Born: 16 December 1775, United Kingdom
Died: 18 July 1817
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: NA
From Woman: Her Position, Influence and Achievement Throughout the Civilized World. Designed and Arranged by William C. King. Published in 1900 by The King-Richardson Co. Copyright 1903 The King-Richardson Co.:
Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775, at Steventon, Hampshire, of which parish her father was the rector. Here she spent the first twenty-five years of her peaceful life. She was the youngest of seven children, among whom she had but one sister, and of her brothers two ultimately rose to the rank of admiral in the navy.
Her father, who used to augment a slender income by taking pupils, gave her a better education than was common for girls towards the close of the eighteenth century. Jane learned French and Italian, and had good acquaintance with English literature, her favorite authors being Richardson, Johnson, Cowper, Crabbe, and later Scott. She sang a few old ballads with much sweetness, and was very dexterous with her needle. In her life there is a hint of an affection for a lover who died suddenly.
In 1801 she went with her family to Bath, and after her father’s death, in 1805, removed to Southhampton, and finally, in 1809, to Chawton near Winchester. She had written stories from her childhood, but it was here that she gave anything to the world. Four stories were published anonymously during her lifetime: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma. The first two were written before the the gifted authoress was more than twenty-two years old.
Early in 1816 her health began to give way. In May of 1817 she resorted for medical advice to Winchester, and here she died two months later, July 18, 1817. She was buried there in the cathedral. Northhanger Abbey and Persuasion were published in 1818, when the authorship of the whole six was first acknowledged.
Jane Austen’s novels are the earliest examples of the so-called domestic novel in England, nor within their own limits have they been surpassed or even equaled since. Her world is the gentry of the England of her time, and she portrays its everyday life with marvelous truthfulness of insight. Her characters are perfectly distinct, and more alive to us than many of the persons among whom we actually live.
The following is excerpted from “400 Outstanding Women of the World and the Costumology of Their Time” by Minna Moscherosch Schmidt, published in 1933.
Her father, George Austen, was rector of Deane and Steventon. He was married in 1764 to Cassandra, youngest daughter of the Rev. Thomas Leigh, and niece of Theophilus Leigh, for more than fifty years Master of Balliol. Jane was the youngest of seven children.
For the first twenty-five years of her life Jane Austen lived with her family at Steventon. She took part in private theatricals given in a barn in summer and the dining room in winter, and she occasionally visited Bath, where her uncle. Dr. Cooper, vicar of Sonning, lived for some years with his family. Her father took pupils to increase a modest income, and Jane learned French, a little Italian, could sing, and was dexterous with her needle, being “especially great in satin-stitch.”
She read standard literature, was familiar with the Spectator, minutely acquainted with Richardson; fond of Johnson and Cooper, and specially devoted to Crabbe. In later years she was charmed with Scott’s poetry and admired the first Waverley novels. In 1816 her health broke down, and in May, 1817, she moved to Winchester to be near Mr. Lyford, a doctor of reputation.
She took lodgings in College Street where she was nursed by her sister and attended by her two brothers who were clergymen in the neighbourhood. She died on July 18, 1817, and was buried in the centre of the North Aisle of Winchester Cathedral. Jane is described as tall, slender and remarkably graceful; she was a clear brunette with a rich colour, hazel eyes, fine features and curling brown hair. Her domestic relations were delightful and she was specially attractive to children. Jane began to write stories in her childhood. Many had been written before she was sixteen.
She began Pride and Prejudice in October, 1796, and finished it in August, 1797, having already written Eleanor and Marianne. Northanger Abbey was written in 1798. Sense and Sensibility was begun in November, 1797. Between February, 1811 and August, 1816, she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. Miss Austen’s genius received little recognition during her life.
The following is excerpted from A Cyclopædia of Female Biography, published 1857 by Groomsbridge and Sons and edited by Henry Gardiner Adams.
