Dancing

To be fond of dancing was a certain step to falling in love.

Jane loved to dance and often mentions dancing at balls in her novels as a way of romantically bringing couples together. It was a form of courtship to dance with a partner and was one of the only times a couple could speak and touch one another.

Jane was born and spent the first twenty-five years of her life in Steventon, a small village near the town of Basingstoke. The Austens had many friends their own age that lived locally and they often went to dinners where the carpet was rolled up afterwards for dancing.

The most popular types were known as country dances, and in 1790, they were at the height of popularity. The dance started with a long line of couples dancing up and down the group with light skipping steps, most common in Pride and Prejudice. Easy to learn and ideal for homes with a long drawing room, like the Vyne.

It was such an important social event during the Georgian and Regency eras that girls and boys practiced dancing with teachers and learned the rules of ballroom etiquette.

The characteristic of an English country dance is that of gay simplicity. The steps should be few and easy, and the corresponding motion of the arms and body unaffected, modest , and graceful. ~ The Mirror of Graces (1811)

For houses where the drawing room was square, like at Ashe House, which was made larger by drawing back the partition. It was more suitable for Cotillon, which consisted of four couples dancing in a square set. The first and third, then the second and fourth, couples executed various series of geometric figures.”

Dancing with Jane’s own Mr Darcy

It was at a ball at Ashe House where Jane met and fell in love with Anne’s nephew, Tom Lefroy. Jane joked in a letter to her sister beforehand, “I rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of the evening. I shall refuse him, however, unless he promises to give away his white coat.”

The following day Jane told a different story, “At length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, & when you receive this it will all be over.”. 

She fell in love, although her status and lack of fortune meant it would never be a match, and he was sent away to continue his studies, marrying a short time after returning to Ireland.

First Impressions

Jane’s father bought her a travel writing slope for her 19th birthday, and she took it everywhere she went. Pride and Prejudice was written around this time, and some say Tom Lefroy inspired Jane’s Mr Darcy. Others say he came from Kent, as she often visited her brother Edward who had been adopted by wealthy cousins, which opened up a whole new world for Jane’s creativity. 

There is no doubt the scenes of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy were played out at balls Jane attended in Kent. “We were at a Ball on Saturday. We dined at Goodnestone and in the Evening, danced two Country Dances and the Boulangeries. I opened the Ball with Edwd Bridges.”  

The Boulanger was typically a dance at the end of the night as it was low energy. Couples moved around a circle so they could talk and touch in a romantic way.

It is the only dance that Jane Austen mentions by name in Chapter 3 of Pride and Prejudice.

So he enquired who she was and got introduced, and asked her for two next. Then the two third he danced with Miss King and the two fourth with Maria Luca, and two fifth with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the Boulanger.

The upper echelons of Kent

The balls were so much more luxurious at Kent with the upper classes in attendance. Mrs Bennet gives her husband an account of the ball at Netherfield,

Oh! my dear Mr. Bennet …we have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Every body said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful, and danced with her twice.

Jane also wrote the first drafts of Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey around this time. In Sense and Sensibility, Marianne dances with Willoughby and has a somewhat silent attachment with him through the evenings. It is later on in the novel when Jane shows Marianne that she can mend her broken heart through attending balls and filling her social calendar.

“When Marianne was recovered, the schemes of amusement at home and abroad, which Sir John had been previously forming, were put into execution. The private balls at the park then began, and parties on the water were made and accomplished as often as a showery October would allow.”

Written quite differently than the lightness of Sense and Sensibility is Jane’s novel Northanger Abbey, a gothic novel which was a popular genre at that time.

Jane sets part of the novel in the city of Bath, where she often visited her aunt, Mrs Austen’s sister. The city, crowded with people was a world away from the village Steventon.

The upper and lower Assembly Rooms are large and were very popular, with the ballroom rules clearly posted on the walls. The heroine Catherine Moreland is escorted by Mrs Allen who has no acquaintances to ask Catherine to dance. As a gentleman had to be introduced to a lady before he could ask her to dance, Catherine had to sit on the side until the Master of Ceremonies introduced her to Mr Tilney. No doubt Jane went through a similar experience as she was a stranger in Bath when the Austen family moved there in 1801.

Coming home

In later years, Jane returned to Hampshire and lived at Chawton Cottage where she rewrote her first three novels and wrote Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion in their entirety. She spent time in London and attended a huge ball thrown by Eliza (and her brother Henry) with royalty in attendance that made the papers.

