The enormous popularity of Jane Austen's novels has led to many movie and television adaptions of her novels, beginning with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson in the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice, continuing to the nearly legendary wet shirt of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC mini-series, and now including Bollywood musicals and zombies. In recent years, there has been an explosion of popular novels based on Jane Austen and her works.

Austen.com hosts a collection of resources about the great British writer Jane Austen (1775-1817). Her novels center on the lives of young women in middle class Regency England, and every novel ends with a happy marriage or two. But don't expect simple love stories in all of Jane Austen's works. As an unmarried woman of very modest financial means, Jane Austen understood the hopes and fears of women who had to rely on marriage and family connections to provide them with a home and means to live. Miss Austen was fortunate in having the support of her family and a successful literary career, but she knew how easy it would be to become a tedious Miss Bates, a pitiable Jane Fairfax, or a sickly and forgotten Mrs Smith.

With the departure of Dwiggie, a wonderful repository of fan fiction, we are now looking for new content producers who would like to help maintain this . We had 10 terrific years with the Dwiggies but they decided to move on and now we need to breathe some fresh air in to Austen.com.

We're seeking an individual or group who loves Jane Austen who would like to volunteer to maintain and grow this site for love or money or both. We are also the host of firth.com, a fan site for the award winning actor who has played the role of Darcy in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Austen.com hosts the texts of Jane Austen's novels and lists of other resources on Jane Austen, her works, and Regency England. We also host the popular and useful Basic HTML Tag Tutorial.

Time line of major events in Miss Austen's life:

Jane Austen is born in Steventon, Hampshire, England to Rev. George Austen and his wife Cassandra, nee Leigh.

Jane and her sister Cassandra attend school in Oxford, Southampton, and Reading. The remainder of her education is conducted within her family.

Jane writes her Juvenilia, originally intended to be shared with her family and close friends.

Jane Austen mockingly writes to her sister about marrying Tom Lefroy, but the flirtation goes nowhere because of lack of money on both sides.

Jane's father offers an early version of Pride and Prejudice to a publisher, but the publisher declines to look at the manuscript.

The Austen family moves to Bath, the setting of her future novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

Jane Austen becomes engaged to Harris Bigg-Wither, but she changes her mind the next day and breaks her engagement.

Jane sells Northanger Abbey to a publisher, although the publisher does not choose to publish it.

Jane's father dies, and the family's income is considerably reduced. Mrs Austen, Jane, and Cassandra must depend on the support of Jane's brothers.

The Austen ladies move to Southampton.

They move to Chawton in Hampshire.

Sense and Sensibility is published anonymously. Only Jane Austen's close family members know she is the author.

Pride and Prejudice is published, still anonymously. People outside of her family learn about her literary endeavors.

Mansfield Park is published.

Emma is published, dedicated to the Prince Regent.

Jane finishes writing Persuasion.

Jane begins another novel, Sandition. It will never be completed.

Jane Austen dies in Winchester, most likely from Addison's disease. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Her brother Henry has Persuasion and Northanger Abbey published. The combined edition includes a "Biographical Notice of the Author" written by Henry that identifies Jane Austen as the author of her novels for the first time.

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