An English novelist, was born at Steventon, in Hampshire, on the 16th of December, 1775, her father being the rector of that parish. He died while Miss Austen was still young, and his widow and two daughters retired to Southampton, and subsequently to the village of Chawton, in the same county, where the novels of Jane Austen were written. “Sense and Sensibility;” “Pride and Prejudice;” “Mansfield Park;” and “Emma,” were published anonymously during the author’s life. Her other two works, “Northanger Abbey,” and “Persuasion,” were published after her death. In May, 1817, Miss Austen’s health rendered it necessary that she should remove to some place where constant medical aid could be procured, and she went to Winchester, where she died on the 18th. of July, aged forty-two. Her beauty, worth, and genius, made her death deeply lamented. The consumption, of which she died, seemed only to increase her mental powers. She wrote while she could hold a pen, and the day before her death composed some stanzas replete with fancy and vigour. The great charm of Miss Austen’s works lie in their truth and simplicity, and in their high finish and naturalness. Sir Walter Scott speaks of her in the highest terms. Another writer, who appears to have known her well, thus describes her:—
“Of personal attractions, she possessed a considerable share. Her stature was that of true elegance. It could not have been increased without exceeding the middle height. Her carriage and deportment were quiet, yet graceful. Her features were separately good. Their assemblage produced an unrivalled expression of that cheerfulness, sensibility, and benevolence, which were her real characteristics. Her complexion was of the finest texture. It might with truth be said, that her eloquent blood spoke through her modest cheek. Her voice was extremely sweet. She delivered herself with fluency and precision. Indeed, she was formed for elegant and rational society, excelling in conversation as much as in composition. In the present age it is hazardous to mention accomplishments. Our authoress would, probably, have been inferior to few in such acquirements, had she not been so superior to most in higher things. She had not only an excellent taste for drawing, but, in her earlier days, evinced great power of hand in the management of the pencil. Her own musical attainments she held very cheap. Twenty years ago, they would have been thought more of, and twenty years hence, many a parent will expect her daughter to be applauded for meaner performances. She was fond of dancing, and excelled in it. It remains now to add a few observations on that which her friends deemed more important; on those endowments, which sweetened every hour of their lives.
If there be an opinion current in the world, that perfect placidity of temper is not reconcilable to the most lively imagination, and the keenest relish for wit, such an opinion will be rejected for ever by those who have had the happiness of knowing the authoress of the following works. Though the frailties, foibles, and follies of others could not escape her immediate detection, yet even on their vices did she never trust herself to comment with unkindness. The affectation of candour is not uncommon; but she had no affectation. Faultless herself, as nearly as human nature can be, she always sought, in the faults of others, something to excuse, to forgive, or forget. Where extenuation was impossible, she had a sure refuge in silence. She never uttered either a hasty, a silly, or a severe expression. In short, her temper was as polished as her wit. Nor were her manners inferior to her temper. They were of the happiest kind. No one could be often in her company without feeling a strong desire of obtaining her friendship, and cherishing a hope of having obtained it She was tranquil without reserve or stiffness; and communicative without intrusion or self-sufficiency. She became an authoress entirely from taste and inclination. Neither the hope of fame nor profit mixed with her early motives. Most of her works, as already observed, were composed many years before their publication. It was with extreme difficulty that her friends, whose partiality she suspected, whilst she honoured their judgment, could prevail on her to publish her first work. Nay, so persuaded was she that its sale would not repay the expense of publication, that she actually made a reserve from her very moderate Income to meet the expected loss. She could scarcely believe what she termed her great good fortune when ‘Sense and Sensibility’ produced a clear profit of about £150.
The following is excerpted from the Dictionary of National Biography, originally published between 1885 and 1900, by Smith, Elder & Co. It was written by Leslie Stephen.
AUSTEN, JANE (1775–1817), novelist, was born at Steventon, near Basingstoke, 16 Dec. 1775. Her father, George Austen, was rector of Deane and Steventon. He was married in 1764 to her mother, Cassandra, youngest daughter of the Rev. Thos. Leigh, and niece of Theophilus Leigh, for more than fifty years master of Balliol. Jane was the youngest of seven children. Her brothers were James (died 1819); Edward, who inherited the property and took the name of his second cousin, Mr. Knight; Henry, a clergyman (died 1850); Francis William, and Charles; the two last became admirals, Francis dying in 1865, aged 92 [see Austen, Francis William], and Charles in 1832, aged 73. Her sister, Cassandra, who died unmarried in 1845, was three years older than herself. For the first twenty-five years of her life, Jane Austen lived with her family at Steventon. We are told that she took part in some private theatricals given in a barn in summer, and the dining-room in winter, between her thirteenth and sixteenth years, and occasionally visited Bath, where her uncle. Dr. Cooper, vicar of Sonning, lived for some years with his family. Her father took pupils to increase a modest income; and Jane learned French, a little Italian, could sing a few simple old songs in a sweet voice, and was remarkably dexterous with her needle, and ‘especially great in satin-stitch.’ She read standard literature; was familiar with the ‘Spectator;’ minutely acquainted with Richardson; fond of Johnson and Cooper, and specially devoted to Crabbe, of whom she used to say that if she ever married at all, she could fancy being Mrs. Crabbe. In later years she was charmed with Scott’s poetry, and admired the first Waverley novels. In 1801 the family moved to Bath, living first at 4 Sydney Terrace, and afterwards at Green Park Buildings. She spent some weeks at Lyme in 1804: and upon her father’s death in February 1805, his widow and daughters, after a few months in lodgings, moved to Castle Square, Southampton, whence Jane visited Kent and Bath. In 1809 they settled in a cottage at Chawton, about a mile from Alton, on the property of her brother, Mr. Knight. There she spent the rest of her life, with occasional visits to London, till her health, which had given symptoms of decline in 1816, broke down. In May 1817 she moved to Winchester, to be near Mr. Lyford, a doctor of reputation. She took lodgings in College Street, Where she was nursed by her sister and attended by her two brothers, who were clergymen in the neighbourhood. She died quietly 18 July 1817, and was buried in the centre of the north aisle of Winchester Cathedral. The grave is marked by a slab of black marble. Jane is described as tall, slender, and remarkably graceful; she was a clear brunette with a rich colour, hazel eyes, fine features, and curling brown hair. Her domestic relations were delightful, and she was specially attractive to children. A vague record is preserved of an attachment for a gentleman whom she met at the seaside, and who soon afterwards died suddenly. But there is no indication of any serious disturbance of her habitual serenity.
