, and the main program educational institutions England includes the works of this writer. The most famous of them: “Pride and Prejudice”, “Emma”, “Sense and Sensibility”. Films based on Jane Austen are also popular. It is noteworthy that Walter Scott himself read the novel “Emma” (read the biography of Walter Scott) and expressed his admiration for it.

The writer's childhood

The biography of Jane Austen is really interesting and full of different events. Austin was born in 1775 in Hampshire, England. The father was a clergyman in the local church, and the mother was originally a noblewoman, although she came from a poor family, since their family was impoverished.

In total, the parents had 8 children - six boys and two girls. Jane was born last. The family environment was favorable, the children were loved and raised without much severity. From time to time, the Austin house even hosted events such as amateur performances and public readings of novels. The kids liked this one cultural life, and little Jane was already reading her first works aloud.

Unfortunately, not much reliable information about Jane Austen’s biography has survived to this day, and even information regarding her appearance is very contradictory. Some researchers are sure that the writer was very pretty, others say the opposite. But it is known that Austen loved to go to balls and masquerades, to dress beautifully and fashionably, in general she loved social life.

Austen and her older sister, while schoolgirls, fell ill with typhus and barely survived, which became an unpleasant and dark page in the biography of Jane Austen. But that’s not the only reason why the girls left school. The father wanted for his daughters better education, so he took up their studies himself, and very successfully. In addition, the formation of Jane Austen's biography, especially as a writer, was greatly influenced by the wife of her brother Henry. They spent a lot of time together - she helped Jane with studying French and instilled a taste for literature.

Creativity in the biography of Jane Austen

Creative path writers can be divided into two stages. The first of them is considered to be 1795-1798, the year when Jane wrote her debut works, and the second dates back to 1811-1816. It was during the second period that Austen created her best novels, on which many years later they began to make films.

Unfortunately, there were no men in the pages of Jane Austen's biography. The writer was never married, despite her relationship with Thomas Lefroy, who was a student at the time and was planning to become a lawyer. Subsequently, the young man became known as the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. They never got married due to the situation of their families and inappropriateness from the point of view of society.

The cap that Jane began to wear at the age of thirty showed that she considered herself an old maid and family happiness I didn't hope anymore.

Austen died in 1817, with her beloved sister Cassandra by her side at that moment. Until now, the death of the writer remains a subject of debate and its cause is not known for certain. Jane Austen was buried in Winchester Cathedral. She never finished her last novel, Sandinton.

In addition, in addition to the biography of Jane Austen, we offer you a general section on all writers

Jane Austen born December 16, 1775 in the town of Steventon, Hampshire. Her father, George Austin, was a parish priest. He came from an old Kentish family and was an enlightened and widely educated man. His wife, Cassandra Lee, also belonged to an old but impoverished family. In addition to Jane, the family had six boys and one girl (Cassandra). Jane Austen was the second to last child.

Despite the high infant mortality rate in those years, they all survived. The elder brother, James (1765-1819), had a penchant for literary studies: wrote poetry, prose, but followed in his father’s footsteps. The family preferred not to talk about the second brother, George (1766-1838): he was mentally disabled and never learned to speak. For his sake, Jane learned the alphabet of the mutes. The third brother, Edward (1767-1852), was adopted by wealthy childless relatives of the Austin Knights, which opened up wide opportunities for him - from the gentry he moved into the nobility.

The brightest and most romantic fate was that of the fourth, beloved brother Jane Austen, Henry Thomas (1771-1850). A passionate and not very practical man, he tried many professions in his life: he served in the army, was a banker, at first he was successful, but then he went bankrupt and was ordained. He was married to Eliza de Feyd, the widow of a French nobleman who ended his days in the guillotine. Eliza had a lot of influence on Jane. It is to Eliza that he owes good knowledge French and French authors: La Rochefoucauld, Montaigne, La Bruyère, as well as a love for the theater.

Two other brothers, Francis William and Charles John, were naval sailors who rose to the rank of admiral. But Jane had a special friendship with her sister Cassandra. Cassandra, like her sister, never got married. Her chosen one, the young priest Thomas Fowle, died of yellow fever in the West Indies, where he went in the hope of earning money for the upcoming wedding. When he died, Cassandra was only twenty-four years old.

