Jane Austen Quickstep Travel Guide

For Jane Austen fans who want to follow in her footsteps and have fun doing it!

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Fashion and La Belle Assemblée

La Belle Assemblée is now best known for its fashion plates of Regency era styles, and until the 1820s it also published original poetry, fiction and non-fiction stories, articles on science and politics, and book and theatre reviews. Contributions from authors and readers were encouraged, and included those from Mary Shelley.

La Belle Assemblée, title page, Volume III, July to December 1807

While each number of La Belle Assemblée typically contained five plates. One showing a member from fashionable society, two showing the latest fashions, and a further two providing sheet music and a sewing pattern. The magazine separated the fashion from the remainder of the publication. These two parts could be purchased separately, either with the magazine and two plates or just the fashion plates with the lsewing pattern together (‘La Belle Assemblée’).

Fashion plate, Nov 1806 (from Oct 1806 issue)

As well as general information about fashions for the coming month, this section included detailed descriptions of the dress worn by the social elite at important events, such as the king’s birthday celebrations.

The magazine was originally printed in black and white for ladies to crayon themselves, however, from 1807 it was available shaded in.

Ladies Bathing Dress 1815

It also included a needlework pattern. The periodical finished with a section of promotional ads, which included a list of the latest novels.

La Belle Assemblée was published monthly and ladies were expected to keep their copies and have them bound at the end of each volume which covered six months. A title page and index were given in the final number of each volume for this purpose.

It also included novels and short stories and novels, poetry and sheet music which made it a must have periodical for ladies of a certain class.

You can find the links to many Regency Plates at Regency Fashion

Anniversary of Jane’s Death on 18 July 1817

July 18th 1817 marks the day that Jane Austen in the arms of her sister Cassandra

Jane had been ill for about a year and her condition gradually worsened. William Curtis was her Alton Apothecary who advised her to go to Winchester to consult Dr Lyford. He was a surgeon at a new hospital on Parchment Street and a friend of the family. He was the cousin of Susannah Digweed who married Jane’s friend James.

Jane’s family escorted her the 16 miles by carriage from Chawton to Winchester on a particularly gloomy and rainy day in March 1817. Her friend Elizabeth Bigg was now married and living in the Cathedral Close, and helped to arrange the lodgings for Jane at 8 College Street.

Although Dr Lyford visited often, he could not cure Jane as she was suffering from what was thought to be Addisons disease, and now thought to be lymphoma. In the early hours of July 18th she died in her sister Cassandra’s arms, aged just 41.

She lay in her coffin for a week on the ground floor of the house, before being taken by cart on July 24th to Winchester Cathedral to be buried.

Jane’s brothers Edward, Frank and Henry attended the short service with her nephew James Edward standing in for Jane’s brother James who was ill. Her other brother Charles was too far away in Eastbourne to attend.

It was not considered proper for ladies to attend funerals, so Cassandra and her sister-in-law Mary Lloyd watched the procession from the bay window on the first floor. The service took place early in the morning before services began.

Winchester Cathedral

Jane is buried in north aisle of the nave.

Jane Austen Gravestone in Winchester Cathedral @ 2017 Emma Darlington

Her gravestone talks of Jane’s sweetness and kind heart, and the irreparable loss felt by her family. There is no mention of Jane as a writer. The inscription simply says,

In Memory of 
JANE AUSTEN
youngest daughter of the late 

REV GEORGE AUSTEN
formerly Rector of Steventon in this County 
she departed this Life on the 18th July, 1817 
aged 41, after a long illness supported with 
the patience and the hopes of a Christian.

The benevolence of her heart, 
the sweetness of her temperment
the extraordinary endowments of her mind 
obtained the regard of all who knew her and 
the warmest love of her intimate connections

Their grief is in proportion to their affection 
they know their loss to be irreparable 
but in their deepest affliction they are consoled 
by a firm though humble hope that her charity, 
devotion, faith and purity have rendered 
her soul acceptable in the sight of her 
REDEEMER

Jane Austen Brass Plaque

As Jane’s fame as a writer steadily grew, her family felt that Jane should be recognised for her writing abilities. In 1870, her nephew James Edward wrote a memoir about his Aunt Jane and used the proceeds to finance a brass plaque. It is mounted on the wall next to Jane’s gravestone, and is inscribed:

Jane Austen
Known to many by her
writings, endeared to
her family by the 
varied charms of her
Character, and ennobled
by Christian Faith
and Piety, was born
at Steventon in the
county of Hants Dec
wvi mdcclxxv and buried
in this Cathedral
July xxiv mdcccxvii
“She openeth her
mouth with wisdom
and in her tonuge is
the law of kindness”
Prob xxxi vi xxvi

Jane Austen Brass Plaque Winchester Cathedral © 2017 Emma Darlington

Jane Austen Memorial Window

By 1900, Jane was famous enough for a memorial window. It was made by Charles Eamer Kempe (1837-1907) and it sits above the brass plaque and Jane’s gravestone.

