The New Student's Reference Work/Austen, Jane
Aus'ten, Jane, a famous English novelist, was born in 1775 in Hampshire, England. Her acquaintance with English literature was considerable, and she was an especial favorite with her young friends because of her ability to make up long and interesting stories for their amusement. Her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, appeared anonymously in 1811. Others of her works are Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Her works deal entirely with domestic life, and her characters are taken from the English middle class. Miss Austen is especially noted for the delicacy and aptness of her descriptions of character and life. She died in 1817. See Prof. Goldwin Smith's Life of Jane Austen in the Great Writers' Series.