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Jane Austen's Life and Works
A timeline of her life and publications. -
Jane Austen Born
Jane Austen, one of the greatest authors ever, came out to the world on this day to Rev. George Austen and Cassandra Austen in Hampshire. -
First Theatrical Act
The Austen's first theatrical act is performed in their house. -
Jane Goes to School
Jane and Cassandra were sent to Oxford to be educated, but they contracted typhus and Jane almost died. Subsequently, they were educated at home. -
Juvenilia
Austen starts to write her Juvenilia, a collection of poems, stories, and plays to amuse her family as a precursor to her literary career. -
Sir Charles Grandison or The Happy Man, a Comedy in 6 acts
Jane Austen wrote the play, her first literary work, and then abandoned it. It was not to be finished until 1800. -
Eleanor and Marianne, Lady Susan
Eleanor and Marianne is written as an epistolary work. Lady Susan was possibly also written at this point. -
Visits by Tom Lefroy
Tom Lefroy, her nephew, came to visit her at this time. Jane fell in love with him, but their could not be engaged. -
Move to Bath
The Austens move to Bath, which would later serve as the settings in Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. -
Marriage and Divorce
Jane marries Harris Bigg-Wither, but she changed her mind and divorced the next day. She never remarried. -
Moves
After her father died, the family moved to Southampton and then Hampshire. Despite this, she was still connected to the world through her brothers. -
Crosby Incident
Austen wrote a letter to Benjamin Crosby, demanding him to immediately publish Susan. Crosby denied her request because she was a woman and that to get her manuscript back, she would have to pay him £10, which she could not pay back. -
Move to Chawton
Austen, along with her family, move into Chawton cottage, where she saw fit for continuing her literary career. -
Sense and Sensibility
She publishes Sense and Sensibility anonymously. Here, the lives and loves of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are portrayed in a tale of romance, heartbreak, and a merging of "sense and sensibility." -
Pride and Prejudice
Jane's Pride and Prejudice, revolving around Elizabeth Bennet as she encounters issues of manners and marriage in Regency England, was published anonymously after the first draft was finished in 1799. -
Invitation by Prince Regent
Jane is invited to Prince Regent's London residence at Carolton House by his librarian. The Prince asks Jane to dedicate him in her next work despite her disgust of his spousal abuse; which she reluctantly agrees to do so. -
Mansfield Park
Her Mansfield Park, about Fanny Price, a poor girl that experiences romance, first appears on this day. -
Emma
Emma, about the young, beguiling Emma Woodhouse's miscontrued romance, is published. Austen dedicated the book to the Prince Regent. -
Decline in Health
Jane Austen became ill and got more sick with each passing day. -
Bank Failures
Henry Austen's (her brother) bank venture fails, delaying the publications of The Elliots and Catherine. In addition to this, investments by brothers Edward, James and Frank are also lost. -
Sanditon
In her last months, she wrote her unfinished novel Sanditon. -
Jane Dies
She dies at the age of 47 at Winchester due to illness (most likely Addison's disease) and is buried at the cathedral there. -
Posthumous publications and Revelation
Her unpublished novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published by her sister Cassandra posthumously. Lady Susan was not to be published until 1871. This was also the time when she was revealed to be the author of her works, published anonymously.
