Austen had a large family. She had six brothers—James (1765–1819), George (1766–1838), Edward (1767–1852), Henry Thomas (1771–1850), Francis William (Frank) (1774–1865), Charles John (1779–1852)—and one sister, Cassandra Elizabeth (1773–1845), who died without marrying. Jane deeply loved Cassandra, and they were both best friends. Of her brothers, Austen was most close to Henry, who helped spread and influence her writing. "Oh, what a Henry!" she once wrote. George was almost ten years older than Jane. He suffered from fits and was not able to develop normally. His father wrote of him, "We have this comfort, he cannot be a bad or a wicked child". He may also have been deaf and mute. Jane knew sign language (she mentioned talking "with my fingers" in a letter) and could have communicated with him. Charles and Frank served in the navy. Edward was adopted by his fourth cousin, Thomas Knight. He became "Edward Knight" instead of Edward Austen in 1812.
Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon rectory. She was christened at home and then, as the Book of Common Prayer directs, brought to church for the baptism to be certified in public on 5 April 1776. A few months after she was born, her mother hired a woman named Elizabeth Littlewood to nurse her. Littlewood took care of Austen for about a year. According to family tradition, Jane and Cassandra were sent to Oxford to be educated by Mrs. Ann Crawley in 1783. They moved with her to Southampton later in the year. Both girls caught typhus and Jane almost died. After that, Austen was educated at home until she went to boarding school with Cassandra early in 1785. She learned some French, spelling, needlework, dancing,music, and probably drama. In the winter of 1786, Jane and Cassandra went back home.
Austen also learned much by reading books. Her father and brothers helped choose the books she read. George Austen seemed to have let his daughters read the books in his large library freely. He also allowed Austen's experiments in writing, and gave her costly paper and other writing materials.
Jane Austen and her family also enjoyed acting out plays privately. Most of the plays were comedies. This might have been a way for Austen's comedic and satirical talents to develop.
Perhaps from as early as 1787, Austen began writing poems, short stories, and plays for fun. Austen later put together "fair copies" of 29 of these early works into three notebooks. They are now called the "Juvenilia". It has pieces which were first written down between 1787 and 1793. Jane Austen had arranged her writing during this time into three volumes, namely "Volume the First", "Volume the Second" and "Volume the Third". There is some proof that Austen continued to work on these pieces later in life. Her nephew and niece, James Edward and Anna Austen, may have made further additions to her work in around 1814. In these works were included "Love and Freindship" which was completed in 1790 and "Lesley Castle" which was completed in 1792. In "Love and Freindship", she laughed at popular sentimental novels. She also wrote "The History of England", which had 13 watercolour pictures by her sister Cassandra inside it.
Jane Austen started to feel increasingly unwell during 1816, which was the year when her novel "<nowiki>'Persuasion' </nowiki>"was published. On 24 May 1817, she moved to Winchester in search for a cure to her illness. She died on 18 July 1817, aged 41. Although there is no conclusive evidence to prove the cause of her death, it seems likely that it was Addison's disease that killed her. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral on 24 July 1817.
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Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë (21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet.
She first published her works, including "Jane Eyre", under the pseudonym (false name) of Currer Bell. In 1846, Charlotte encouraged her sisters to print "Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell". They did not sell well. Her first novel, "The Professor", was rejected by many publishers. It was not printed until 1857. She is famous for her novel "Jane Eyre" (1847), which was very popular when it was printed.
"Jane Eyre" was a strong story of a plain, brave, clever woman struggling with her passions, reasons, and social condition. She later wrote the books "Shirley" (1849) and "Villette" (1853). She lived longer than her sisters, but she was only 38 when she died in pregnancy.
Charlotte Brontë was the third child of Patrick Brontë (formerly "Patrick Brunty"), an Irish Anglican clergyman, and his wife, Maria née Branwell. In April 1821, the family moved a few miles to Haworth. Patrick had been appointed Perpetual Curate there. Maria Branwell Brontë died of cancer on 15 September 1821. She left her five daughters and a son to be looked after by her sister Elizabeth Branwell.
In August 1824, Charlotte was sent with three of her sisters to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire. She described it as Lowood School in her novel "Jane Eyre". The sisters were Emily, Maria and Elizabeth. The poor conditions of the school permanently affected Charlotte's health according to her. She thought it led to the early deaths of her two elder sisters, Maria (born 1814) and Elizabeth (born 1815). They died of tuberculosis in June 1825 soon after their father took them from the school on 1 June.
At home in Haworth Parsonage, Charlotte and the other living children (Branwell, Emily and Anne) began writing about the lives and struggles of the dwellers of their imaginary kingdoms. Charlotte and Branwell wrote Byronic stories about their country — Angria — Emily and Anne wrote articles and poems about theirs Gondal.
Charlotte went to school at Roe Head, Mirfield, from 1831 to 1832. There she met her lifelong friends, Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor. In 1833 she wrote her novella "The Green Dwarf" under the name of Wellesley. Charlotte returned as a teacher from 1835 to 1838. In 1839 she became a governess to various families in Yorkshire, a career she had until 1841.
In 1842 she and Emily travelled to Brussels to enroll in a pensionnat (boarding school) run by Constantin Heger (1809 – 1896) and his wife Claire Zoé Parent Heger (1814 – 1891). In return for this, Charlotte taught English and Emily taught music. Their time at the pensionnat was cut short when Elizabeth Branwell, their aunt, died in October 1842. Charlotte returned alone to Brussels in January 1843 to be a teacher at the pensionnat. This stay was not happy. She became lonely, homesick and deeply attached to Constantin Heger. She finally returned to Haworth in January 1844 and later used her time at the pensionnat as the inspiration for some of "The Professor" and "Villette".
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë (30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was a British author and poet. She is most famous for her only novel "Wuthering Heights" (published in 1847). She wrote under the pen name Ellis Bell. Brontë had two sisters, Charlotte and Anne, who were also writers. Her brother, Branwell, was a painter. She co-wrote the poetry collection "Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell" (1846), with her sisters. She was born in Thornton, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She attended Cowan School with her sister Charlotte.
Brontë died of tuberculosis on 19 December 1848 in Haworth, West Riding of Yorkshire. She was 30.
Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë (17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English writer and poet. She is best known for writing "Agnes Grey" (1847) and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" (1848).
Anne was born on 17 January 1820 in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. She was the daughter of Patrick and Marie Brontë and the youngest of their six children. She was taught at her family's home in Haworth by her aunt Elizabeth Branwell. She worked as a governess in 1839 and then again between 1841 and 1845.