The top panel features Saint Augustine reminding us of Jane’s own name, and on either side the Austen family coat-of-arms. King David is holding his harp high as he plays. On the four outer panels are the sons of Korah holding scrolls of Psalm texts.

Saint John sits at the bottom of the window holding a scroll that simply says, “In the beginning was the Word“.

Jane Austen Stained Glass Memorial Window in Winchester Cathedral by Kempe © 2017 Emma Darlington

Your Visit to Winchester

To find 8 College Street from the Cathedral, face the front doors and go down the side passageway on the right into The Close. You will pass Elizabeth’s impressive house on your right, Number 11. Keep walking diagonally towards the old houses and then turn right to go through the walled gates, then turn left through under St Swithuns archway.

(The church is above and the bookshop is underneath). Turn left and walk down College Street and you will see Number 8 on your right. It is just past P&G Bookshop where George Austen purchased his books.

There is a circular slate plaque on the wall of the house that tells you that Jane Austen stayed there. The best view is from the gardens across the road, as it is a private residence and not open to the public.

Winchester Cathedral

To visit Winchester Cathedral there is a charge, although your ticket gives you access for a year. You can attend a service free of charge. It opens daily, though closes frequently for events so it is worth checking the website before you set out.

https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/planning-your-visit/opening-admissions/

Jane Austen 200: Celebrating her life 200 years after her death

If you want to read more about Jane Austen and the anniversary of her death, why not buy the Jane Austen 200: Celebrating Her Life 200 Years After Her Death.

Jane Austen 200 Who was the Mysterious Jane Austen? A quiet country girl who was fond of retail, romance and dancing?  Or a strong-minded woman of war, empire and business, who chose to remain unmarried, write novels and settle for nothing less than her own Mr Darcy. See six portraits of Jane displayed together for the first time, her pelisse coat, her letters and poems, the manuscript of Sanditon, and the ‘other’ ending to Persuasion. Filled with unseen photographs and commentary taking you on a journey 200 years after her death.

Available at Amazon ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ Apple Books ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Author Direct ~ All Other Retail

The Amazing Fanny Palmer

Frances Fitzwilliam “Fanny” Palmer Austen

Heartily do we pray for the safety of all that travel by sea.

Jane Austen Prayer

Fanny Palmer was born in June 1790 and died September 1814, and inspired Jane to write her novel Persuasion.

She met Jane’s brother Charles in Bermuda when she was 15, and he was 12 years her senior.  They were deeply in love, and married at St Peter’s Church, Bermuda on 19 May 1807.

Fanny visited England in 1811 and found that she and Jane had many things in common, including a love of the sea.  Jane was inspired to write her novel Persuasion from Fanny’s experiences, and admired her strength of personality.  When Cassandra first met Fanny she described her as ‘A very pleasing little woman, she is gentle and amiable in her manners, and appears to make Charles very happy.’

This charming profile masks the spirited and brave woman Fanny was, living on board the warship HMS Namur with her husband and their three daughters.  She wrote many letters in her lifetime, like Jane, and they reveal a real and honest account of the challenges she faced and describes what it was like to be a naval wife and mother living at sea during the later years of the Napoleonic Wars.

There was often fighting at sea, and sometimes the families were taken off ship and sailed to safety, and other times kept below when fighting took place.  Fanny’s brother Robert John was captured and held as a military prisoner of war in France for 8 years.  He later accompanied Charles on his next ship, HMS Pheonix for some months, and they would sail together as often as they could.

Fanny visited England in 1811 and found that she and Jane had many things in common, including a love of the sea.  Jane was inspired to write her novel Persuasion from Fanny’s experiences, and admired her strength of personality.  

When Cassandra first met Fanny she described her as ‘A very pleasing little woman, she is gentle and amiable in her manners, and appears to make Charles very happy.’

