Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire. She was the seventh born child of Cassandra and George Austen. Ever since she was young, her parents stressed her education and creativity. Jane expressed her creativity by constructing and putting on small plays with her siblings. Her passion for reading and writing originated from her childhood, where she had access to her father’s humongous library.
Jane was especially close with her sister, Cassandra. At a young age, Jane’s parents saw potential in her and Cassandra. Their parents decided to send them to a boarding school together to get formal education. In boarding school, both Jane and Cassandra caught typhus and returned home. Once Jane had returned home, she took on
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This was the novel that unveiled Jane’s unique writing style and literary skill. She enjoyed writing parodies of romance and demonstrating her sharp sense of humor and disdain for sappy emotions. She also wrote about empowering women and women’s independence. After her novel, Love and Freindship [sic], Jane began writing for profit, not solely for pleasure. In 1795, she wrote Lady Susan. This novel was about a beautiful woman who used her wit and charm to manipulate people and become successful in life. Lady Susan is said to be her most mature and sophisticated work, as it was written in a series of letters, not in a story format. The main character is believed to be inspired by her sister-in-law, who was first married to a rich, French man until he was guillotined and then she married Jane’s brother. In 1796, Tom Lefroy, one of Jane’s former neighbors, came back to Steventon to visit. Jane had written in a letter to her sister, Cassandra how much she cared for Tom and stated that they were in love. Five days later, in a different letter, Jane wrote that she did not want to marry him and she stopped talking to him for good. Marriage was not an option because both families were poor and Tom depended on his great uncle for money and education. After Tom, Jane refused all her other suitors and was never