Biography
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 at the Parsonage House in Steventon, Hampshire, England. She was the seventh of eight children and had six brothers and one sister, Cassandra. Her father was Reverend George Austen and her mother was Cassandra Austen (nee Leigh). Because her father was a clergyman and part time tutor, he owned a great number of literary and historical volumes.
From a very young age Austen showed a great interest in reading and writing, passions that were encouraged by her father and sister. Unlike her famous heroines, she never married (however, like some of her characters, she did refuse a proposal). In total, Austen published six completed works: Sense & Sensibility (1811), Pride & Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1817), and Persuasion (1817). Both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published by her sister and her brother, Henry, after her death in 1817. She left several writing projects unfinished, including the mostly finished Lady Susan, which has since been published. These works, along with a few juvenile musings, and the six novels mentioned are the entirety of her work.
References:
http://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-biography.asp
From a very young age Austen showed a great interest in reading and writing, passions that were encouraged by her father and sister. Unlike her famous heroines, she never married (however, like some of her characters, she did refuse a proposal). In total, Austen published six completed works: Sense & Sensibility (1811), Pride & Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1817), and Persuasion (1817). Both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published by her sister and her brother, Henry, after her death in 1817. She left several writing projects unfinished, including the mostly finished Lady Susan, which has since been published. These works, along with a few juvenile musings, and the six novels mentioned are the entirety of her work.
References:
http://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-biography.asp