ABSTRACT
Jane Austen (1775–1817) lived the outward life of a middle-class spinster and her fìrst novel Sense and Sensibility did not appear till six years before her death, followed rapidly by Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, although early drafts were begun as early as 1795. Her Letters were fìrst edited in 1932 and are primarily written to her sister, Cassandra, in a gossipy vein. Even here her clear, astringent style reminds us of the wit of the novels.
