love story got aborted in the nascent stage as Lefroy was sent away to Ireland for establishing his legal career.
Austen attempted her second novel First Impressions in 1796 and completed the draft in August 1797 at the age of 21. Jane?s father took the initiative to publish one of her novels. In November 1797 Jane?s father, George Austen wrote to Thomas Cadell, an established publisher in London asking him to consider publishing “a Manuscript Novel, comprised in three Volumes about the length of Miss Burney's Evelina” (First Impressions) which was rejected and returned. Jane went back to reworking on her Elinor and Marianne from November 1797 until mid-1798 revising it greatly.
In the middle of 1798 Jane started on her third novel after fully revising Elinor and Marianne. Her third novel initially had a title Susan which was later titled as Northanger Abbey that was a clear satire on the popular Gothic novel. Austen reportedly finished with her work after a year. Her brother Henry Austen presented Susan to Benjamin Crosby, a London publisher who agreed to pay ￡10 for the copyright. The manuscript of the book was repurchased from Crosby by Austen in 1816. While staying at Chawton, Jane Austen could successfully publish four of her novels which were received well and appreciated greatly. Jane?s brother Henry helped her in persuading publisher Thomas Egerton to publish Sense and Sensibility which appeared in October 1811. The
novel turned many heads and became popular besides being judged as fashionable by critics. Sense and Sensibility was completely sold out by the middle of 1813 providing Jane with some sort of financial and psychological independence. Egerton then published Pride and Prejudice, a revision of First Impressions, in January 1813 for which he also advertised that made the book an immediate success. By October 1813, Egerton began selling a second edition of ?Pride and Prejudice?. In May 1814 Mansfield Park was published by Egerton. Emma was published in December 1815 and a second edition of Mansfield Park was published in February 1816 by London based publisher John Murray. Austen started on a new novel after Emma and she named it ?The Elliots? which was later brought out as Persuasion. She completed Persuasion in July 1816.
In early 1816 Jane Austen started finding herself unwell but did not give much attention to it. Soon her health declined. Austen reportedly was affected by Hodgkin?s lymphoma but recent works by Katherine White of Britain's Addison?s Disease Self Help Group suggests that Austen likely died of bovine tuberculosis which occurred due to drinking of non-pasteurized milk. Austen continued working ignoring her declining health. She finished rewriting the final two chapters of ?The Elliots? and on 6 August 1816 she completed The Elliots. In January 1817 started afresh on her new work, a novel, The Brothers, (later titled Sanditon upon its first publication in 1925) and completed twelve
chapters before stopping work in mid-March 1817 (possibly because of her illness). On 18 July 1817 Austen died at the age of 41.