Who is Jane Austen?

Jane Austen is a famous English novelist who lived from 1775 to 1817.  She wrote romantic fiction and is most known for novels Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Mansfield Park. All of her books were set among the English middle and upper classes and are notable for their wit and social observations.  Her books give insights into the lives of early 19th century women, and are still very popular today.

She was brought up in a close-knit family; her father was a clergyman and she six brothers and one sister.  She began writing in her teens. They lived in the village Steventon in Hampshire England until 1801 when they moved to Bath.  Then 4 years later they moved back to Hampshire.  In 1809 right up until the end of her life she lived in a 17th century house in Chawton, Hampshire.  Today the house is a small private museum run by the Jan Austen’s Memorial Trust.  She wrote Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion while she was living there.

Jane never married nor had any children.  She always published her work anonymously so she never really became famous until after her death. Most of her books received only a few published reviews and never became bestsellers.  Her novels very fashionable among many people but the critics at the time preferred the works of Charles Dickens and George Eliot. 

More recently her novels have been the focus on many adaptations.  The first film adaptation was the 1940 film Pride and Prejudice starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson.  Even more recently 1995 saw a great wave of Austen adaptations appear.  First was the Ang Lee's film of Sense and Sensibility.  The screen writer and actress Emma Thompson won an Academy Award.  Then there was a very popular miniseries by the BBC called Pride and Prejudice, which stared Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.

Today Jane Austen is revered as much as any literary figure in history. She is that popular that there are tours where you can go and see the real inspirations and locations from her novels.  The movie locations of where they filmed Sense and Sensibility are also part of the tour and you can even visit the homes that she once lived in. There are many societies honouring the author and preserving manuscripts, letters and memorabilia of Jane and her family.  Fans can join these societies and receive newsletters and details of forthcoming events.

For more information on going on a Beatrix Potter Tour of the Lake District or the Jane Austen Tour which Brit Movie Tours offers.