Then, at fifteen years old, she began writing her own novels; and by twenty-three had completed the original versions of Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. (Biography) Pieces written during 1787 and 1793 are referred to as the ‘Juvenilia.’ Sense and Sensibility was told to Austen’s family by means of letters before it was published under the title in 1811. Around the time that Jane became twenty, the nephew of a neighbor, Tom Lefroy, was visiting Steventon from December 1795 to January 1796. It is believed that Austen and Lefroy were perhaps introduced at a ball or similar social gathering, and in letters sent to her sister, Jane expressed that she and Tom spent considerable time together. Eventually, their families intervened preventing the two young adults from socializing with each other. Jane never married. Then, she began to work on her first novel in 1796, First Impressions. This eventually became Pride and Prejudice and it is probably the most-read of all of Austen’s novels. (The Works of Jane Austen) Austen went on to write Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Persuasion (1817 - posthumous), Northanger Abbey (1817 - posthumous), and Sanditon (began in 1817, unfinished at time of death.) In March, Austen’s health began to decline and she was forced to abandon Sanditon. (Jane Austen - Biography |
Then, at fifteen years old, she began writing her own novels; and by twenty-three had completed the original versions of Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. (Biography) Pieces written during 1787 and 1793 are referred to as the ‘Juvenilia.’ Sense and Sensibility was told to Austen’s family by means of letters before it was published under the title in 1811. Around the time that Jane became twenty, the nephew of a neighbor, Tom Lefroy, was visiting Steventon from December 1795 to January 1796. It is believed that Austen and Lefroy were perhaps introduced at a ball or similar social gathering, and in letters sent to her sister, Jane expressed that she and Tom spent considerable time together. Eventually, their families intervened preventing the two young adults from socializing with each other. Jane never married. Then, she began to work on her first novel in 1796, First Impressions. This eventually became Pride and Prejudice and it is probably the most-read of all of Austen’s novels. (The Works of Jane Austen) Austen went on to write Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Persuasion (1817 - posthumous), Northanger Abbey (1817 - posthumous), and Sanditon (began in 1817, unfinished at time of death.) In March, Austen’s health began to decline and she was forced to abandon Sanditon. (Jane Austen - Biography |