Sometime after she  arrived in England in 1811, Fanny’s silhouette was taken in London at the fashionable shop of Meirs and Field at 111 The Strand.

Fanny Palmer Austen Profile
Fanny Palmer Austen’s Silhouette by John Meirs

Fanny visited England in 1811 and found that she and Jane had many things in common, including a love of the sea.  Jane was inspired to write her novel Persuasion from Fanny’s experiences, and admired her strength of personality.  When Cassandra first met Fanny she described her as ‘A very pleasing little woman, she is gentle and amiable in her manners, and appears to make Charles very happy.’

This charming profile masks the spirited and brave woman Fanny was, living on board the warship HMS Namur with her husband and their three daughters.  She wrote many letters in her lifetime, like Jane, and they reveal a real and honest account of the challenges she faced and describes what it was like to be a naval wife and mother living at sea during the later years of the Napoleonic Wars.

There was often fighting at sea, and sometimes the families were taken off ship and sailed to safety, and other times kept below when fighting took place.  Fanny’s brother Robert John was captured and held as a military prisoner of war in France for 8 years.  He later accompanied Charles on his next ship, HMS Pheonix for some months, and they would sail together as often as they could.

Fanny returned to England in 1812 and 1813 and spent time with her father John Grove Palmer at Southend, Essex.  The following month was spent at Godmersham Park, and after sending her sister Esther and son Hamilton home to Bermuda, spent more time in England with her family.

Fanny unexpectedly died on HMS Namur when she was only 24 years old.  It was after the recent birth of their fourth child, a daughter Elizabeth, who also died three weeks later.  

Charles was devastated by her death, and it is thought that Jane recorded his grief in the character of Captain Benwick in Persuasion.  Charles was a keen writer of diaries, journal entries, logs and letters.  His diaries tell us of his loneliness at sea and dreaming of ‘my lost & ever lamented Fanny and of our poor little ones.‘

Dedication to a Wonderful Wife

Charles was devoted to Fanny and loved her dearly.  You can feel this in the words etched on Fanny’s burial stone.

Sacred to the Memory of
FRANCES FITZWILLIAMS AUSTEN,
wife of
Capt. Charles John Austen, (of the Royal Navy),
who Died in Child Bed, Sept 6th, 1814,
Aged 24 years.
Stop, Passenger and Contemplate!
A Child whom Nature’s God had taught the Way,
Her Parents’ dictates ne’er to disobey;
A Sister in whom Center’d every Love,
To Charm the Angels in the Realms above,
A Loving Wife, a Parent Truly dear,
A Pious Christian and a Friend sincere,
Reader! Example take, let you and I
Live as She liv’d, and like Her learn to Die.
Sleep on dear fair One, wait the Almighty’s will,
Then rise unchang’d and be an Angel Still.
Also their infant Daughter ELIZABETH,
who Died 20th September, 1814. Age 21 days.

Fanny Palmer Austen is buried at Kentish Town St John the Baptist

Further Reading

Read about Fanny’s husband, Jane Austen’s Navy brother Charles Austen.

Jane Austen’s Transatlantic Sister: The Life and Letters of Fanny Palmer Austen by Sheila Johnson Kindred.

Based largely on correspondence from 1810-1814, and on Fanny’s diary, Sheila concludes that Fanny, who spent two and a half years living aboard ship with her husband, Captain of HMS Namur, was the basis for Mrs Croft, the wife of Admiral Croft in Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion.

Sheila has a wonderful website that features a blog post – Fanny, Jane and Seaside Watering Places

Watch the wonderful video put together by Chatham Dockyard that features Fanny as part of their Hidden Heroins at Sea series.

Fanny Palmer Austen, a 19th Century Hidden Heroine of Chatham Dockyard

Ten Lesser Known Facts About Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park is the first of Jane Austen’s three later novels she wrote in full whilst Jane was living at Chawton Cottage.  She began Mansfield Park in 1811 whilst still revising Pride and Prejudice and she completed it in the Summer of 1813.  Egerton accepted it in the November of that year, and it was published at the end of May 1814.

Jane Austen was a Self-Published Author

After the sparkle of Pride and Prejudice, the story did not impress Egerton and once again Jane had to publish it on commission and pay the printing costs upfront. A first run of 1500 copies were printed and an advert appeared in the Morning Chronicle.

