It is interesting to note that England was at peace for only 12 years and 8 months during Jane Austen's lifetime (1775 - 1817), the rest of the time wars seemed to rule with different countries. Novels were a fairly new art form and Jane Austen wrote about what she observed of contemporary English society. Her novels and letters provide realistic glimpses into the way of life within this part of the Georgian Era, be it largely the privileged end of society.
Defoe, in 1709, roughly summarized the social strata as "The great, who live profusely; the rich, who live plentifully; the middle sort, who live well; the working trades, who labour hard but feel no want; the country people, farmers, etc. who fare indifferently; the poor that fare hard; the miserable, that really pinch and suffer want." What needs to be remembered is that England, at this time, was not overcrowded, as in 1801 the entire population was approximately that of London today. As in other Eras, peoples personal diaries open up their world to us readers, helping us to have some kind of understanding as to how people lived in the Georgian Era.
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