Jane Austen (1775-1817) was the seventh child of a parish rector. She died unmarried, leaving behind an immortal body of work. Colm Toibin is the author of the Man Booker-shortlisted novels The Blackwater Lightship and The Master and the Costa Book Award Winner Brooklyn. He lives in Dublin. Audrey Niffenegger is a visual artist and author of the bestselling novels The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry and the graphic novels The Adventuress, Three Incestuous Sisters, and The Night Bookmobile.