Jane Austen: The Life of a Literary Titan

There’s something about Jane... Jane Austen lived only just into her forties, never married, never had children, lived all her life in the south of England and rarely strayed far from the genteel and orthodox social circle into which she was born.

She completed only six novels, and achieved little fame in her lifetime. Yet over 200 years after her death, she remains one of our most revered writers, and one of the most regularly adapted for television and film. Her novels are beloved by readers all over the world who continue to be inspired, beguiled and delighted by her often comic, and always shrewd insights into the calculations, and complexities of human hearts and minds. This concise biography aims to get to the heart of the enigmatic woman who was Jane Austen, and to the enduring qualities in her work which make it so universally loved and admired.

CAROLINE SANDERSON has done jobs in both bookselling and publishing and now works as a writer, editor and books journalist. She is the author of three works of non-fiction: Someone Like Adele, Kiss Chase & Conkers: The Games We Played; and: A Rambling Fancy: In the Footsteps of Jane Austen. Caroline’s articles, book reviews and author interviews have appeared in The Times, The Independent on Sunday, Mslexia, newbooks and Books for Keeps. She is non-fiction editor of The Bookseller and regularly chairs events at book festivals. She was a judge for the 2013 Costa Biography Award.