Top 10 facts about Jane Austen! — His & Hers Book Club

We are back with another entry in our series about the Top 10 Surprising Facts About Your Favorite Authors!

Last time, we focused on non-other than the white suit wearing, moustache sporting father of American Literature - Mark Twain. Today, our journey of exploration takes us across time and space to the mesmerizing period of Victorian England. And if there is one author, who is embodies the voice of the era in all it's complex and beautifully tragical nuances, it's Jane Austen.

top 10 facts about Jane Austen — Top 10 Surprising Facts about Jane Austen! Photo credit: Unsplash.

Austen is considered one of the most prominent English authors to ever live, and if you've read any of her novels, you'd know why. Her heroines often lead turbulent lifestyles, filled with ups and downs, and marked by great (yet often unexpected) turns of fate, and their journeys through life have been the point of discussion for literary scholars all over the world for the last two centuries or so.

But how well do you know the author herself? Perhaps you'd be surprised to find that her own life was interesting enough to fill the pages of a novel by itself? Let's dive in an explore the top 10 surprising facts about Jane Austen!

She had 7 siblings!

Jane was born on December 16, 1775 in the village of Steventon, England, to George and Cassandra Leigh Austen. It looks like the Austen’s enjoyed the pitter-patter of tiny feet, for they had a total of 8 children. Jane was only one of two girls, which might have contributed to the closeness she felt to her sister Cassandra throughout their lives. Her brothers were James, Edward, Henry, Frank, Charles and George. George was, unfortunately, disabled and suffered from learning difficulties and epileptic fits, which strained the family to the point where they had to make the hard choice to send him away to a different family that could provide him the care he needed.

Although there is evidence that Austen's parents supported George, he barely receives a mention in any surviving correspondences and the family's memoirs.

2. She began writing when she was a child!

Jane's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, was not her first attempt at a literary work by far. She began writing at the tender age of 12 and by the time she was 16 she had already completed a collection of textbook parodies, which she dubbed "The History of England...by a partial, prejudiced and ignorant historian".

How was Jane able to accomplish so much at such an early age? Well, she...

top 10 surprising facts about Jane Austen — Top 10 Surprising Facts about Jane Austen! Photo credit: Unsplash.

3. She received her basic education mostly from her father!

George Austen played a vital part in his daughter's early education and in fostering her love for books. George was a cleric of the Church of England and was quite thorough in his children's introduction to the texts of the Bible. That early influence can be seen throughout Jane's novels in the constant use of metaphors and comparisons with hidden (or sometimes quite obvious) religious undertones.

Yet a purely religious upbringing is not what George had in mind, as, thankfully, he allowed his children access to his formidable library, which Jane reportedly devoured throughout her youth. He was supportive of her literary pursuits throughout her life and even attempted to help her get her first works published (as women at the time needed the permission of either a husband or father to sign a contract).

4. She dedicated a novel to someone she hated!

While preparing Emma for publishing in 1815, Jane was invited to visit the Prince Regent's library at Carlton House in London. During that visit, the Prince's librarian proposed in no subtle terms that the author dedicate a future publication to his patron.

Jane reluctantly accepted the offer and a presentation copy of the novel was gifted to the Prince Regent. While a sharp and ultimately prosperous business move, Jane made little effort to hide her disdain for the royal, penning the following thought in a letter to her friend Martha Lloyd, even before his presumptuous request was ever made:

"I suppose all the World is sitting in Judgement upon the Princess of Wales's Letter. Poor woman, I shall support her as long as I can, because she is a Woman, and because I hate her Husband." (16 February, 1813)

5. Very few people outside of her family knew she was the author of her novels!

As we mentioned earlier in this article, women at the time needed the permission of either their husband or father to sign a contract. At first, Jane enlisted the services of her father, who acted as her representative in front of publishers. But while publishers, such as London-based Thomas Cadell, agreed to meet George Austen, they refused to even read the manuscript when they found out that it was written by George's daughter.

That didn't defer Jane though, as she then came up with another creative solution. This time, she enlisted the help of her brother Henry to act as her front man in front of publishers, and began publishing under the moniker "By a Lady". Later novels were attributed to "By the author of Sense and Sensibility". Very few people outside of Jane's family knew that she was the actual author of the novels, and London society was abuzz with speculation and discussion as to who the mysterious author really is. Many believed that certain elements in her work could only be attributed to the experienced lived by a woman, while others argued that some of the choices of the main characters, as well as the heroine's general attitude and thought process, were a man's perspective on what a woman "should think like". Jane managed to keep up the mystery for a long, long time.

6. All her heroines married, but she never did!

Jane's entire life was lived in rebellion to the strongly patriarchal society of her day and age. She was constantly scrutinized from society for her choice to pursue a career, rather than become a wife and mother.

