jane austen’s biography
DESCRIPTION
Jane Austen's biography (Created by Sheila Morato)TRANSCRIPT
Jane Austen’s biography
She is one of the most widely read
and best-loved writer
in British literature.
Jane Austen was born on December
16, 1775, in the small village of
Steventon in Hampshire, England.
Her childhood was happy:
her home was full of books,
and many friends and relatives.
Her parents encouraged both their
children’s intellectual interests...
... and passion
for producing and performing
in amateur theatricals.
Austen’s closest relationship was
with her only sister,
Cassandra.
Jane Austen – watercolour produced by her sister, Cassandra
From about twelve years old, Jane
began writing spirited parodies of the
popular Gothic...
... and sentimental fiction
for the amusement of her family.
These early works reveal in nascent
form many of her literary gifts:
... particularly her ironic sensibility,
wit, and gift for comedy.
Serious works began around 1794:
Lady Susan,
Elinor and Marianne
and First Impressions.
In 1797, First Impressions (Pride and
Prejudice) was offered to a publisher
by Jane Austen’s father...
... but the publisher
declined to even
look at the manuscript.
After her father’s death, Jane,
Cassandra and her mother became
dependent on support from the
Austen brothers.
In 1808, they moved to a cottage in Chawton, which is today a museum.
Jane Austen revised her earlier works
which were entitled:
Sense and Sensibility (1811) and
Pride and Prejudice (1813).
She also wrote
Mansfield Park (1814)
and Emma (1815).
In 1816, Jane Austen’s health
began to fail.
She died at the age of 41
on July 18, 1817.
She loved balls, music, country walks,
conversation, children, novels.
Her works were concerned with
courtship, love and marriage
but she never married.
All Jane Austen’s work lifetime
appeared in print anonymously.
Just few months following her death a
biographical notice appeared in the
books revealing her name.
She lived in privacy and, after her
death, her family censored and
destroyed many of her letters.
On her grave
there was no mention of
her writings...
... just an allusion to
“the extraordinary endowments
of her mind.”
She represented
the ordinary world
of men and women
as it was...
... a place where love
and romance were constrained
by economics and human
imperfection...
... a place where characters were
never simply good or evil but more
complicated amalgams, reflecting both
their own moral nature...
... and the virtues
and failings of the families and society
that shaped them.
Because Jane Austen is still in tune
with today’s sensibilities,
her novels have been adapted to
many movies...
The more recent are...
(1995)
(1996)
(1999)
(2005)
(2007) (tv)
(2007) (tv)
(2007)
And others had
Jane Austen’s novel
like background...
(1998)
Paraphrasing Pride and Prejudice...
(2006)
Paraphrasing Persuasion...
(2007)
... paraphrasing five of her novels.
... And...
Jane Austen’s works are full of
intelligence and precisely crafted to
convey its often subtle meaning.
. . .
Sources
http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janelife.html
http://www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/
19th Century English Literature