Jane Austen was not well-known or widely read during her own lifetime, but by the end of the nineteenth century she had acquired many devoted admirers. Biographers and literary critics have written endlessly about her. The richest source for the biographer are Jane’s letters, many of which were written to her sister, Cassandra. The letters are a very frustrating source, however, because they tell a very incomplete story. Cassandra censored Jane’s letters heavily after her sister died, burning any she considered compromising and cutting out any reference to Jane’s feelings in the ones that she did not burn.
The structure of society
Society in the early nineteenth century was very rigidly organised. People could try to improve themselves, but everyone knew their place. The average working family was very close to subsistence level, despite a gradual increase in the national wealth as the effects of the industrial revolution on the economy began to be felt. Poor rural labouring families lived in one-roomed damp hovels; their urban counterparts fared better but suffered over-crowding, polluted water and dangerously bad sanitation. The potato was the basis of the diet of the poor – a loaf of white bread was a real treat and a status symbol. The children of labouring families provided the servants for the grand houses of the gentry and aristocracy. Above labourers in the social hierarchy came shopkeepers and tradesmen. They worked for themselves and gave themselves a much higher social position than workers. Their numbers increased during the industrial revolution.
Next came the gentry. These included people with large houses and some land, as well as professionals who worked for a living – lawyers, clergymen, bankers, army and navy officers. Professionals were often younger sons, whose elder brothers had inherited the family estate. People who made fortunes from the industrial revolution were beginning to join the gentry, which over the nineteenth century was transformed into the middle class.
Finally, there was the aristocracy. This was made up of families who owned huge areas of land and could trace their ancestors back to the Middle Ages and beyond. They had been granted land by kings and queens or had won it in battle. They made up the government and the top ranks of the church. At the very top of the social pyramid, of course, sat the king and queen.

The lives of genteel women

The lives of genteel women were very restricted. They were rarely able to work for a living and could only secure their financial future through inheritance or marriage. Jane Austen herself was an exception here, making money from her novels. She did not feel that her writing was quite respectable, however, and took great trouble to hide it from all but her close family. For a woman to be a good marriage prospect, she needed a reasonable sum of money of her own, a good family background and a spotless reputation.
If there were any hint of sexual activity attached to a young woman, she would never be able to marry. A woman who had a child outside of marriage would be excluded from society and considered a disgrace to her family

Etiquette
There were important rules of behaviour for all levels of society, particularly to do with relationships and marriage. A young woman and a young man were never left alone together unless they were engaged. An engagement was a strong commitment to marry and could only be broken off in extreme circumstances. Young people could not write directly to each other or exchange tokens unless they were married.

1. http://www.jasna.org/info/about_austen.html

Read the page about Jane Austen’s life and answer the following questions.

1. Was Austen a famous writer when she was alive?
2. When and where was Austen born?
3. Who were Austen’s brothers and what were their jobs?
4. What was Austen’s first mature work and when did she write it?
5. In 1809, to where did Austen move? Why is this considered the beginning of Austen’s most productive period?
6. When did Austen die? What illness caused her death? What novel was left incomplete due to her death?

3.http://www.bartleby.com/222/1002.html

1. How old was Austen when she began Pride and Prejudice?
2. What was Pride and Prejudice originally called?
3. What year did Austen’s father offer the Pride and Prejudice manuscript to a publisher and what happened?
4. When Sense and Sensibility was published, what was stated on the title page?
5. In 1803, Austen sold what draft to a publisher, but what happened to the manuscript?
6. What two novels were published after she died?