The Ancestral Lines series started life in the head of someone who had an interest in genealogy and, after stumbling across a book of old pedigrees that showed very little information (dates were apparently unnecessary and female names were largely missing), was left with an urge to fill in the gaps. As any genealogist or family historian will tell you, dates and facts are vital for good, solid research; without them you only have a list of names, which is no use to anyone at all. Jane Austen's family is a fascinating one that is connected to Edward I, Admiral Nelson, several peerage families, and through a tangled web of marriages to Hollywood film stars. This volume deals with the main Austen line gathering together information taken from original sources such as parish registers, wills and deeds and supplemented with detailed taken from printed sources and indexes. Jane Austen's family is so interesting and so well connected that further volumes are planned. Volume two will deal with closely related families, mainly the Knight family. Volume three will deal with the maternal lines, such as Hampson, Lambarde, Lefroy and Leigh. A later volume will outline her connections to Hollywood, Royalty and other historic figures.