Jane Austen
1775 - 1817
Jane Austen is often regarded as the greatest of English women novelists. Her novels are noted particularly for their sparkling social comedy and accurate vision of human relationships. Jane Austen was born on 16th December 1775 at Steventon in Hampshire, England. She was the seventh child of a country parson. Her father, the Reverent George Austen, was an intelligent and sensitive man who encouraged Jane in her love of reading. From an early age she was familiar with the works of Henry Fielding, Sir Walter Scott and the poet George Crabbe. Her novels are as widely read today as they have ever been.