Jane Austen (16 December, 1775 – 18 July, 1817) was an English novelist whose work is considered part of the Western canon. Her insights into women's lives and her mastery of form and irony have made her one of the most noted and influential novelists of her era despite being only moderately successful during her lifetime.

Life

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Austen's life was relatively uneventful. In 1801 the family moved to Bath, the scene of many episodes in her writings (though Jane Austen, like her character Anne Elliot, seems to have "persisted in a disinclination for Bath"). In 1802 Austen received a marriage proposal from a wealthy but "big and awkward" man named Harris Bigg-Wither, who was six years her junior. Such a marriage would have "established" her (in the terminology of the day), and freed her from some of the constraints and "dependency" then associated with the role of a spinster who must rely on her family for support. Such considerations influenced her to at first accept his offer, but she then changed her mind the next day. It seems clear that she did not love him. It was events such as these that inspired one of her greatest novels, Pride and Prejudice. After the death of her father in 1805, Austen, her sister, and her mother lived in Southampton with her brother Frank and his family for several years until they moved in 1809 to Chawton. Here her wealthy brother Edward had an estate with a cottage, where he allowed his mother and sisters to live. Their house is now open to the public.

Austen continued to live a quiet life with her family. In 1816, she began to suffer from ill-health. It is now thought she may have suffered from Addison's disease, the cause of which was then unknown. Her disease had ups and downs, but in 1817 her condition became so serious that she travelled to Winchester. She died there two months later, and was buried in the cathedral.

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Best Children's Book to Film Adaptations - A Fuse #8 Production... http://tinyurl.com/y87outp
virgietj8y3 (Virgie Mercer) Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:26:15 -0000
Best Children's Book to Film Adaptations - A Fuse #8 Production... http://tinyurl.com/y87outp
As the snow accumulates outside my window, I was thinking about the special adaptations of the Snowy Owl to live in... http://fb.me/3kGd5g2
Bird_TLC (Bird TLC) Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:06:52 -0000
As the snow accumulates outside my window, I was thinking about the special adaptations of the Snowy Owl to live in... http://fb.me/3kGd5g2
Just watched "The Informers". Not sure what to think. (Despite loving B.E.E and the other adaptations of his books.)
juneninth (Ian Mills) Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:13:47 -0000
Just watched "The Informers". Not sure what to think. (Despite loving B.E.E and the other adaptations of his books.)
Adaptations for Exploitation http://bit.ly/5NbZlv http://sciencia.org/
Sciencia (Webmaster Sciencia) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:37:56 -0000
Adaptations for Exploitation http://bit.ly/5NbZlv http://sciencia.org/
For the Good of the Group? Exploring Group-Level Evolutionary Adaptations Using Multilevel.. http://bit.ly/8f8sqD http://sciencia.org/
Sciencia (Webmaster Sciencia) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:37:47 -0000
For the Good of the Group? Exploring Group-Level Evolutionary Adaptations Using Multilevel.. http://bit.ly/8f8sqD http://sciencia.org/
Directors, please stop changing the endings of books when making film adaptations just so you don't offend an idiotic monority.
letsgetsmiling (Emma) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:24:58 -0000
Directors, please stop changing the endings of books when making film adaptations just so you don't offend an idiotic monority.

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