Jane Austen

Every entry, with its source

At 0

1. Dec 16, 1775

   Born in Steventon, Hampshire

   Daughter of a country clergyman.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 7

1. c. 1783

   Sent away to school; nearly died of typhus

   Under Ann Cawley in Oxford, then Southampton. Later a spell at Reading Abbey Girls' School until the fees got too high.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 11

1. c. 1787

   Began the juvenilia: three notebooks of comic writing

   About 90,000 words by 1793, including Love and Freindship at 14.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 19

1. Dec 1795

   Flirtation with Tom Lefroy

   Her letters joke about their shocking behaviour at dances. Nothing came of it.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 21

1. Aug 1797

   Finished First Impressions at 21

   Later Pride and Prejudice. Her father offered it to publisher Thomas Cadell that November; declined by return of post.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 24

1. Dec 1800

   Father retired; the family moved to Bath

   She wrote almost nothing there.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 26

1. Dec 1802

   Accepted a marriage proposal, then withdrew the next morning

   Harris Bigg-Wither, a wealthy but awkward neighbour. She was 27.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 29

1. Jan 21, 1805

   Father died, leaving the women in precarious finances

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 33

1. Jul 7, 1809

   Moved to Chawton cottage

   Offered by her brother Edward. Her productive years began here.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 35

1. Oct 30, 1811

   Sense and Sensibility published, By a Lady

   She paid for the printing herself, more than a third of the household's yearly income. It sold out and earned her about 140 pounds.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 37

1. Jan 28, 1813

   Pride and Prejudice published

   She sold the copyright for 110 pounds; the publisher made about 450 from the first two editions.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 38

1. May 1814

   Mansfield Park published

   Ignored by reviewers, popular with readers.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 39

1. Dec 1815

   Emma published, dedicated to the Prince Regent

   He admired her novels; his librarian hinted at the dedication. She disapproved of him but could hardly refuse.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 41

1. Mar 18, 1817

   Stopped writing Sanditon, ill

   Twelve chapters in.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org
2. Jul 18, 1817

   Died in Winchester at 41

   Buried in Winchester Cathedral. Persuasion and Northanger Abbey came out that December, naming her as author for the first time.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org