Jane Austen facts

During the time of Jane Austen's life, a woman was not expected to work to support herself. Because of this, she had to rely on the financial support of relatives. Through the efforts of her male relatives her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published in 1811. Since it was also not acceptable for a female's writing to appear in public or in print, "A Lady" was used as the author. None of her works ever appeared in print with her full name as author.

Born into a large family, she had one older sister, four older brothers, and then two younger brothers. After her father's death, Jane, her sister, and their mother moved around a lot, staying with relatives and receiving some financial assistance from the brothers. Eventually one of the brothers secured housing for them, which started Jane's creativity going, and she wrote several more novels in that cottage. She remained in that cottage until shortly before her death.

In Enslow's A Student's Guide to Jane Austen, her life and work are examined, offering accessible insight for young readers.

Birthday of Robert Frost

Today would have been Robert Frost's birthday.

You can also learn more about him here.