Jane Austen was born in 1775 at Steventon, Hampshire, a small town in southwest England, where she spent most of her life. She was the seventh of eight children and was raised in the middle class society. Her father was a clergyman. Like other young women of her social class, Jane and her sister Cassandra were educated mostly at home. They were taught things such as music, drawing, painting, needlework, and social behaviour. This is because women in Jane's society and class were brought up for marriage and did not work. To be successful, women had to be beautiful and youthful to attract men and have money. This is because when a woman married all her fortune became her husband's.

Jane Austen's own enjoyment in reading and her father's encouragement led Jane to become very well read. Her life in middle class society greatly influenced her writing. There are...