It was 250 years ago when English writer Jane Austen was born— on 16 Dec. 1775 in the village of Steventon, north Hampshire, England.
From Wikipedia:
Austen’s plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security.
Her works are implicit critiques of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism.
Her use of social commentary, realism, wit, and irony have earned her acclaim amongst critics and scholars.
The note carries the quotation, “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!”, said by Caroline Bingley in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (1813).
P.S. As far back as 2015, then-Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that there were plans afoot to ‘feature the likeness of a woman who has played a major role in American history and has been a champion for democracy’ (no specific name was mentioned then). As of now, the U.S. is actively working to feature women on its banknotes, with plans to put abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, replacing Andrew Jackson, with a target release around 2030, coinciding with security updates for other denominations, though the process has faced delays— delays of a logistical and political kind.