Mansfield Park Title Page (Public Domain)

The title page showed it was ‘By the Author of “Sense and Sensibility” and “Pride and Prejudice”, which was a good endorsement as the first edition sold out quickly.

Mansfield Park Turned Out To Be Jane’s Most Profitable Book

The second edition of Mansfield Park came out after the first edition of Emma. As Egerton had declined to publish a second edition, Henry offered it to the publisher John Murray and it was reprinted in 1816. This meant that Mansfield Park had two publishers.

The second edition also sold out quickly, and Mansfield Park became Jane’s most profitable book making her a profit of £350.  

A Sensible Heroine – Fanny Price

The story is about a young Fanny Price who at ten years old is sent away from her family to live with relatives at the Mansfield Park estate in Northampton.  Some speculate that the story was inspired by Jane’s brother Edward who was adopted as a teenager and sent away to live at Godmersham Park in Kent.  Jane was only eight years old at the time, and his siblings must have missed him greatly.

Fanny misses her family, especially her brother William who is in the Navy who she has not seen for seven years.  Jane had two brothers in the Navy who would have been away for months if not years at a time.  

Another Loving Brother and Topaz Cross

Jane’s brother Lieutenant Charles Austen bought Jane and Cassandra topaz crosses with his winnings, and although Jane rarely wrote of actual events in her novels, she must have been so proud that she wrote this event into Mansfield Park.

In Mansfield Park it is Fanny’s brother William who is in the Navy and buys Fanny a topaz cross to share his good fortune with his sister.  Then Edmund, Fanny’s cousin gives Fanny a gold chain on which to wear the cross.

Replica of Jane Austen’s Topaz Cross from the Jane Austen Centre Bath

Fanny’s aunt, Mrs Bertram and her pug spend most of the novel on the sofa, surrounded by her spoilt children and her spiteful sister Mrs Norris, who treats Fanny like a servant.  It is when Mr Bertram is called away to his plantations in the West Indies and leaves his family to their own devices that trouble ensues.

The Abolition of Slavery in 1807

Jane was aware of current affairs from the newspapers and letters from her brothers. The planned changes in slavery at the time would have affected many of the families that Jane knew who operated in the West Indies.  

Parliament were debating the use of slaves by the British in the West Indies and abolished their use by passing the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Jane makes Mr Bertram a member of Parliament which meant that he would have debated and passed this Bill.

Enter Henry and Mary Crawford

The novel is then lightened by two wonderful characters called Henry and Mary Crawford who come to Mansfield from London and shake up the household.

The character of Mary is thought to have been inspired by Jane’s cousin Eliza, who impressed Jane from a young age when she came to stay at Steventon.  Eliza was flirtatious, exotic and fun.  Jane had nursed Eliza through a long illness until her death in April 1813, and Mansfield Park was completed in the summer of that same year.

Jane describes Mary Crawford as having a lively dark eye, clear brown complexion, and general prettiness.. a sweet pretty girl.

Mansfield-Park-Movie
Mary and Tom Crawford from the film Mansfield Park 2007 (Public Domain)

A Wonderful Play – Lovers Vows

In Mr Bertrams absence, the characters decide to put on a popular play called Lovers Vows (just as Jane and her siblings put on plays at Steventon). The story gathers momentum with intertwined love interests until Sir Thomas returns from his trip and throws the play on the fire.  

Lovers’ Vows, 1796 edition. The controversial play is rehearsed at Mansfield Park during Sir Thomas Bertram’s absence. (Public Domain)

As the novel progresses there are scandals and drama, jealousies and rebuked proposals until we return to the heroine Fanny who finally gets her happy ending.

A Most Perfect Clergyman, Edmund

Edmund was one of Jane’s fondest characters.  She wrote the story when clergymen were much improved and admired, and as Jane was a religious person and devoted to God, she admired Edmund’s devotion to his duties. She had told Cassandra before starting the novel that it was going to be about ordination.

Mansfield Park Reviews

Mansfield Park was not as well received as Pride and Prejudice, and as there were no official reviews Jane made her own list of feedback.  After the romantic and headstrong Elizabeth, the heroine, Fanny, was either thought to be very dull or too pleasant.

Jane read the novel to her brother Henry on a carriage ride to London and he liked it very much.  He later became ordained and married Eliza, so he may have seen something of himself in the story.

