Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was a novelist best known for her six novels that depict the lives of the English gentry in the late 18th century. The first wasSense and Sensibility(1811), followed byPride and Prejudice(1813),Mansfield Park(1814), andEmma(1816). After her death in 1818, two more novels were published:Northanger AbbeyandPersuasion. Although they were published anonymously, the books brought her success. Among her supporters was the Prince Regent himself, later George IV. The prince is said to have had a set of her novels in each of his residences. Moreover, his librarian, James Stanier Clarke, persuaded Austen todedicateEmmato the Prince Regent.