Much less definite information is available about the writer herself. Opinions of contemporaries differ even about her appearance. Jane “is not at all pretty, she is prim for her twelve years, capricious and unnatural,” as her cousin Philadelphia said. “She is attractive, good-looking, thin and graceful, only her cheeks are somewhat round,” said the brother of her close friend. Cassandra's portrait of Jane is similar to this description.

Jane Austen loved outfits, balls, fun. Her letters are full of descriptions of hat styles, stories about new dresses and gentlemen. Fun was combined in her with a natural intelligence and a decent education, especially for a girl of her circle and position, who had not even graduated from school.

In the period from 1783 to 1786. Together with her sister Cassandra she studied at Oxford, Southampton and Reading. Jane had no luck with schools; in the first, she and Cassandra suffered from the despotic temper of the headmistress and almost died after contracting typhus. Another school in Reading, on the contrary, was run by a very good-natured person, but the knowledge of the students was the last concern of her life. Having returned his daughters home, George Austin decided to educate them himself and was very successful in this. Skillfully guiding their reading, he instilled in the girls a good literary taste and taught them to love classical authors, whom I knew well from the nature of my own occupation. Shakespeare, Goldsmith, Hume were read. They were also interested in novels, reading such authors as Ridcharson, Fielding, Stern, Maria Edgeworth, Fanny Burney. Among the poets they preferred were Cowper, Thomson, and Thomas Gray. The formation of Jane Austen's personality took place in an intellectual environment - among books, constant conversations about literature, discussions of what was read and what was happening.

Although the writer spent her entire short life in the provinces, Steventon, Bath, Chotin, Winchester, only occasionally traveling to London, big world with its events and cataclysms: wars, uprisings, revolutions - constantly burst into the seemingly calm and measured existence of the daughter of an English priest.

Jane Austen never got married. When Jane was 20 years old, she had an affair with her neighbor, Thomas Lefroy, the future Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and at that time a law student. However, the marriage of young people would be impractical, since both families were relatively poor and hoped to take advantage of the marriages of their offspring to improve materially and social status, so Jane and Tom had to break up. At thirty, Jane put on a cap, thereby announcing to the world that from now on she was an old maid, saying goodbye to hopes for personal happiness, although she had once been proposed to. The Austins had never been rich, and after the death of their father, their financial circumstances became even more constrained. Jane provided for the family and helped her mother with housework.

Jane Austen died on July 18, 1817 in Winchester, where she went to be treated for Addison's disease. She didn't have time to finish her last novel"Sanditon".

She was buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Jane Austen - English writer, herald of realism in British literature, satirist, wrote so-called novels of manners - was born December 16, 1775 in the town of Steventon (Hampshire).

Her father, George Austin, was a parish priest. He came from an old Kentish family and was an enlightened and widely educated man. His wife, Cassandra Lee, also belonged to an old but impoverished family. In addition to Jane, the family had six boys and one girl (Cassandra). Jane Austen was the second to last child.

Despite the high infant mortality rate in those years, they all survived. The elder brother, James (1765-1819), had a penchant for literary pursuits: he wrote poetry and prose, but followed in his father’s footsteps. The family preferred not to talk about the second brother, George (1766-1838): he was mentally disabled and never learned to speak. For his sake, Jane learned the alphabet of the mutes. The third brother, Edward (1767-1852), was adopted by wealthy childless relatives of the Austin Knights, which opened up wide opportunities for him - from the gentry he moved into the nobility.

The brightest and most romantic fate was that of Jane Austen's fourth, beloved brother, Henry Thomas (1771-1850). A passionate and not very practical man, he tried many professions in his life: he served in the army, was a banker, at first he was successful, but then he went bankrupt and was ordained. He was married to Eliza de Feyd, the widow of a French nobleman who ended his days in the guillotine. Eliza had a lot of influence on Jane. It is to Eliza that she owes a good knowledge of the French language and French authors: La Rochefoucauld, Montaigne, La Bruyère, as well as a love of theater.