To be fair, Jane's reluctance to marry did not by any means mean that she didn't have her fair share of romances. Her first great love was Tom Lefroy, which acted as an inspiration for Sense and Sensibility. Unfortunately for Jane and Tom, marriages at the time were not entirely (or sometimes even remotely) based on the love between the two individuals, but were more akin to financial contracts between their families. As Tom stood to lose his entire inheritance if he married beneath his station and thus, the affair came to a sad but decisive end.

Jane had several other romances throughout her life and even accepted a marriage proposal at one point from Harris Bigg-Wither, which she rescinded the very next day. Her refusal to marry just anyone and remain single for the rest of her life could be contributed to Jane's firm belief that true love should be the basis of any marital relationship, as evidenced by her sensitive portrayals of the marriage in her own work, as well as from a letter she once wrote to her niece Fanny, on the topic of romance:

"And now, my dear Fanny, having written so much on one side of the question, I shall turn round and entreat you not to commit yourself farther, and not to think of accepting him unless you really do like him. Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection; and if his deficiencies of manner, &c. &c., strike you more than all his good qualities, if you continue to think strongly of them, give him up at once." (18 November, 1814)

7. She stopped writing for nearly a decade

By 1801 Jane had already written 3 of her novels and was showing no signs of stopping, when suddenly she took a hiatus from writing, which lasted nearly a decade.

Researchers of Austen's life have fervently tried to determine the cause of this abrupt stoppage, but even to this day their findings are not conclusive. Cassandra, Jane's sister and closest confidant, destroyed much of her letters after Jane's death, under the pretext that she wanted to spare her relatives the knowledge of her sister's harsh and often scathing humour.

The prevailing theory is that the author stopped writing when her father announced his decision to retire and relocate the family to the town of Bath (England). Jane was quite unhappy with the decision, but while her refusal to produce more novels might have been out of sheer rebellion and spite, it could also be attributed to the increasing stress over her father's failing health. When George Austen died a few years later (1805), the family embarked on a series of moves from location to location, which only prolonged Jane's break from writing.

It wasn't until she settled down in the home of her brother Edward that she finally found the inspiration (and right environment) to begin working again.

Top 10 Surprising Facts about Jane Austen! Photo credit: Unsplash.

8. She knew how to brew her own beer!

This is perhaps one of our favourite pieces of trivia about Austen's life! As a matter of fact, the knowledge of beer brewing wasn't exclusive to Jane, but applied to the entire Austen family. Each member was fully capable of producing the beverage, and each of them had their own signature, or specialty, beer! Jane's was "spruce beer", which is made with molasses, therefore enriching the drink with a sweeter flavour. We would have loved to discuss her work with her over a homemade pint or two!

9. She died at the young age of 41

Jane was plagued by health issues for most of her adult life, and went on with an undiagnosed illness for years until she finally began to feel unwell in 1816. Scholars today speculate that she suffered from either Hodgkin's Lymphoma or Addison's disease. Whichever it was, it progressed rapidly and only a year later she was bedridden without prospects of improving. She passed away on the 18th July 1817 at the age of 41.

While the most researchers blame her death on her undiagnosed disease, in 2007 scholars from the British Library came up with a rather unorthodox theory about what cause her demise. According to them, the real cause was arsenic poisoning! The theory explored possibilities from premeditated poisoning (assassination), through consuming contaminated water, or even mixing up her medications. The base for the theory were Jane's reported symptoms: worsening eye-sight and specific skin discoloration.

Despite the popularity the theory gained, it was never proven and no further evidence to support it have been found since.

10. She was buried next to royalty!

Whether it was by disease, or by arsenic poisoning, the sad fact remains that Jane Austen passed away on the 18th July 1817 at the age of 41. Her final resting place is in the north aisle of the nave of the Winchester Cathedral, and the choice of her final home is subject to as much speculation as the means of her demise.

To give some context, the space inside the Cathedral is so limited, that it is usually reserved for people of certain distinction - politicians, aristocrats, members of the royal house, the exceedingly wealthy, or those whose contributions to society have bestowed upon them the highest regard of the English people. Jane did not fit any of the above descriptions in her lifetime - as she was using a moniker, she remained virtually unknown throughout her lifetime. Her gravestone was commissioned by her brother James, but it only mentions her "extraordinary endowments of mind", without naming her writer or author of some of the most acclaimed novels of the time.

So how did Jane come to buried with such exalted honours? If you remember from a few facts ago, she was using her other brother Henry as her front man in front of publishers and the general public. Due to this fact, Henry managed to acquire a number of very exclusive connections, which he utilized on short notice after his sister's passing to secure her a resting place that fit her actual distinction.

Did you enjoy our Top 10 Surprising Facts about Jane Austen? Which of your favourite authors do you wish us to cover next? Let us know in the comments below!

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Top 10 Surprising Facts About Your Favorite Authors - Jane Austen!

She had 7 siblings!