Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon. a small village in Hampshire, England. She received nearly all her education through her brothers and her father, an Anglican minister. Her earliest extant pieces date to 1787, at which point the author would have been 11 years of age. In adulthood, Austen began writing novels, the first being the brief Lady Susan. Her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility appeared in 1811. and was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Mansfield Park (1814). All enjoyed respectable sales, and the author developed a dedicated readership. As her books were published anonymously - 'BY A LADY' - Austen achieved little in the way of fame during her lifetime. That said, the identity of the author was known widely amongst the aristocracy. The Prince Regent, the future George IV, was a particular admirer of Austen's work. Emma was dedicated reluctantly to the prince at the urging of the author's friends. Emma was first published in December 1815, days before the author's fortieth birthday. The work proved to be the last novel published during her lifetime. Austen's health began to decline in the early months of 1816. She started work on a new novel, The Brothers, in January 1817, but was able to work for only three more months. In April, Austen was confined to bed. On 18 July 1817, she died in Winchester, where she had gone for medical treatment. N onhanger Abbey and Persuasion were published five months later. Her final novel, The Brothers, was not published in full until 1925, as Sanditon.
