18 July 1817: Jane Austen dies

Jane Austen, novelist, died at the age of 41 on 18 July 1817. In the last year of her life Jane became ill and how she died remains an enduring mystery. Historians, in the two centuries since, have dissected what little evidence exists. In her later letters, she complained of bilious attacks, facial aches, and fever, and several possible causes, including stomach cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or Addison’s disease have been suggested. In May 1817, accompanied by Cassandra, Jane travelled to Winchester for medical treatment. She died in the early hours of Friday, 18 July 1817, and is buried in the cathedral at Winchester, where her gravestone carries no mention of her works.

Jane Austen quite literally, changed my life. Let me tell you all about that here.

Only four of Austen’s novels were published during her lifetime: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Two other novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published posthumously at the end of 1817, by her brother Henry Austen (who also chose the names by which we know them). For this publication, Henry wrote a ‘Biographical Notice of the Author’, which was the first formal announcement of Austen’s authorship. Austen also left two earlier compositions: a novella called Lady Susan, and a novel that she did not complete, The Watsons. At the time of her death, she was working on a new novel, Sanditon, of which 12 chapters survive.