Author. She was the seventh child and second daughter of the Reverend George Austen. Jane was very close to her older sister, Cassandra-Elizabeth. When she was sent to school, she begged to be sent along with her even though she was too young. Mr. Austen couldn't really afford their schooling, and they were back home after less than three years. Jane was very well-educated for a female of that time. She had a good knowledge of history as well as a little Latin, Italian, and musical training. In 1787, she made the decision to devote all her time to writing. This early work made three volumes of "Juvenilia." In 1791, she wrote a parody of Oliver Goldsmith's "History of England." At age of nineteen, she started work on "Lady Susan," a novel which was her first attempt at a serious theme. It didn't work well in the format she used, but it was good enough to encourage her to keep going. She began another novel in 1795, which was titled "Elinor and Marianne," and, in 1796, she start to work on "First Impressions." In August of 1797, she submitted "First Impressions" for publication, and it was turned down. She was not surprised or disappointed. She spent the next two years rewriting "Elinor and Marianne" into "Sense and Sensibility" and started work on "Susan." About 1800, Jane met the young Harris Bigg-Wither. About a year later, Harris proposed to Jane. She accepted, but she changed her mind the very next morning. That was a scandal of the time. In 1805, her father died; and her mother and she were now exceedingly poor. In 1810, "Sense and Sensibility" was accepted for publication on the condition that the printing costs would be paid by the author. Jane expected to lose money, but the novel sold quickly and the profit was good. She started to work on "Mansfield Park" and sold "Pride and Prejudice" for publication in 1812. Her next novel "Emma" was published in 1815. At that time her health was beginning to fail due to Addison's disease. She died on the morning of July 18, 1817, with her beloved sister Cassandra at her side.