At 17, Jane Austen lives in Steventon, Hampshire, with her large family. Surrounded by her father's library of 500 books, she immerses herself in literature and begins crafting the witty, observant stories that would one day make her a beloved writer.

At 27, Jane Austen rejects a secure marriage to pursue writing. After her father’s death leaves the family in hardship, her brother offers them Chawton Cottage, where stability rekindles her creativity and leads to Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.

In 1814, at 38, Jane Austen has published Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park, gaining modest success. When a lawsuit threatens her family’s home, she turns once more to her craft, beginning her most ambitious novel yet, Emma.