There is no doubt though that Catherine Moreland mirrors Jane’s thoughts most closely when she writes after a ball, “Her spirits danced within her, as she danced in her chair all the way home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REGENCY DANCING AND BALLS QUIZ

1. Where do Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy first dance in Pride and Prejudice?
2. In Northanger Abbey, who introduces Catherine to Henry Tilney so they can dance?
3. In Emma, who rescues Harriet Smith from sitting on the side by asking her to dance at the Crown Inn?
4. Who is Jane writing about in Sense and Sensibility? “They were partners for half the time; and when obliged to separate for a couple of dances, were careful to stand together and scarcely spoke a word to any body else.”
5. How is Mr Collins dancing described in Pride and Prejudice?
6. In Northanger Abbey, what reason does Catherine give to John Thorpe when he asks her to “jig it together again” in the upper rooms?
7. Who asks Emma for the first two dances at the Crown Inn?
8. Who is Jane describing in Sense and Sensibility? “In winter his private balls were numerous enough for any young lady who was not suffering under the insatiable appetite of fifteen.”

Click here for the  QUIZ ANSWERS

TAGS: Jane Austen dancing, Regency balls, Dance Like Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Netherfield Ball, The Crown, English Country Dance, Boulangeries, rules at the Assembly Rooms, Regency era, Regency dancing, partners.

As a side note, Ashe House is due for demolition. Read more here.

Celebrate Jane Austen and meet the women writers who shaped—and were shaped by—her wit, words, and world in our JA250 anniversary exhibition.

I listened to the recent Chawton House podcast in which Kim says that, “This exhibition places Jane Austen amongst her sister artists – the novelists and playwrights who inspired her, and those who, in turn, took influence from her.”

Essentially, Jane was inspired by artists around her, both male and female professionals, and those within her own family. She loved the theatre and read lots of books from her fathers library, which numbered around 500 when the family moved to Bath and they had to be sold.

Jane wrote her first pieces of what we now call her Juvenilia when she was seven years old, so she was developing her talent from an early age.

Highlights for Jane Austen Fans

The exhibition features five pages of a play that Jane shortened and wrote out called Sir Charles Grandison. It’s a short version of a very long play (which I really did try and read unsuccessfully!) that Jane wrote out for her own production. You can see lots of blotted ink spots and Jane’s usual crossings out. 

It was one of Jane’s favourite novels. The story goes that Harriet is abducted by the rakish Sir Hargrave Pollexfen. She is then rescued by Grandison who feels himself bound by an Italian woman named Clementina. Many volumes later, Clementina refuses him, leaving him to marry Harriet. (And who wouldn’t want to be called Clementina?!).

Another nice item is the copy of Emma that Jane gifted to her friend Anne Sharpe, one of the twelve presentation copies she received. Anne was a governess to Edward’s children at Godmersham, and she and Jane stayed in touch throughout their lives. Jane wrote a letter to Anne before she died, and Cassandra gifted a lock of Jane’s hair to her after Jane’s death, which tells you how close they were.

Jane encourages Anne to marry in one of her letters, and included the governess Anna Taylor in Emma, who eventually finds happiness by marrying Mr Weston. So was Jane thinking of Anne at the time? 

The Exhibition

Opening with the Circular Library, of which Jane was a member, this cabinet includes books that Jane borrowed and were her favourites. It shows you the range of Jane’s reading, as we know she liked Fordyce Sermons to Young Women, as well as the Belinda and Cecilia novels that are shown in the ‘Usual Suspects’ display.

In this copy of Belinda, you can see her sat in a chair with a woman begging at her feet. It’s all very dramatic as text reads, “Belinda sunk back into a chair: Lady Delacour flung herself on her knees before her.

Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth, and Ann Radcliffe feature here, alongside lesser known authors such as Jane West and Susan Ferrier.

As a side line, I found Mysteries of Udolpho that Catherine Moreland reads in Northanger Abbey, and loved it. This next section recommends books by other successful novelist of that time.

On the wall is a really interesting graph of what female authors earned at that time, and Jane shows as somewhere in the middle.

Sir Charles Grandison by Jane Austen

The main exhibition room mainly features the arts, including women from the theatre that were popular actresses of that time. 

Here you can find Sir Charles Grandison that Jane wrote and in the adjacent cabinet is Anne Sharpe’s copy of Emma.

Ladies with Accomplishments

As the boards tell you, there was a shortage of men in Jane’s time as the war with France claimed thousands of men to fight the war, some of whom never came home. Therefore, the marriage market was competitive which is why women needed to learn skills to impress the men.

Here you can find music books and sheets, sketch books, novels, and other books that ladies have created to enjoy their hobbies and impress the men. Jane was musical, could sing and play and the piano, and even wrote her own music!

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.

There is a heat wave happening here at the moment, and the gardens are beautiful though somewhat dry. As we walk up and beyond the house you can see for miles across the Hampshire fields into the distance, and we can only hear the birds tweeting. Alongside the flowers, there are herbs and vegetables, including huge rhubarb bushes.

As I walk amongst the fruit trees, I am reminded of a talk by the head gardener who told us that after the apple tree was pruned, to check it was done correctly, a hat was thrown up into the branches and if it came down cleanly the pruner was paid.

It really is quite peaceful here and I can see why Jane was so happy living in Chawton and why her writing thrived.

