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Jane Austen(1775-1817) was born in Hampshire, England, to George Austen, a rector, and his wife, Cassandra. Like many girls of her day, she was educated at home, where she began her literary career by writing parodies and skits for the amusement of her large family. Although Austen did not marry, she did have several suitors and once accepted a marriage proposal, but only for an evening. Although Austen never lived apart from her family, her work shows a worldly and wise sensibility. Her novels includeSense and Sensibility(1811),Pride and Prejudice(1813),Mansfield Park(1814),Emma(1815), andNorthanger AbbeyandPersuasion, published together posthumously in 1818. Margaret Drabbleis the highly acclaimed novelist, biographer, and editor ofThe Oxford Companion to English Literature. Her novels includeThe Gates of Ivory,The Seven Sisters, andThe Red Queen. Mary Balogh grew up in Wales and after graduating from University moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English. Her first Regency historical love story, A Masked Deception, was published in 1985. She has written more than seventy novels since then, including the New York Times bestselling Slightly sestet and Simply quartet.
As nearly flawless as any fiction could be. --Eudora Welty