Her mother had thought Mansfield Park was not as good as Pride and Prejudice and found the heroine Fanny ‘insipid’. Her sister was ‘fond of Fanny’ and ‘delighted much in Mr Rushworth’s stupidity’. Miss Bramston commented having finished the first volume, she ‘flattered herself she had got through the worst!‘

A family friend, Augusta Branstone, had thought Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice were ‘downright nonsense’, but expected to like Mansfield Park more.  She preferred it to Jane’s other books, although Jane wrote that she ‘imagined that might be her want of taste – as she does not understand wit!’

As To The Ending..

Jane’s niece Louisa remembers Jane and Cassandra discussing the ending of the novel. Cassandra wanted Mary to marry Edmund and Fanny to marry Henry, where Jane argued that Mary would have tired of Edmund and his church duties and Fanny would have been unhappy with Henry and his fickle nature.

What do you think?

Exhibition Review: My Dear Cassandra

My Dear Cassandra..

A Year of Cassandra spring exhibition opens at the Jane Austen House Museum on 22 March and will run until 29 October 2023.

At the forefront of the exhibition is a letter written by Jane.

I bought some Japan ink likewise, and next week shall begin my operations on my hat, on which you know my principal hopes of happiness depend..

Jane Austen letter to Cassandra Austen, 27-28 October 1798

The letter is dated 27-28 October 1798 and it is one of the earliest that Jane wrote of the 160 or so letters that have survived. Many of Jane’s letters to her sister were destroyed by Cassandra shortly before her own death, making surviving examples rare.

Prof Kathryn Sutherland, a trustee of Jane Austen’s House, said it would be a ‘bright jewel’ in the museum’s collection.

Jane wrote the letter from the Rectory at Steventon to Cassandra who was staying with their brother Edward at Godmersham Park, Kent.

It is full of Jane’s usual wit about their family and friends, as well as domestic news. Jane had just returned from a journey to Staines where her travel trunk was almost lost when put on a carriage going elsewhere.

In this letter she talks about Nanny, and how she let her do her unpacking for her. Jane talks about bad weather and how the grapes could be spoiled, the gloves she purchased for Cassandra. All mixed with updates throughout about their mother’s heath which was a constant concern – although she lived to be 88 years old!

Almost everything was unpacked and put away last night. Nanny chose to do it, and I was not sorry to be busy. I have unpacked the gloves, and placed yours in your drawer. Their color is light and pretty, and I believe exactly what we fixed on.

Jane Austen letter to Cassandra Austen, 27-28 October 1798
Photograph c Luke Shears, Jane Austen’s House

Jane was a much loved aunt and ends the letter with, ‘Pray give Fanny and Edward a kiss from me, and ask George if he has got a new song for me’. She was no doubt missing them dearly.

You can read the letter in full below.

Authenticity

Cassandra Austen (1773 – 1845) continued to live at Chawton Cottage after Jane’s death and is buried in St Nicholas Church, Chawton alongside her mother.

After Cassandra’s death, the letter was bequeathed to their fondest niece Fanny who was Edward’s eldest child. She later became Lady Knatchbull upon her marriage. She in turn bequeathed to her son, Lord Brabourne in 1882, who published it in the Letters of Jane Austen.

The letter comes to Jane Austen’s House Museum through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, administered by the Arts Council and Cheffins Auctioneers in Cambridge.  A Cambridge resident acquired the letter in 2000, and after their death, the family wanted the letter to go to Jane Austen’s House.

A Year of Cassandra Exhibition

A Year of Cassandra spring exhibition at the Jane Austen House Museum opens on 22 March and will run until 29 October 2023. It is free with your House Entry Ticket. There is also an online series of events.

Book your ticket for the exhibition at Jane Austen House Museum

Join a unique online guided tour of Jane Austen’s House featuring Jane’s sister Cassandra ‘virtually’ on 1 May 2023: Buy Ticket Here

Find out more about A Year of Cassandra events and others at our Events Page

Full Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen

Miss Austen,
Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent.

Steventon, Saturday (October 27).

My dear Cassandra,—Your letter was a most agreeable surprise to me to-day, and I have taken a long sheet of paper to show my gratitude.

