Below is a timeline of the different significant events in Jane Austen's life including when all the novels - Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, The Watsons and Sanditon - were written and when they were published.
Year | What Happened? | Age | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1775 | (16 Dec) Jane Austen born at Steventon in Hants, seventh child of the Rev. George Austen (1731-1805) and Cassandra Leigh (1739-1827) | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1784/5 | Jane Austen and her sister, Cassandra, leave the Abbey School, Reading | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1795 | Eleanor and Marianne written, an epistolary work (novel written in letters). Lady Susan possibly also written at this point. | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1796 | (Oct) First Impressions begun (later called Pride and Prejudice) (finished Aug 1797) | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1797 | (Nov) Sense and Sensibility begun, revision of Elinor and Marianne. First Impressions unsuccessfully offered to Cadell who never looked at it. | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1798/9 | Northanger Abbey written. Sold to Crosby & Go. in 1803, however they never published the book. |
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1801 | Austens move to Bath | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1805 | Rev. George Austen dies. The Watsons and Lady Susan written about this time | 30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1806 | Austens leave Bath for Clifton with 'happy feelings of escape', and visit Adlestrop and Stoneleigh. The families total income per year is 400 - 450 ponds. 210 ponds came from her mother and sisters incomes, the rest made up from her brothers' aid. Cassandra was left a small amount of money from her late fiancé. This amount of money was considered minimal for one women to live on in their class of society, not three. 1807 (Mar) Austens settle in at Castle Square, Southampton 32 1809 Austens move to Chawton, Hampshire (owned by Jane's brother Edward) 34 1811 Mansfield Park begun (Feb). Sense and Sensibility first of Jane's novels published. the publishing was at Jane's expense (Nov.) 36 1812 37 1813 38 1814 39 1815 40 1816 1817 (Jan-Mar) Sanditon begun 42 1818 Posthumous publication of Northanger Abbey (originally "Susan") andPersuasion (Austen's fifth and sixth - and last - published novels), with biographical notice by her brother Henry; this is the first any of her novels are identified as penned by Jane, the first published simply as "by a lady" and each of the following published as "by the author of..." 1 year after death For a detailed chronology, see R. W. Chapman, Jane Austen: Facts and Problems (1948), pp. 175-183 |