Jane Austen (1775-1817) was born in Steventon, England, and later moved to Bath. She began to write early for her own and her family's amusement. Her novels, set in her own English countryside, depict the daily lives of provincial middle-class families with wry observation, a delicate irony, and a good-humored wit. She is now considered by many scholars to be the first great woman novelist.
Julia Barrett is the author of The Third Sister, a sequel to Sense and Sensibility, and Presumption, a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, both successful and widely praised. She lives in Santa Monica, California.
