Some Things To Know About The Wonderful Jane Austen

Two words: Jane Austen. Now, you don’t need anything fancy to know who this handsome and clever British novelist is, and that’s probably because you’ve already heard of her, read some of her writing, or even seen some of her works.

Remember the book Pride and Prejudice that you were once required to read back in high school? There’s even that BBC TV series with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, and film versions starring Keira Knightley or Gwyneth Paltrow. From Emma to the 2022 Netflix adaptation of Persuasion, Austen's stories are timeless.

What else should you know about our dearly beloved Jane Austen other than the relatable characters and picturesque worlds she’s created? Read on!

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1. Jane was one of eight children. She had one older sister, Cassandra, and six brothers.
2. Jane and her siblings were sent to the village to be looked after by “the good women” until the age of 2, a common practice at the time.
3. She attended boarding school at Reading Abbey Girls’ School but had to return home after a year because her family could no longer afford the tuition.
4. In 1783, Jane and Cassandra almost died from typhus fever, but their parents managed to save them.
5. Austen published her novels anonymously. Sense and Sensibility was credited simply to "A Lady."
6. She brewed her own specialty "Spruce beer," a concoction made with molasses for a sweeter taste.
7. She lived for a time with John Wallop, 3rd Earl of Portsmouth, a man surrounded by bizarre and dark rumors.
8. Her writing is cited in legal decisions. A 2008 tax court famously parodied her: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a recently widowed woman in possession of a good fortune must be in want of an estate planner."
9. Jane wrote about 3,000 letters, but only 160 survived. Her sister Cassandra destroyed the rest to protect the family's social image.
10. Though she never married, she had two significant romances and one rejected marriage proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither.
11. Austen initially titled Pride and Prejudice as "First Impressions," but changed it after reading the phrase in Fanny Burney's novel Cecilia.
12. In her final will, she left the majority of her fortune to her sister and heir, Cassandra.