Jane Austen’s

life & legacy

I discovered the world of Jane Austen as a young adult, after I had finished high school and already determined that English
literature was neither my forte nor favourite subject. When however, I read my first Jane Austen novel, Persuasion, I finally
understood the power of a great work of fiction. Jane Austen’s iconic novels are so captivating and her characters so enduring, that
they can hook even the most unliterary of us. Her fiction speaks across generations and remains utterly relevant today.

Her works
In her short life—she was only 41 when
she died—Jane Austen wrote six major
works of fiction, all of which have joined
the ranks of the greatest novels ever writ-
ten in the English language. They are Pride
and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion,
Emma, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park.
An avid reader from a young age, Jane
began writing stories at the age of 12. In
addition to her major novels, she wrote
dozens of short stories as a teenager,
mostly for the entertainment of her fam-
ily. She penned these between 1787 and
1793 and later compiled them into three
bound notebooks now referred to as
Juvenilia. When she was 20, she began
her first novel, Elinor and Marianne,
which would later become Sense and
Sensibility.
Her major novels, originally published fresh and realistic, even in the modern
under the pseudonym ‘A Lady’, have in- day. They show that although societies and
spired generations of literature fans, the- cultures change over time, people really
atrical performances, movies and modern do not.
adaptations. For example, Amy Her life
Heckerling’s 1995 movie Clueless is a fun
Jane Austen was born on 16 December
and comedic re-telling of Emma. In
1775 to a socially respectable middle class
1996, Helen Fielding created a witty new
family in Hampshire. She was the seventh
version of Pride and Prejudice with her smash of eight children and part of a very close-
hit novel, Bridget Jones’s Diary. Over the last knit family. Her older sister Cassandra
200 years, Jane Austen’s novels have was one of her closest confidants
rarely been out of print. Even Winston
Churchill was a fan, crediting her with
helping him win the Second World War.
Powerful narratives and a memorable
cast of characters, such as the independ-
ent-minded Elizabeth Bennet or the mag-
nanimous Emma, bring alive Jane’s
world. They provide a window into the
English middle and high class society of
the early 19th century in a way that feels

www.focus-info.org FOCUS The Magazine 11

throughout her life. Jane never married,
despite a brief betrothal in 1802 that
lasted about 18 hours.
Jane lived in Steventon, where she was
born, until age 25 when she moved with
her family to Bath. When her father died
in 1805, the family briefly relocated to
Southampton before settling at Chawton
House in Hampshire.
Jane remained at Chawton until the end
of her life, and it was here that she en-
tered her most prolific writing period.
She revised and completed Sense and
Sensibility. In 1811, this became the first of
her novels to be published. Then in 1813,
Jane published Pride and Prejudice, also
anonymously with ‘By the author of Sense
and Sensibility’. These novels were well re-
ceived and she followed them with the
publication of Mansfield Park in 1814 and
Emma in 1816. In 1817, she began a satire
called Sanditon, but unfortunately never
finished it. She had become ill late in
1816 and her health continued to deterio-
rate. Jane died at a hospital in Winchester
on 18 July 1817. No one knows for sure
how she died, but theories include
Addison’s disease, lymphoma, or even ar-
senic poisoning, since ink in that day
contained arsenic and her hands would
have been nearly continuously covered in
it. Jane Austen is buried in Winchester
Cathedral, and she is honoured by a
plaque in ‘Poet’s Corner’ of Westminster
Abbey in London.
In 1818, her brother Henry oversaw the
posthumous publication of her final
novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
Her England
Etchings of Jane’s life are found all over
the English countryside where she lived,
and one of the great joys of living in
England is the opportunity to see and ex-
perience some of the same places that in-
spired her.
This year marks the 200th anniversary
of her death, so there is an exceptionally
robust array of events and activities taking
place for enthusiasts. Also in 2017, Jane is
being revealed as the new face of the £10
note. It will include her portrait, an
image of her writing table and a view of
Godmersham Park—the home of her
brother, Edward Austen Knight, and a
place where she spent a considerable
amount of time.
Stephanie Sandoval is the former Editor of FOCUS Magazine. She loves to explore
and learn the stories behind historical sites in her adopted home of England. She can
be reached at skfain@gmail.com.
12 FOCUS The Magazine March/April 2017
To learn and experience more about Jane’s England why not visit:
Jane Austen’s House Museum, Chawton House Faithfully restored and meticulously
maintained, this is Jane’s actual home in Chawton. Here you can have a look at her
bedroom, samples of letters, her belongings, and the desk and sitting room where she
wrote her six major novels. www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk
The Jane Austen Centre This centre tells the story of Jane Austen from the vantage point
of her time in Bath. www.janeausten.co.uk
The Jane Austen Festival The city of Bath hosts an annual Jane Austen Festival where
hundreds dress up in regency costumes and celebrate the city’s famous former
resident. The festival always opens with a Grand Regency Costumed Charity
Promenade through the streets of Bath. It also includes concerts, theatrical
performances, readings, talks, tours and workshops. This year’s festival is
highlighting Northanger Abbey and will be held 8-17 September. The promenade
will take place on 9 September. Tickets are on sale now, but note that you do not
need to buy a ticket to watch the procession. www.janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk
Jane Austen Summer Ball Organisers of the Jane Austen Festival also put on an annual
summer ball, complete with pre-dance lessons. This year’s ball will take place on 1
July. Tickets are on sale now. www.janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk
Jane Austen 200 Hampshire Cultural Trust is working with Jane Austen’s House
Museum and other partners to put on a series of events, competitions, walks, talks,
performances and exhibitions to celebrate Jane’s life and work in 2017. For details,
see www.janeausten200.co.uk.
Winchester Cathedral Jane is buried here, and situated beside her grave the Cathedral
hosts a permanent exhibition of her life and work. www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk
Places that may have inspired some of the
dramatic and memorable settings in Jane’s
stories include:
Godmersham Park Walk and Heritage Centre.
This is the estate inherited by Jane’s
brother, Edward, after wealthy cousins
adopted him. Jane visited Godmersham
Park frequently where she mixed with her
brother’s fashionable and wealthy
friends, experiences that undoubtedly
informed her descriptions of England’s
privileged classes.
www.godmershamheritage.webs.com
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire. Although she
never visited it, this house very likely
inspired Mr Darcy’s fictional estate of
Pemberley. It was even used as Pemberley
in the 2005 film version of Pride and
Prejudice. www.chatsworth.org
St Nicholas Church, Steventon,
Hampshire. Jane attended mass here and
it is easy to imagine one of the many
weddings she wrote about happening at a
church very much like this.
www.stnicholascenter.org
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