Jane Austen lived a quiet life. So much so that much of what we know about her is derived from her letters, writing, and correspondence. Yet, she's probably the most beloved romance writer of all time. On December 16, 1775 (one year before the Revolutionary War in America) Jane Austen entered the world as the seventh of eight children to George Austen and Cassandra Leigh. George Austen was born a poor orphan, but was pulled up by the bootstraps to a high ranking clergyman thanks to the love of his rich uncle. Thanks to this, he was fortunate enough to be an acceptable suitor to the higher-in-social-standing Cassandra Leigh. This requirement of suitability for marriage definitely reflected later on Jane's writing. Jane's older brother Henry was a clergyman like his father, but went on to be Jane Austen's agent and biographer. Cassandra was Jane Austen's only sister and the two remained life-long friends. Austen's education was spotty. She and Cassandra attended Oxford but then got pulled out due to illness. Then they were enrolled in a school at Reading before being pulled out when their father could no longer afford tuition. Formal education was over, but the girls continued self-education at home with the help of their family. The Austens all enjoyed reading and would read aloud to each other and perform plays Austen wrote for the family (much like the March family in Little Women).  Her first potential husband was Tom Lefroy, a handsome Irishman. However, he was in a position where he needed to marry for money and a boost in status, neither of which Jane Austen could offer at the time. He ending up marrying a wealthy heiress in Ireland. Jane probably was heart-broken. At 20 (in 1795), Austen hit a productive phase in her life, cranking out her first book and working on what would eventually become Sense and Sensibility. In 1797, she cranked out First Impressions (the first title for Pride and Prejudice), which was promptly rejected by publishers. She started Susan in 1798, which evolved into Northanger Abbey. Austen met her second potential husband over the summer: a young clergyman who promised to meet up with her after her travels. Deeply in love, the two made plans, but then he fell ill and died. Around this time, George Austen moved the family to a town called Bath (yes, it's a place) where the wealthy and gossipmongers roamed. Living in bath was difficult for Jane (honestly, who wouldn't it be difficult for?). She had a difficult time adjusting to the move and to the people. Her third potential husband, the son of a long-time family friend, Harris Bigg-Wither proposed to Jane, who accepted the offer. She then turned around the very next day and rejected it.  Then in 1805, Jane's father died suddenly. It was a difficult time for Jane and for the rest of the family. At the time, the father provided for his daughters until they were married, which Jane and Cassandra never managed to do. George Austen didn't leave enough money for the family to live comfortably on, so they had to rely on the charity of friends and extended family, until they moved in with the oldest son of the family: Edward. Here, Austen entered the most productive period of her life, writing-wise. She started gaining recognition for her work after her novels Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park were published, in spite of the fact that the first two weren't even published under her name. But as she worked on Persuasion, she showed signs of illness. Jane Austen had contracted Addison's disease, an incurrable disease where your adrenal glands can't produce enough hormones to keep you surviving. She passed away at 41 with only her sister at her side.