An English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.

She lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English landed gentry. With the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began a third, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but died before completing it.

Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century realism. Her plots, although fundamentally comic, highlight the dependence of women on marriage to secure social standing and economic security.