Author Info
Jane Austen was a Georgian era author, best known for her social commentary in novels. Her reputation skyrocketed in the 20th century. Her novels are considered literary classics, bridging the gap between romance and realism. The seventh child of Cassandra and George Austen,Jane was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. Her parents were well-respected community members. Her father served as the Oxford-educated rector for a nearby Anglican parish. The children grew up in an environment that stressed learning and creative thinking. Ever fascinated by the world of stories, Jane began to write in bound notebooks. In the 1790s, during her adolescence, she started to craft her own novels. She unveiled her wit and dislike of sensibility, or romantic hysteria, a distinct perspective that would eventually characterize much of her later writing. These notebooks, encompassing the novels as well as short stories, poems and plays, are now referred to as Jane's Juvenilia.