Jane Austen was born in Steventon, Hampshire, England on Dec. 16, 1775. She was a female writer, and though it was difficult to be a female writer at this time, Austen published her novels under the name, “by a lady.”

Her first three novels garnered fame and money, it was not until after her death in 1817 when her brother Henry Austen revealed to the public that J. Austen was the author. What really made her famous was at the end of the century when the first biography of her was written by her nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh.

All of Austen’s novels deal with the choices involved in being a women. Austen’s heroines are known as strong, witty women, especially “Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet. She was one of the first authors to suggest that women should marry for love. She used her romantic novels “as a mouthpiece for social commentary.”

Senior Emma Steward said, “her novels are still relevant today, with well-written female characters.”

“Pride and Prejudice” was voted The Book the Nation Can’t Do Without by The Guardian in 2007. Austen’s contributions to literature cannot be overstated, her books have been made into countless movies and spin-offs. Austen focused on what she knew, featuring parochial and domestic scenes featuring wit and social commentary, the oppression of patriarchy, romance and morals.

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
― Jane Austen