Two other brothers, Francis William and Charles John, were naval sailors who rose to the rank of admiral. But Jane had a special friendship with her sister Cassandra. She shared all her plans with her and confided in her secrets. Cassandra, of course, knew the name of the man to whom Jane Austen remained faithful; Jane died in Cassandra's arms.

Cassandra, like her sister, never got married. Her chosen one, the young priest Thomas Fowle, died of yellow fever in the West Indies, where he went in the hope of earning money for the upcoming wedding. When he died, Cassandra was twenty-four years old.

Much less definite information is available about the writer herself. Opinions of contemporaries differ even about her appearance.

Jane Austen loved dresses, balls, and fun. Her letters are full of descriptions of hat styles, stories about new dresses and gentlemen. Fun was combined in her with a natural intelligence and a decent education, especially for a girl of her circle and position, who had not even graduated from school.

During from 1783 to 1786 Together with her sister Cassandra she studied at Oxford, Southampton and Reading. Jane had no luck with schools; in the first, she and Cassandra suffered from the despotic temper of the headmistress and almost died after contracting typhus. Another school in Reading, on the contrary, was run by a very good-natured person, but the knowledge of the students was the last concern of her life. Having returned his daughters home, George Austin decided to educate them himself and was very successful in this. Skillfully guiding their reading, he instilled in the girls a good literary taste and taught them to love classical authors, whom he knew well from his own occupation. Shakespeare, Goldsmith, Hume were read. They were also interested in novels, reading such authors as Ridcharson, Fielding, Stern, Maria Edgeworth, Fanny Burney. Among the poets they preferred were Cowper, Thomson, and Thomas Gray. The formation of Jane Austen's personality took place in an intellectual environment - among books, constant conversations about literature, discussions of what was read and what was happening.

Although the writer spent her entire short life in the provinces, Steventon, Bath, Chotin, Winchester, only occasionally traveling to London, the big world with its events and cataclysms: wars, uprisings, revolutions - constantly broke into the seemingly calm and measured existence of the daughter of an English priest.

Jane Austen's youth and maturity came in turbulent times: the Napoleonic Wars, the War of Independence North America, England was gripped by the industrial revolution, the first performances of the Luddites had already swept through it, Ireland was gripped by uprisings.

Jane Austen maintained a lively correspondence with her brothers, their wives, distant relatives, and some of them were direct participants in historical events. French Revolution radically changed the fate of Eliza de Fade, brothers Charles and Francis went to war with France. Cassandra's fiancé died in the West Indies; For several years, the Austin family raised the son of former Indian governor Warren Hastings.

Letters provided Jane Austen with invaluable material for her novels.

Jane Austen never married. When Jane was 20 years old, she had an affair with her neighbor, Thomas Lefroy, the future Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and at that time a law student. However, the marriage of young people would be impractical, since both families were relatively poor and hoped to take advantage of the marriages of their offspring to improve their financial and social situation, so Jane and Tom had to separate. At thirty, Jane put on a cap, thereby announcing to the world that from now on she was an old maid, saying goodbye to hopes for personal happiness, although she had once been proposed to. The Austins had never been rich, and after the death of their father, their financial circumstances became even more constrained. Jane provided for the family and helped her mother with housework.

Jane Austen died July 18, 1817 in Winchester, where she went to be treated for Addison's disease. Before her death, she did not have time to finish her last novel, Sanditon. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral.

There were two periods in Austen's work: in 1795-1798 were created early novels; 1811-1816 - the period of writing famous novels such as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

Youth works (Juvenilia):
The Three Sisters
Love and Freindship, with the famous misspelling of the word “friendship” in the title.
The History of England
The Beautifull Cassandra

Novels:
Sense and Sensibility or “Reason and Feelings” (eng. Sense and Sensibility) ( 1811 )
Pride and Prejudice and Prejudice) (1813 )
Mansfield Park (eng. Mansfield Park) ( 1814 )
Emma (eng. Emma) ( 1815 )
Persuasion (English: Persuasion) 1817 ), published posthumously
Northanger Abbey ( 1818 ), published posthumously