Jane Austen was born on the 16th of December 1775. She was an English writer, more specifically a novelist, and she was the author of at least six major works of arts:
Austen used to critique the way in which the British society would be made up, and she often wrote about the dependence women had on marriage, in order to pursue a higher social rank that would give them -and their families – economic security.
Continue reading and discover all these amazing facts about Jane Austen.
Jane Austen Facts
1. Jane Austen came from a very big family
Austen was the seventh child of Cassandra Leigh Austen and George Austen. She was born in Steventon, a village located in southern England. She lived there for almost 23 years when all of a sudden the family’s income started to decrease and they had to find a cheaper place to live.
Cassandra, Austen’s mom, belonged to a higher social rank than her husband George, an interesting fact about Jane Austen. This gave Jane the opportunity to experience firsthand how social classes would work in the United Kingdom, a theme that became notorious on most of her novels.
2. Jane Austen and her older sister Cassandra were really close to each other
It was in 1783 when Cassandra, Jane’s older sister, was sent to their aunt’s house, who was called Ann Cooper Cawley. She was also the widow of the head of an Oxford College, thus the library in her house was truly impressive.
Jane didn’t want to live in her family’s house without her sister, so she decided to move to her aunt’s house as well. They studied in Abbey School, which was a boarding school for girls only.
Austen was shy when she was younger, in fact, it has been said that she didn’t have many friends at boarding school, as she much rather spend time with her big sister, Cassandra.
3. Jane Austen’s dad help her in any way he could
George Austen had faith in his child and he wanted Jane to succeed. It was because of his father that the young Jane learned how to read and write, and he was the first person to realize how incredibly talented his daughter was.
According to Austen’s biography, when the young lady wasn’t reading, she was writing, and when she wasn’t doing any of those things, she was talking to her dad about how to improve her drafts that would soon become parts of her published novels.
Moreover, George was so proud of Jane that as soon as he finished reading First Impressions – which would later become Pride and Prejudice – he took the book to a London publisher and asked him to review it, an interesting Jane Austen fact.
The publisher, called Thomas Cadell, rejected it and didn’t even read the manuscript.
4. Jane Austen’s love life was difficult
Jane met Tom Lefroy and she soon fell in love with him. She was even inspired by him and created a character on her novel Sense and Sensibility.
Lefroy was the nephew of a friend of Austen’s family, but she knew that they couldn’t get married, because Jane belonged to a lower social rank than Tom.
If they had married, Lefroy would have lost all of his inheritance, something that his family wouldn’t have allowed.
A couple of years later, Jane met another future husband, a young clergyman from Devon. He promised the Austen family that he would come to their house and ask for Jane’s hand so they could get married, however, he died before that could happen.
Jane never married, but she did accept a marriage proposal from a man who was much younger than her, Mr. Wither. To everybody’s surprise, this engagement only lasted one night, as Austen had second thoughts the next day.
5. Jane Austen accomplished a lot during her youth
By the time Austen was 23, she had already completed the original versions of three of her most promising books; these novels were Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.
But, she only saw four of her six novels published, as the other two were released after her death, and it was her brother Henry that one that revealed Jane’s true identity, as her books were published anonymously.
6. Jane Austen books have been adapted
Many of this author’s books have been adapted as films and plays.
The first film adaptation was in 1937, where a version of her classic novel, Emma, was presented.
And even the hit movie ‘’Clueless’’ which was released in 1995, was adapted from Jane Austen’s novel, Emma.
What’s more, many different cultures have studied Austen’s works as part of the schools’ literature programs and this has resulted in many different versions of the books that have been represented as plays.
7. Jane Austen was an accomplished home brewer
Jane Austen was known for her love of books and her love of beer. An interesting Jane Austen fact is that she could brew her own beer and she actually received many compliments about it.
She was really good at making spruce beer, which has a sweeter taste in comparison to regular beer.
Austen was also known for making mead – an alcoholic beverage that has honey as the main ingredient, and her whole family would participate in the process of making it.
Conclusion
Austen used to write to all members of her family, in particular, to her older brothers. She admired them intensely, especially since they were educated in Oxford, something her sister Cassandra and Jane couldn’t do.
Jane Austen came from a literary family, where the books were always present, where they would enjoy having arguments over their favourite writers during dinner time, and where her family, especially her father, would instill the importance of having a personal opinion about everything.
Austen was her own editor and proofreader, and she was really productive throughout the years she wrote and published. And, what’s more important, is the fact that she was able to support her family with the income she received from her books.
She continued to write until her death in July of 1817.
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