Jane Austen early life

Jane Austen was born in Hampshire in 1775, and died tragically early, in her 40s.  She was the daughter of a clergyman, the Rev George Austen.  His family had been wealthy merchants but had lost money and he was reared by relatives.  Her mother’s family the Leighs were moderately well to do gentry.  George Austen met Cassandra Leigh in Oxford in 1793 and they married soon after.  George acquired a respectable church living, which gave him a steady income...
They moved into a farm on the estate where it was based, in Steventon. Their income was small though and they had a large family, mostly boys - who would need to be educated and started off in professions.  Jane was the younger of the 2 girls, the elder being her much loved sister Cassandra. George Austen added to his income by farming his land and teaching young boys. Jane was educated partly at home, and also in a girls school in Reading.   Her father was an intelligent and well-read man and did not place many restrictions on his daughter’s access to books.

Jane enjoyed reading and soon was trying her hand at writing.  Her juvenilia were often quite racy works... involving jokes about drunkenness, elopement and scandal.  She also enjoyed private theatricals. In her teens, she wrote a novel mocking the “novels about sensibility” which were popular at the time... but which she thought of as risible. It was called “Love and Friendship”.  She also wrote Elinor and Marianne, an early version of “Sense and Sensibility.”  Another early work was “First Impressions” which she later revised and published as Pride and Prejudice.

At the age of 20, Jane became involved in a flirtation with a young Irishman, Tom Lefroy who was a relative of her good friend Mrs Lefroy.  She seems to have been attracted to him and they enjoyed each other’s company, but neither had any money so marriage was not a possibility.  His family intervened and sent him away and Jane never saw him again.  She liked male company, but was of a happy disposition, enjoying her social life, the company of her beloved family and her writing. 

In her early 20s, with her father’s help, she began to try to get her novels published but had no success