Why do we love Jane?

The woman often referred to as the "mother of the modern novel," who wrote most of her novels about the travails, ironies, and foibles of women in various levels of society finding husbands was, herself, never married. Born the seventh of eight children and the second of two daughters, Jane was the daughter of the rector of Steventon, a small country town in Hampshire. Though she began three of her novels in her teens and early twenties, none of her books would be published until much later in her life. When her books were eventually published, Jane's name did not appear on them and only a few of her closest family and friends were even aware she had written them until after her death (a secret that they all delighted in keeping, by most accounts). Jane's delicate comedies of manners are rife with wit and romance, and not a little bit of satire. A smart woman with little patience for false airs, Jane's keen eye and sharp way with words showed, nevertheless, her love of the gay whirl of society. A delighted aunt who wrote of enjoying her dotage, saying "By the bye, as I must leave off being young, I find many Douceurs in being a sort of chaperon [at dances], for I am put on the Sofa near the Fire & can drink as much wine as I like." Sadly, Jane fell ill and died at forty-one, most likely of Addison's disease. Fortunately, her novels lived on, thankfully with her name attached, for generations to come to enjoy.

Biography:

Born - December 16, 1775
Steventon, Hampshire, England
Died - July 18, 1817
Winchester, Hampshire, England
     Buried in Winchester Cathedral

Bibliography:

• Sense and Sensibility (1811)
• Pride and Prejudice (1813)
• Mansfield Park (1814)
• Emma (1816)
• Northanger Abbey (1818)
• Persuasion (1818)