I was born the seventh of eight children, the second daughter, to Rev. George Austen and his wife, Cassandra, in Hampshire, England. Our village was called Steventon and our family lived in Steventon Rectory. The time came that my only sister, Cassandra Elizabeth, was to be sent for schooling at a boarding school in Reading. It was thought that I was yet too young to gain much from the school, but our mother finally assented to send me with my sister saying, "If Cassandra's head had been going to be cut off, Jane would have hers cut off too." Much as I would like to retain my head, I shall also like to be always with my sister. Reading and writing were very much encouraged in my family and so from an early age I became greatly involved in both. My first novel published was "Sense and Sensibility." Not long thereafter, two novels, "Pride and Prejudice" and "Mansfield Park" were also published. Other novels I've written include "Emma," "Persuasion," and "Northanger Abbey."
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