A brief chronology of the composition and publication of her major novels and other writings is provided below.
Steventon: 1775 -1801
| ca. 1788 – 1793 | Juvenilia (including The History of England, Love and Freindship, Catharine …) |
|---|---|
| 1794 or 1795 | Lady Susan, without the conclusion |
| ca. 1795 | Elinor and Marianne, the earliest version of Sense and Sensibility, written in epistolary form |
| October 1796 – August 1797 | Composition of First Impressions, original version of Pride and Prejudice |
| November 1797 | Sense and Sensibility begun in its present form |
| 1798 – 1799 | Drafting of Northanger Abbey (then called Susan, later Catherine) |
Bath and Southampton: 1801 - 1809
| 1803 | Susan prepared and offered for publication |
|---|---|
| 1803 – 1804 | The Watsons (unfinished) |
| ca. 1805 | Fair copy of Lady Susan (and possibly composition of the conclusion) |
Chawton: 1809 - 1817
| 1809 – 1811 | Sense and Sensibility revised and prepared for publication |
|---|---|
| November 1811 | Publication of Sense and Sensibility |
| ca. 1812 | Radical revision of Pride and Prejudice |
| February 1811 – summer 1813 | Composition of Mansfield Park |
| January 1813 | Publication of Pride and Prejudice |
| May 1814 | Publication of Mansfield Park |
| January 1814 – March 1815 | Composition of Emma |
| ca. 1815 | Plan of a Novel |
| December 1815 – January 1816 | Publication of Emma |
| August 1815 – August 1816 | Composition of Persuasion |
| January – March 1817 | Initial work on the unfinished Sanditon |
| December 1817 – January 1818 | Posthumous publication of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion |
The text of the novels and of Jane Austen’s letters may be found at The Republic of Pemberley website.
