Jane Austen

My presentation is about Jane Austen. Jane Austen is one the greatest British authors. She wrote 7 novels during her life. Of which only 4 were published during her life: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Emma. This is because during the time she lived it was not normal for a woman to have a job or to publish novels and gaining money with them. A lot of publishers rejected her novels. This is also the reason why all her novels were published anonymously.

Jane Austen was born in 1775. She was the youngest of 7 children. Her brothers and sister were: James, Edward, Henry, Frank and Cassandra. George, her youngest brother, went to a nearby village to be taken care of but he died there. All children were taken care of by others till a reasonable age. At age 7 Cassandra and Jane were send to school in Oxford. According to Jane they learned nothing there. Only sowing, good manners and a little French. At age 11 they were brought back from school. Jane was delighted: now she could read the books in fathers collection. She also read books not found suited for a girl her age. But this rich mixture began to feed her extraordinary immagination. At this time she began to write books herself.

In the time of Jane a good marriage meant a marriage that brought money. All her Brothers had good marriages. Cassandra didn’t she was engaged to a penniless clergymen but he died in the colonies while trying to become richer. Jane\'s parents took her to numerous parties so she could gain a good husband. There she met Tom Levroy. She was 20 then. The marriage was impossible for they both weren’t rich enough. After this painful experience she devoted herself to her writing. In only 4 years she had written 3 books: Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. She used her experience in Sense & Sensibility where Marianne Dashwood is also being dumped for a wealthier catch. Both Jane’s fater and her brother Henry tried publishing. But nobody wanted to.

Then at an age of about 25 her writing mysteriously stopped: She, Cassandra and her parents moved to Bath. This was a place for leisure for the rich, but not for Jane. She bacame too depressed to write.

At an age of 27: she was still unpublished and unmarried. Last seemed to change: When they were staying with their old neighbours the Biggs. Harris Biggs proposed. At first she said yes. But the next morning she declined his proposel. Same dilemma as in Mansfield park : marry for love or money.

Age 29: father died. This changed their financial situation. She and Cassandra now depended entirely on their brothers. They had a low income. They Often went to brother Edward in Kent. He helped Jane, Cassandra and their mother to move to Hampshire again. Here she started writing again. Then finally her novels were published. 1st Sense & Sensibility. Then Pride & Prejudice. At first Anonymous but her brother Edward was so proud of her that he told a lot of people about it. So it wasn\'t a secret anymore secret. Then at the height of her success, she was 39 years then, she became mysteriously ill. She wrote Persuasion. Then in April 1817 she secretly wrote her will. Winchester -> hospitals. 18th July 1817 she suffered a seizure. Modern medicine thinks it was Adams disease which affects the adrenaline glands or a type of cancer. Last novels were published: In 1818 -> Northanger Abbey and Persuasion and in 1871 Lady Suzan.