Jane Austen's Literary Career

In the late 1780s, in a country rectory, an eleven-year-old Jane Austen began her writing career. Her first audience was her family, who gathered to hear her satirical stories read aloud. She filled three notebooks with parodies of the sentimental novels popular at the time. At fifteen, she penned a 'History of England,' cheekily describing it as written by 'a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant Historian.' Her sister Cassandra provided illustrations. Her father, a clergyman, encouraged her talent by providing her with expensive paper. Years later, he would give her the small mahogany writing desk she used for her famous novels. For now, her writing was simply private amusement.