We arrived here yesterday between four and five, but I cannot send you quite so triumphant an account of our last day’s journey as of the first and second. Soon after I had finished my letter from Staines, my mother began to suffer from the exercise or fatigue of travelling, and she was a good deal indisposed. She had not a very good night at Staines, but bore her journey better than I had expected, and at Basingstoke, where we stopped more than half an hour, received much comfort from a mess of broth and the sight of Mr. Lyford, who recommended her to take twelve drops of laudanum when she went to bed as a composer, which she accordingly did.

James called on us just as we were going to tea, and my mother was well enough to talk very cheerfully to him before she went to bed. James seems to have taken to his old trick of coming to Steventon in spite of Mary’s reproaches, for he was here before breakfast and is now paying us a second visit. They were to have dined here to-day, but the weather is too bad. I have had the pleasure of hearing that Martha is with them. James fetched her from Ibthorp on Thursday, and she will stay with them till she removes to Kintbury.

We met with no adventures at all in our journey yesterday, except that our trunk had once nearly slipped off, and we were obliged to stop at Hartley to have our wheels greased.

Whilst my mother and Mr. Lyford were together I went to Mrs. Ryder’s and bought what I intended to buy, but not in much perfection. There were no narrow braces for children, and scarcely any notting silk; but Miss Wood, as usual, is going to town very soon, and will lay in a fresh stock. I gave 2s. 3d. a yard for my flannel, and I fancy it is not very good, but it is so disgraceful and contemptible an article in itself that its being comparatively good or bad is of little importance. I bought some Japan ink likewise, and next week shall begin my operations on my hat, on which you know my principal hopes of happiness depend.

I am very grand indeed; I had the dignity of dropping out my mother’s laudanum last night. I carry about the keys of the wine and closet, and twice since I began this letter have had orders to give in the kitchen. Our dinner was very good yesterday, and the chicken boiled perfectly tender; therefore I shall not be obliged to dismiss Nanny on that account.

Almost everything was unpacked and put away last night. Nanny chose to do it, and I was not sorry to be busy. I have unpacked the gloves, and placed yours in your drawer. Their color is light and pretty, and I believe exactly what we fixed on.

Your letter was chaperoned here by one from Mrs. Cooke, in which she says that “Battleridge” is not to come out before January, and she is so little satisfied with Cawthorn’s dilatoriness that she never means to employ him again.

Mrs. Hall, of Sherborne, was brought to bed yesterday of a dead child, some weeks before she expected, owing to a fright. I suppose she happened unawares to look at her husband.

There has been a great deal of rain here for this last fortnight, much more than in Kent, and indeed we found the roads all the way from Staines most disgracefully dirty. Steventon lane has its full share of it, and I don’t know when I shall be able to get to Deane.

I hear that Martha is in better looks and spirits than she has enjoyed for a long time, and I flatter myself she will now be able to jest openly about Mr. W.

The spectacles which Molly found are my mother’s, the scissors my father’s. We are very glad to hear such a good account of your patients, little and great. My dear itty Dordy’s remembrance of me is very pleasing to me,—foolishly pleasing, because I know it will be over so soon. My attachment to him will be more durable. I shall think with tenderness and delight on his beautiful and smiling countenance and interesting manner until a few years have turned him into an ungovernable, ungracious fellow.

The books from Winton are all unpacked and put away; the binding has compressed them most conveniently, and there is now very good room in the bookcase for all that we wish to have there. I believe the servants were very glad to see us Nanny was, I am sure. She confesses that it was very dull, and yet she had her child with her till last Sunday. I understand that there are some grapes left, but I believe not many; they must be gathered as soon as possible, or this rain will entirely rot them.

I am quite angry with myself for not writing closer; why is my alphabet so much more sprawly than yours? Dame Tilbury’s daughter has lain in. Shall I give her any of your baby clothes? The laceman was here only a few days ago. How unfortunate for both of us that he came so soon! Dame Bushell washes for us only one week more, as Sukey has got a place. John Steevens’ wife undertakes our purification. She does not look as if anything she touched would ever be clean, but who knows? We do not seem likely to have any other maidservant at present, but Dame Staples will supply the place of one. Mary has hired a young girl from Ashe who has never been out to service to be her scrub, but James fears her not being strong enough for the place.

Earle Harwood has been to Deane lately, as I think Mary wrote us word, and his family then told him that they would receive his wife, if she continued to behave well for another year. He was very grateful, as well he might; their behavior throughout the whole affair has been particularly kind. Earle and his wife live in the most private manner imaginable at Portsmouth, without keeping a servant of any kind. What a prodigious innate love of virtue she must have, to marry under such circumstances!