Jane began to write stories in her childhood. Many had been written before she was sixteen. They were good-humoured non-sense; and one of them—a burlesque ‘comedy’—is given in her memoir. She began ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in October 1796, and finished it in August 1797, having already written something similar to ‘Sense and Sensibility ‘ called ‘Eleanor and Marianne.’ ‘Northanger Abbey’ was written in 1798, but not prepared for the press until 1803. At Bath, about 1804, she began a story, never finished, called ‘The Watsons.’ In the first year at Chawton she prepared for the press ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ begun in November 1797, and ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ Between February 1811 and August 1816 she wrote ‘Mansfield Park,’ ‘Emma,’ and ‘Persuasion.’ She then began, but never finished, another nameless story. Besides these she wrote another story, called ‘Lady Susan,’ which, like ‘Sense and Sensibility, when first composed, was in the form of letters. Her father offered ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to Cadell on 1 Nov. 1797; but the proposal was rejected ]by return of post, without an inspection of the manuscript. ‘Northanger Abbey’ was sold to a publisher in Bath for 10l. in 1803. He did not venture to print it, and was glad to take back his money and return the manuscript to one of her brothers a few years later, not knowing, till the bargain was complete, that the writer was also the author of four popular novels. ‘Sense and Sensibility’ appeared in 1811; ‘Pride and Prejudice ‘ in 1813; ‘Mansfield Park’ in 1814; ‘Emma’ in 1816; ‘Northanger Abbey’ and ‘Persuasion’ in 1818 (posthumously). She received 150l. from the sale of ‘Sense and Sensibility;’ and under 700l. up to the time of her death from the four then published. Egerton was the publisher of the first, and Murray of the last three. They were published anonymously, though the authorship was an open secret to her friends. It was first made public in a short biographical notice prefixed to the two posthumous novels in 1818. Miss Austen’s genius received little recognition during her life. In 1815 she was nursing her brother in London, when the Prince Regent, hearing of her visit through one of his physicians, sent his chaplain, Mr. Clarke, to wait upon her, to show her Carlton House, and to give her permission, of which she took advantage, to dedicate her next novel (‘Emma’) to him. Mr. Clarke recommended her to describe an accomplished clergyman, who should resemble Beattie’s minstrel and the vicar of Wakefield; and, upon Miss Austen’s declaring her incompetence for such a task, suggested that a ‘romance illustrative of the august house of Cobourg would just now be very interesting.’ Miss Austen politely ridiculed this brilliant suggestion. No writer ever understood better the precise limits of her own powers. She speaks of the ‘little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush as produces little effect after much labour.’ All critics agree to the unequalled fineness of her literary tact; no author ever lived, as G. H. Lewes told Miss Bronte (Mrs. Gaskell’s Life of Charlotte Bronte, ch. xvi.), with a nicer sense of proportioning means to ends. Given the end, the lifelike portraiture of the social aspects with which alone she was familiar, the execution is flawless. The unconscious charm of the domestic atmosphere of the stories, and the delicate subsatirical humour which pervades them, have won her the admiration, even to fanaticism, of innumerable readers. Miss Bronte acknowledged the statement quoted from Lewes, but would not admit his further assertion that Miss Austen was also amongst the greatest artists or portrayers of human character. She was. Miss Bronte admitted, shrewd and observant, but devoid of poetry or sentiment. Such criticism applies to the limits of her sphere, not to her perfection within it. Miss Austen was first reviewed in the ‘Quarterly’ for October 1815, and afterwards (by Whately) in the same review for July 1821. Amongst her admirers were Warren Hastings, Southey, Coleridge, Sir Jas. Mackintosh, Lord Holland, Sydney Smith, and Sir Henry Holland. G. H. Lewes says that he would rather have written ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ or ‘Tom Jones,’ than any of the Waverley novels. Lord Macaulay declares (art. on Mme, d’Arblay) that she approaches Shakespeare nearer than any of our writers in drawing character; and he once proposed to edit her works with a memoir to raise funds for a monument. Sir Walter Scott declared (diary for 14 March 1826) Miss Austen’s talent to be ‘the most wonderful he had ever met with:’ ‘The big bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch which renders ordinaiy common-place things and characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so young!’ Her first biographer in 1818 had only ventured to say that some readers ventured to place her books beside those of Miss Burney and Miss Edgeworth.