Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, Hampshire, England. A major part of her life and character remains unknown as a large number of her letters to her family were destroyed. Her novels usually were a comment on the dependence of women on marriage for economic freedom and social standing. She wrote six full-length novels and they have hardly ever been out of print. JJane was interested in reading and writing stories from an early age. She wrote plays, poems and stories for family entertainment from the age of eleven. Her other acclaimed and popular novels include Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Emma. Two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published posthumously in 1818.