WOMEN IN HISTORY - CASSANDRA AUSTEN
Younger sister of Jane Austen, and without her, we'd know very little about Jane
DATE OF BIRTH
1773
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PLACE OF BIRTHHampshire, England
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DATE OF DEATH
1845
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PLACE OF DEATH
Hampshire, England
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BIO
While her younger sister Jane's 6 novels have secured her a prominent place on the most-popular-female-novelists-of-all-time list, without her sister Cassandra, we'd know very little about Jane, both as an author and woman. Not only did they live together during Jane's lifetime, the thousands of letters they shared - all too many of which were destroyed - offers Austen fans and experts an intimate look at the sisters, the depth of love, trust, heartbreak, and hopes they shared, as well as insights to many of Jane's beloved books. She was there when Jane was born, and she held her head in her lap with Jane drew her last breath. They endured growing up in their father's parsonage which was overrun by their 6 brothers and the male students of Reverend Austen's boarding school. They attended school together, grew into young women together, shared the joys and heartbreak of romantic love, faced poverty and evolving family dynamics together, and endured the impacts of Regency England on politics, culture, and war for over 40 years. Long before Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and other works were published, it was Cassandra to whom Jane read so many of her drafts and manuscripts. And while Jane never would have talked about or promoted herself, Cassandra was always eager to talk about the real Jane and let people know how proud she was of her incredible sister.