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Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiteratureJane AustenA BRIEF-BIOGRAPHY & CONTRIBUTIONS TO ENGLISH LITERATUREP.Raja Rao M.A.(Eng), M.Phil, (Ph.D.), @gmail.comRAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 1

Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiteratureINTRODUCTIONJane Austen is possibly the most well known and widely referred female novelist on earth.Austen's brilliantly created novels include 'Sense and Sensibility', 'Pride and Prejudice','Mansfield Park' and 'Emma'. Austen was a great writer who ruled the writing world, consideredto be man's territory before she arrived. Jane's involvement with the family and her family'ssupport for her writing career made her move forward and find a place in the history of EnglishLiterature and mankind in general. Jane found a new way of writing that was equally stylish andrealistic. Jane found a great place among fellow writers and critics of her times. In her novels,Jane used various forms of literary styles. Jane's writing has surpassed the barriers of time andhas been accepted by modern day readers and literary circles for excellent comic elements. JaneAusten's works have been beautifully portrayed through several films, theatre and televisionadaptations. Due to anonymity used in her writing, Jane got maximum honours and tributes afterher death which have flown even to the present times.Jane Austen ChildhoodThere is very little evidence to validate the exact biographical extract of Jane Austen. Much ofher biographical details heavily rely on her letters to her relatives, many of which have beendestroyed. Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon vicarage in northHampshire, England. Jane was cared by her mother for a few months at home before she wasgiven away to Elizabeth Littlewood who lived nearby and took care of Jane and nursed her tillJane turned 1 year or 18 months old.RAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 2

Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiteratureYouth and EducationIn 1783, Jane went to Oxford along with her sister Cassandra to get her education from Mrs. AnnCawley and they moved with her to Southampton later that year. Jane and her sister got affectedby typhus which nearly killed Jane. Jane received her education at home after this before she andCassandra left for boarding school in the early 1785. Jane’s school reportedly included French,spelling, needlework, dancing and music and, perhaps, drama in its course. Jane’s family couldnot continue with the studies of their daughters and by December 1786 both Jane and Cassandrawere forced to return home.Early WorksAccording to assorted evidences Jane Austen had started writing poems, stories, and plays forher own and her family's amusement by 1787. Much later Jane took time to bring out acompilation of 29 of her earliest works (which were produced into three bound notebooks) whichare presently known as “Juvenilia”. She made fair copies of all her works which were originallyknown to have been written between 1787 and 1793. Evidences suggest that Jane worked onthese pieces till late 1809–11 which were further added with other works of hers by her niece andnephew, Anna and James in 1814. Jane had reportedly written (which had been added to thecompilation) a satirical novel in letters titled “Love and Friendship” which had been intentionallywritten like that as she had mocked popular novels of sensibility. Other works like ‘The Historyof England’, a manuscript of 34 pages accompanied by 13 watercolour miniatures by her sisterCassandra also formed a part of “Juvenilia”. For parodied writing, Austen earned the names,RAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 3

Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiterature“boisterous” and “anarchic” from scholar Richard Jenkyns.Growth as an AdultAs Jane started becoming an adult woman, she got more and more involved with her family. Shetook part in family rituals and helped female relatives during childbirth and also the elders attheir deathbeds. Jane loved dancing and her socializing mostly meant to be along with her closefamily and friends. Jane was a regular participant at the dance events and balls that took place atthe neighbourhood town halls and assembly rooms. Her brother Henry later said that “Jane wasfond of dancing, and excelled in it”. Jane sent many of her short pieces of writing to her newbornnieces Fanny Catherine and Jane Anna Elizabeth. Jane went to church and made beautifulclothes.In 1793 Jane started on a play which she soon abandoned. It was later titled, “Sir CharlesGrandison or the happy Man, a comedy in 6 acts” which she restarted and completed around1800. In the period between 1793 and 1795, Jane wrote ‘Lady Susan’, a short epistolary novelwhich was considered by Jane as one of her greatest and most ambitious works.Early Stage NovelsAfter completing Lady Susan, Jane started writing on her first full-length novel “Elinor andMarianne” (There is no evidence to confirm as to how much original text was maintained andreproduced in the novel published in 1811 as “Sense and Sensibility”). According to her sisterRAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 4

Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiteratureCassandra, Jane had read out her novel before 1796. Tom Lefroy, a neighbour’s nephew hadmade a visit to Steventon from December 1795 to January 1796 and Jane was just 20 years old atthis time. Lefroy got introduced to Jane at a ball and according to Austen’s letters to Cassandra,Jane shared great times with Lefroy. Due to young age and no money the love story got abortedin the nascent stage as Lefroy was sent away to Ireland for establishing his legal career.Austen attempted her second novel, ‘First Impressions’ in 1796 and completed writing the draftin August 1797 at the age of 21. Jane’s father took the initiative to publish one of her novels. InNovember 1797 Jane’s father, George Austen wrote to Thomas Cadell, an established publisherin London asking him to consider publishing “a Manuscript Novel, comprised in three Volumesabout the length of Miss Burney's Evelina” (First Impressions) which was rejected and returned.Jane went back to reworking on her ‘Elinor and Marianne’ from November 1797 until mid-1798revising it greatly.In the middle of 1798 Jane started on her third novel after fully revising Elinor and Marianne.Her third novel initially had a title, ‘Susan’, which was later titled as ‘Northanger Abbey’ thatwas a clear satire on the popular Gothic novel. Austen reportedly finished with her work after ayear. Her brother Henry Austen presented ‘Susan’ to Benjamin Crosby, a London publisher whoagreed to pay 10 for the copyright. The manuscript of the book was repurchased from Crosbyby Austen in 1816.RAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 5

Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiteratureLife in Bath and SouthamptonIn December 1800 Austen family had to shift to Bath in the south west of London as Jane’sfather decided to retire from the ministry. Jane was not able to write much during this time. Shemade certain revisions on ‘Susan’. In December 1802 Austen received her marriage proposal.Austen initially accepted the proposal but rejected it as she did not like Harris Bigg-Wither as hewas a large, plain-looking man who spoke little, stuttering while speaking and was aggressive inconversation. There is no evidence even in the form of letters as to what Jane had felt about theproposal. While residing in Bath, Jane started out but did not complete a new novel, ‘TheWatsons’ in 1804. Austen’s father died on 21 January 1805 which resulted in Jane stopping allwork. The Austen family faced economic hardships and lived part of the time in rented quartersin Bath and other parts in the beginning of 1806, in Southampton, where they shared a housewith Frank Austen and his new wife.Jane’s family moved to Chawton in the early 1809 when Austen's brother Edward offered hismother and sisters to stay in a large cottage in Chawton village that was a part of Edward'snearby estate, Chawton House. Jane, along with her sister Cassandra and her mother, shifted toChawton cottage on 7 July 1809. Jane wrote everyday but more privately. She could give muchof her time to her writing as she had spare time and less household work.Published Works and Identity as an AuthorWhile staying at Chawton, Jane Austen could successfully publish four of her novels which wereRAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 6

Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiteraturereceived well and appreciated greatly. Jane’s brother Henry helped her in persuading publisherThomas Egerton to publish ‘Sense and Sensibility’ which appeared in October 1811. The novelturned many heads and became popular besides being judged as fashionable by critics. ‘Senseand Sensibility’ was completely sold out by the middle of 1813 providing Jane with some sort offinancial and psychological independence. Egerton then published ‘Pride and Prejudice’, arevision of First Impressions, in January 1813 for which he also advertised that made the book animmediate success. By October 1813, Egerton began selling a second edition of ‘Pride andPrejudice’. In May 1814 Mansfield Park was published by Egerton. ‘Emma’ was published inDecember 1815 and a second edition of ‘Mansfield Park’ was published in February 1816 byLondon based publisher John Murray. Austen started on a new novel after Emma and she namedit ‘The Elliots’ which was later brought out as ‘Persuasion’. She completed drafting Persuasionin July 1816.Later Years and DeathIn early 1816 Jane Austen started finding herself unwell but did not give much attention to it.Soon her health declined. Austen reportedly was affected by Hodgkin’s lymphoma but recentworks by Katherine White of Britain's Addison’s Disease Self Help Group suggests that Austenlikely died of bovine tuberculosis which occurred due to drinking of non-pasteurized milk.Austen continued working ignoring her declining health. She finished rewriting the final twochapters of ‘The Elliots’ and on 6 August 1816 she completed The Elliots. In January 1817started afresh on her new work, a novel, The Brothers, (later titled Sanditon upon its firstpublication in 1925) and completed twelve chapters before stopping work in mid-March 1817RAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 7

Jane Austen Life & Notable WorksLiterature(possibly because of her illness). On 18 July 1817 Austen died at the age of 41.Jane Austen Timeline:1775 - Jane Austen was born on 16 December1783 - Jane went to Oxford along with her sister Cassandra to get her education from Mrs. AnnCawley and they moved with her to Southampton later that year1785 - She and Cassandra left for boarding school early this year1786 – In December both Jane and Cassandra were forced to return home due to their family notable to bear the education cost1787 - Jane Austen had started writing poems, stories, and plays for her own and her family'samusement1787 and 1793 - “Juvenilia” was made into fair copies by her which included all of her works1793 - Jane started on a play which she soon abandoned. It was later titled, “Sir CharlesGrandison or the happy Man, a comedy in 6 acts”1793 and 1795 - In this period Jane wrote ‘Lady Susan’1796 - Austen attempted her second novel, ‘First Impressions’1797 - Jane completed writing the draft for ‘First Impressions’ in August at the age of 211797 - In November Jane’s father, George Austen wrote to Thomas Cadell, an establishedRAJA RAO PAGIDIPALLIPage 8