Classic Literature: Jane Austen

Ever since William Caxton set his first printing presses rolling in the 15th Century, the demand for truly great writers has always exceeded supply.

Nevertheless there are a select few who live up to this description, although no two people will ever agree on who the accolade should be awarded to because we all have our own particular favourites.

But one name that appears with regularity is Jane Austen, the author of such classics as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

With 21st-century film adaptations of her novels - and the life story of Jane Austen herself - proving to be hugely successful, her writing is as popular today as when she first put pen to paper more than 200 years ago.