Jane Austen

　　Jane Austen Jane Austen's delightful, carefully wrought novelsof manners remain surprisingly relevant, nearly 200 years afterthey were first published. Her novels -- Pride and Prejudice andEmma among them -- are those rare books that offer us a glimpse atthe mores of a specific period while addressing the complexities oflove, honor, and responsibility that still intrigue us today.Biography In 1801, George Austen retired from the clergy, and Jane,Cassandra, and their parents took up residence in Bath, afashionable town Jane liked far less than her native village. Janeseems to have written little during this period. When Mr. Austendied in 1805, the three women, Mrs. Austen and her daughters, movedfirst to Southampton and then, partly subsidized by Jane'sbrothers, occupied a house in Chawton, a village not unlike Jane'sfirst home. There she began to work on writing and pursuedpublishing once more, leading to the anonymous publication of Senseand Sensibility in 1811 and Pride and Prejudice in 1813, tomodestly good reviews. Known for her cheerful, modest, and wittycharacter, Jane Austen had a busy family and social life, but asfar as we know very little direct romantic experience. There wereearly flirtations, a quickly retracted agreement to marry thewealthy brother of a friend, and a rumored short-lived attachment-- while she was traveling -- that has not been verified. Her lastyears were quiet and devoted to family, friends, and writing herfinal novels. In 1817 she had to interrupt work on her last andunfinished novel, Sanditon, because she fell ill. She died on July18, 1817, in Winchester, where she had been taken for medicaltreatment. After her death, her novels Northanger Abbey andPersuasion were published, together with a biographical notice, dueto the efforts of her brother Henry. Austen is buried in WinchesterCathedral. Author biography courtesy of Barnes & Noble Books.Date of Birth: 十二月 16, 1775 Place of Birth: Village of Steventon inHampshire, England Date of Death: 七月 18, 1817 Place of Death:Winchester, Hampshire, England Education: Taught at home by herfather