The work presents a comprehensive chronological account of Jane Austen's life, constructed from family records, traditions, and newly discovered correspondence. The narrative begins with the history of the Austen and Leigh families in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tracing their origins in Kent and Gloucestershire, and establishing the background of the novelist's parents. The domestic life at Steventon Rectory is detailed through surviving letters and reminiscences, depicting a lively, well-read, and affectionate household where the children were educated at home and early encouraged in literary and dramatic pursuits. The narrative follows the various members of the family: the eldest brother James, his scholarly inclinations and early literary ventures; Edward, his adoption by the wealthy Mr.
and Mrs. Knight and subsequent inheritance of Godmersham; Henry, his varied career; and the naval brothers Frank and Charles, whose active service during the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars brings a wider horizon into the family circle. A special place is given to the correspondence and experiences of Philadelphia Hancock and her daughter Eliza, Comtesse de Feuillide, whose life in Paris and subsequent widowhood through the guillotine connected the quiet Hampshire rectory with the tragedies of the French Revolution.
The early literary efforts of Jane Austen, her juvenile burlesques, the composition of her first drafts, and her brief visits to Bath and Kent are traced with the help of her early letters. The work records the social circle of the neighbourhood, the friendships with the Biggs, the Lloyds, and the Lefroys, and touches upon the romance of her youth. The narrative concludes with the removal of the family from Steventon to Bath after the turn of the century, the death of George Austen, and the subsequent arrangements made for the widow and daughters.
