Written only months before Jane Austen's death in 1817 (and sadly left unfinished), Sanditon is the story of Charlotte Heywood – a impulsive, spirited and unconventional young woman – and her love interest, the handsome, lively Sidney Parker. The story is set in Sanditon, a previously small, unpretentious fishing village which is being transformed into a commercial seaside resort for the rich and fashionable. In the surviving chapters, we see the start of a promising novel, that may have eventually proven to be Austen’s most modern and daring work. This edition is based on the 1925 reprinting of the unfinished manuscript found in Jane Austen’s private papers at her death. In her own correspondence, this unfinished work is referred to as The Brothers – a reference to Sidney Parker and his brothers who it appears Austen planned to have play a bigger role in the remainder of the work – but is popularly known today under the title Sanditon . While efforts have been made to “finish” the novel in other editions, this volume sticks to Jane Austen’s own writing and breaks off where she last placed down her pen. Jane Austen (1775-1817) was born in Hampshire, England, to George Austen, a rector, and his wife, Cassandra. Her novels include Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion , published together posthumously in 1818. A short epistolary novella, Lady Susan , and another unfinished work, The Watsons , were publish posthumously in 1871, and a final unfinished novel, Sanditon , was eventually published in 1925. Her works are considered to be among the finest examples of early 19th century British literature, hallmarks of the transition to 19th century literary realism.