Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775. Her father was a country clergyman and the family lived in the rectory at Steventon in Hampshire. Steventon itself is a small village in the south of England, and it is in this area that she spent most of her life. There is little to say about this life except that she lived there with her family and close friends, remained unmarried, devoted herself to writing, cared for her nieces and nephews, and died relatively unknown.