Women writers from Europe
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire. She was one of eight children of a clergyman and grew up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager. In 1801 the family moved to Bath. After the death of Jane's father in 1805 Jane, her sister Cassandra and their mother moved several times eventually settling in Chawton, near Steventon.
George Sand found her true form in her rustic novels, which drew their chief inspiration from her lifelong love of the countryside and sympathy for the poor. In La Mare au diable (1846), François le Champi (1848), and La Petite Fadette (1849), the familiar theme of George Sand’s work—love transcending the obstacles of convention and class—in the familiar setting of the Berry countryside, regained pride of place. These rustic tales are probably her finest works. She subsequently produced a series of novels and plays of impeccable morality and conservatism. Among her later works are the autobiography Histoire de ma vie (1854–55; “Story of My Life”) and Contes d’une grand’mère (1873; “Tales of a Grandmother”), a collection of stories she wrote for her grandchildren.
Isak Dinesen is best known for Out of Africa, her
account of living in Kenya, and one of her stories, Babette's Feast,
both of which have been adapted into highly acclaimed, Academy
Award-winning motion pictures. Prior to the release of the first
film, she was noted for her Seven Gothic Tales, for which she
is also known in Denmark.