Jane Austen

Born in Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, Jane Austen was an English novelist whose work transformed everyday domestic life into enduring literature. She is best known for six major novels, including Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion.

Austen spent part of her life in Bath, then settled in Chawton, where she revised earlier drafts and prepared several novels for publication. Her books focus on love, money, family, and the social pressures of her time, but what makes them last is the intelligence and precision of her writing: she could be warm, ironic, and devastatingly funny all at once.

She died in Winchester on July 18, 1817, at the age of 41. Though her novels first appeared anonymously, she is now recognized as one of the most widely read and admired writers in English literature.