What inspired Jane Austen to write Emma?

I really like this question, though I am not sure if I will be able to answer it. In a letter to one of her nieces, Austen wrote: "I am going to write about a heroine that no one but me will like". And then she set to write Emma. read more

This seems a very unlikely beginning if marriage should be the ideal end, as Austen's works till Emma suggested. Maybe Austen set out to explain other reasons for marrying someone different from searching for a better position, namely, Austen set to write a novel based upon the idea that women could marry for other reasons than a sheltered life (an idea that would not have been popular in her time). read more

Jane Austen was born into a family of lower gentry in Hampshire, where her father was Rector of Steventon. 16 December 1775. She had seven siblings: six brothers (five older, one younger), and an older sister, Cassandra. read more