|
|
|
Jane Austen 1775 - 1817
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire. She was one of eight children of a clergyman and grew up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager. In 1801 the family moved to Bath. After the death of Jane's father in 1805 Jane, her sister Cassandra and their mother moved several times, eventually settling in Chawton, near Steventon.
Jane's brother Henry helped her negotiate with a publisher and her first novel, 'Sense and Sensibility', appeared in 1811. Her next novel, 'Pride and Prejudice', which she described as her "own darling child" received highly favourable reviews. 'Mansfield Park' was published in 1814, then 'Emma' in 1816. 'Emma' was dedicated to the Prince Regent, an admirer of her work. All of Jane Austen's novels were published anonymously.
In 1816, Jane began to suffer from ill-health, probably due to Addison's disease. She travelled to Winchester to receive treatment, and died there on 18 July 1817. Two more novels, 'Persuasion' and 'Northanger Abbey', were published posthumously and a final novel ‘Sanditon’ was left incomplete.
See Jane’s books here.
|
|
|
___________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
Charlotte Brontė (1816 – 1855)
Charlotte was a British novelist, the eldest of the three famous Brontė sisters whose novels have become standards of English literature. Charlotte Brontė, who used the pen name Currer Bell, is best known for Jane Eyre, one of the most famous of English novels.
See Charlotte’s books here.
|
|
|
___________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
Emily Jane Brontė (1818 - 1848)
Emily Jane Brontė (July 30, 1818 - December 19, 1848) was a British novelist and poet, now best remembered for her only novel Wuthering Heights, a classic of English literature. Emily was the second eldest of the three surviving Brontė sisters, being younger than Charlotte and older than Anne. She published under the masculine pen name Ellis Bell.
See Emily’s book here
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810 - 1865)
Elizabeth Gaskell was a Victorian novelist who championed the working classes. She was also notable for her biography of her friend Charlotte Brontė.
Elizabeth Stevenson was born in London on 29 September 1810, the daughter of a Unitarian minister. After her mother's early death, she was raised by an aunt who lived in Knutsford in Cheshire. In 1832 she married William Gaskell, also a Unitarian minister, and they settled in the industrial city of Manchester.
Motherhood and the obligations of a minister's wife kept her busy. However, the death of her only son inspired her to write her first novel, 'Mary Barton', which was published anonymously in 1848. It was an immediate success, winning the praise of Charles Dickens and Thomas Carlyle.
Dickens invited her to contribute to his magazine, 'Household Words', where her next major work, ‘Cranford’, appeared in 1853. 'North and South' was published the following year. Gaskell's work brought her many friends, including the novelist Charlotte Brontė. When Charlotte died in 1855, her father, Patrick Brontė, asked Gaskell to write her biography. The Life of Charlotte Brontė (1857) was written with admiration and covered a huge quantity of firsthand material with great narrative skill.
Gaskell died on 12 November 1865, leaving her longest work, 'Wives and Daughters', incomplete.
See Elizabeth’s books here.
|
|
|
___________________________________________________________________
|
|
Your favourite classic author not here? Tell us and we’ll add their books.
|
|
