Jane Austen

(16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817)

Most popular works

Sense and Sensibility (1811)
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Mansfield Park (1814)

© National Portrait Gallery, London
Jane Austen by Cassandra Austen
pencil & watercolour c. 1810, 4½" x 3⅛" (114 mm x 80 mm)

Austen is one of the most widely read English novelists. Her works are primarily about romance within the British aristocracy, and also within her own social background of "landed gentry" (those who could live off rental income).

Her fame and popularity spread posthumously and sadly very little is known about her personal life. It is conjectured, however, that her works reflect her innermost feelings about love, life, and in particular the role and position of women in society.