It is now Saturday evening, but I wrote the chief of this in the morning. My mother has not been down at all to-day; the laudanum made her sleep a good deal, and upon the whole I think she is better. My father and I dined by ourselves. How strange! He and John Bond are now very happy together, for I have just heard the heavy step of the latter along the passage.

James Digweed called to-day, and I gave him his brother’s deputation. Charles Harwood, too, has just called to ask how we are, in his way from Dummer, whither he has been conveying Miss Garrett, who is going to return to her former residence in Kent. I will leave off, or I shall not have room to add a word to-morrow.

Sunday.—My mother has had a very good night, and feels much better to-day.

I have received my aunt’s letter, and thank you for your scrap. I will write to Charles soon. Pray give Fanny and Edward a kiss from me, and ask George if he has got a new song for me. ‘Tis really very kind of my aunt to ask us to Bath again; a kindness that deserves a better return than to profit by it.

Yours ever,        J. A.

Jane Austen’s Brother: Oh What a Henry!

Henry Thomas Austen Born 8 June 1771 died 12 March 1850

Growing up in Steventon, the rectory was a happy and harmonious place partly due to Henry Thomas Austen.  He was the third born son of his five brothers, James, George, Francis and Charles.  

Henry had a lively personality and was good looking, which makes it surprising that he married late in life, first his cousin Eliza and then Eleanor Jackson.  He chose a variety of careers, and was first a banker, then a soldier, a finally a clergyman.

He remained in the county of Hampshire and the nearby county of Surrey for most of his life, before a brief spell in France, before returning to Kent where he is buried.

Brother and Sister

Henry and Jane were particularly close, as Cassandra was to Edward.  Jane’s niece Caroline commented that Henry was Jane’s ‘special pride and delight.’

They looked alike and had the same temperament, as both were positive, cheerful, and had an optimistic outlook. Whenever anyone did something funny, Jane and Cassandra would laugh.. ‘Oh, What a Henry!‘

Henry was good looking, had a lively personality and was loved.  He was often welcomed at Godmersham by his brother Edward and his family, and his many nieces and nephews enjoyed his company.

A Banker, a baker, a candlestick maker

With Henry having such an outgoing personality, it made sense that he would have different careers throughout his life.

Being born into such a talented family, it may have been difficult for Henry to choose a profession his brothers had not already excelled at.  His eldest brother James was a clever scholar, publisher and a curate of the church.  His brothers Charles and Francis entered the Navy and fought for their country, winning many prizes and promotions. Edward was adopted by wealthy cousins, who trained him to manage estates with a view to inheriting a fortune.

He first went into Banking in Alton and London, which eventually went bankrupt. He had spell in the Oxford Militia, and was later ordained a priest and became a master at Farnham Grammar School in Surrey.

Life and Death

Henry caught a fever and became very ill, and almost died.  It was Jane who nursed him back to health at his house in London, where she spent many months nursing him, and it was a close call.  At one point she called the family to his bedside to pray for him.

It was during this time that the Apothecary that nursed Henry knew the Prince Regent’s librarian, a great admirer of Jane’s novels, and made the introduction that would lead to Jane dedicating her novel Emma to the Prince Regent.

For the Love of Eliza

Henry met his exotic cousin when she visited Steventon in his youth.  The Austen children would put on plays together, similar to those Jane imagines in Mansfield Park.  Eliza was married at the time, and it was only when her husband was killed in France, did she return to England and her Austen cousins. They were married on New Years Eve 1797 in London. Henry was heartbroken when Eliza died in April 1813 at the young age of 51, after a long illness.

After Jane’s Death

After Jane’s death Henry acted as her literary executor.  He initially remained in Hampshire and was as curate of Chawton for three more years, and also served as chaplain to the British Embassy in Berlin for five months during that period.

In 1820, Henry remarried Eleanor Jackson who was the niece of the Reverend Papillon at Chawton.  The same Reverend Papillon that Mrs Knight had hoped Jane would marry.

When he retired from the church, Henry lived in France for a time before returning to his family in Kent.  He died at Tunbridge Wells on 12 March 1850 at the age of seventy-eight.  He is buried at Woodbury Park Cemetery in Tunbridge Wells.

Reverend Henry Austen

Further Reading – Henry Austen: The Banker’s Sister by E J Clery