rary, from which Jane read extensively throughout her life. Much of the children's education took place under their father's tutelage, with two of Jane's brothers, James and Henry, both of whom attended the University of Oxford, assisting their father with the younger children's periods of schooling at home. Jane and her sister Cassandra received several years of formal education, first at private schools in Oxford and Southampton and later at the Abbey School in Reading. Jane had a love for reading, and began writing at the age of twelve.
             The Austens were a lively, close-knit family. Literature was a shared family interest, and evenings in the rectory were often spent discussing works by the leading novelists of the day. Among Jane's favorite authors were Henry Fielding, Samuel Richardson, and Fanny Burney, and references to their work appear in both her letters and her own novels. Amateur theatricals were also a much-loved family pastime,
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