Jane Austen (Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century)

Early Life

Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England, the seventh child and second daughter of George Austen and Cassandra Leigh Austen. Her father was the reactor of Steventon and nearby Deane. A member of an old but poor family, he had been reared by a wealthy uncle, who educated him at St. John’s College, Oxford, where he was later a fellow. Austen’s mother was the daughter of a clergyman of noble ancestry, also an Oxford graduate and also a former fellow.

Although Jane and her older sister, Cassandra Austen, spent several years in...

[The entire page is 3099 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass