Jane Austen began writing Emma in on January 21, 1814, according to Cassandra. She finished writing it on March 29, 1815 and it was published on December 23, 1815, although the first edition says 1816. The publisher, John Murray, first offered to purchase the novel for £450 with the rights to Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park included. She said no, and instead negotiated with him to sell it on commission basis with a second edition of Mansfield Park. This was the last book published in her lifetime. She wrote Emma while living at Chawton. Austen began Persuasion on August 8, 1815, which was shortly after she had finished writing Emma. She was writing Persuasion while she was in the midst of publishing Emma.

JASNA. “Emma.” Jane Austen Society of North America, 2022, https://jasna.org/austen/works/emma/.