Jane Austen

Through her works of romantic fiction, Jane Austen has made a place for herself as one of the most widely read authors in English literature. Her realism, witty writing style, and social commentary have given her historical significance among scholars and critics and have earned her a place in the hearts of many readers both young and old. Although, sadly, she did not live to see the extent of her legacy.

From her teenage years into her thirties, Austen experimented with various literary forms. She wrote and extensively revised three major novels and began a fourth. From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma, she attained success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which were both published after her death in 1818. She also began a third novel, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but she died before completing it. Each of Austen’s books are brimming with her own personal brand of wit and cynicism which lives on to this day. As Harold Bloom, literary critic and Sterling Professor of the Humanities and English at Yale University, put it, “She has affected our sense of humor historically and nationally, defining these incredibly English arts of understatement, irony, a beautifully caustic compassion.” She was one of the first women to deliver humor and intelligence to subject matter previously thought frivolous and lighthearted. All six of Austen's novels are still exceptionally popular, and millions of copies have been sold worldwide, which makes it nearly impossible to over-estimate her literary and cultural influence. She has reached countless people worldwide, not only through the thirty-five languages into ...

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...d to her bed. In May, Jane's family escorted her to Winchester for medical treatment. Austen died there in July of 1817 at the age of forty-one. She was buried in the north aisle of the nave of Winchester Cathedral. The epitaph composed by her brother (James) praised Austen's personal qualities, expressed hope for her salvation, and mentioned the "extraordinary endowments of her mind", but did not directly discuss her accomplishments as an author.

Today, Jane Austen and her works are held in the highest esteem. Her witty novels of remarkable characters and exciting romance have earned her the deepest admiration of countless individuals, not to mention the respect of numerous scholars and critics. Though she did not live to experience the adoration she receives today, she endures in the hearts of her fans as one of the greatest and most beloved authors of all time.