Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) A famous English novelist. Jane Austen is known primarily for her six major novels which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Northanger Abbey (1817) was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be completed for publication, but published щтдн after her death. The novel is a satire of the Gothic novels popular at the time. The heroine, Catherine, thinks life is like a Gothic novel, but her real experiences bring her down to earth as an ordinary young woman.