This is until we turn the corner to the courtyard for lunch, and find the courtyard quite full. We chat with the JASNA group visiting from the USA, and luckily for us, we’re invited to share a table with our new friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your Visit to Chawton

Chawton is a small village outside Alton, Hampshire (important as there are two!) The train station is beyond the top of the High Street, so it’s easier and faster to get a taxi. There is a bus stop that drops you off outside the village (ask the driver), and from there it is around a 20 minute walk to the centre of the village on the flat.

You will find the Jane Austen House Museum across from the pub and Cassandra’s Cup teashop. The museum (and others) do lovely walks around the village. A good time to visit is during Jane Austen Regency Week which is the ten-day annual event.

Chawton House is further along the lane, another 15-20 minutes walks. It’s clearly signed and the long drive is broken by a trip to St Nicholas and a visit to Jane’ s statue. Jane worshipped in this church whilst she lived here, and it is open daily to all faiths. If you are short of time to tour the House, you can still visit the tea room and shop. Just walk up the drive and enter around the side or through the front door.

TAGS: Exhibition Review, Sisters of the Pen, Jane Austen, Chawton House, Gardens, Flowers, Herbs, Fruit Trees, Edward Austen Knight, Alton, Hampshire, Elizabeth, St Nicholas Church, Chawton Village.

Lovely Links:

RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) have partnered with Chawton House this year which benefits its members with free days.

Chawton House podcast can be found in a number of places online.

My real purpose was to see you, and to judge, if I could, whether I might ever hope to make you love me.

Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

This is one of the most famous lines side by Mr Darcy in Jane Austen’s most successful novel Pride and Prejudice.

Jane Austen had a clever way of writing her characters as she demonstrates with Mr Darcy.  As a reader, you share Elizabeth’s initial sentiment that he is pompous and unkind, and in total contrast to his friend Charles Bingley. By the end of the novel, you agree with Elizabeth that he is actually compassionate and generous as he helps her sister Lidia avoid a scandal with Wickham.

Jane does give us hints along the way to her own measure of the man. ‘Mr Darcy they had only seen in church‘ demonstrates how religious Mr Darcy is ( a tick in Jane’s box), and if he was at church on this day, he would have been there twice as it was Good Friday.

Jane’s Mr Darcy is very rich

Mr Darcy’s fortune was around £10,000 a year, which makes him a modern day multi-millionaire and then some.  No wonder Mrs Bennet cries with joy, ‘I can think of nothing else!  Ten thousand a year and very likely more!  ’Tis as good as a Lord!’

To reaffirm this wealth and superiority, Jane cleverly chose the name ‘Fitzwilliam Darcy’ for her hero.  Readers would have been familiar with the wealthy Fitzwilliam family whose property was twice the size of Buckingham Palace.  They would have also known the ’Darcy’ name in the form of ‘D’Arcy’ meaning ‘of Arcy’ in French. 

It was brought over by the Normans when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066.  This lineage was very wealthy and had what we would term old money.

Jane Austen’s Own Mr Darcy

People like to think that Jane based Mr Darcy on Tom Lefroy, a man she met at her friends house one Christmas. She fell in love, although her status and lack of fortune meant it would never be a match, and he was sent away to continue his studies, marrying a short time later he moved back to Ireland.

First Impressions

Fourteen years later in 1811, Jane began revising First Impressions which was finally published as Pride and Prejudice on 28 January 1813.  Jane wrote of her excitement in a letter to Cassandra, ‘my own darling Child has arrived from London.’ Miss Benn lived a few cottages away in Chawton village, and as she was so poor, the Austen ladies often invited her to tea. They read the novel aloud and Miss Benn never knew that Jane was the author.

The novel sold so well a second edition was printed in the Autumn of the same year, and a third in 1817.  The reading public adored Elizabeth Bennet and it was a huge success.  

Jane was a great believer in love and marriage, even though she never married herself. To her niece Fanny she wrote, “To you I shall say, as I have often said before, do not be in a hurry, the right man will come at last.”

A modern Mr Darcy

Jane spent a lot of time walking in Hyde Park and along the banks of the Serpentine in London when visiting her brother Henry, which is where a 12-foot Mr Darcy was placed.

It was to celebrate the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice featuring Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, in the most popular version of Jane’s novel.  Written by Andrew Davies (of recent Sanditon fame) it sold 100,000 video box sets whilst on air, and 10 million people watched the final episode.  People are amazed to discover that the lake scene where Darcy takes a dip before striding away in his clinging wet shirt and bumping into his future bride is not in the book.

The filming took six months, and Colin fell in love with his co-star Elizabeth, played by Jennifer Ehle. 

The fibre glass statue has been moved to Lyme Park in Cheshire where most of the TV series was filmed.

Delicious Mr Darcy

To celebrate 25 years of the BBC’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice, a 6ft cake was unveiled to the public at National Trust property Lyme Park in Cheshire, of Colin Firth fame. Michelle Wibowo, worked on the creation of Darcy’s cake counterpart; a process which took over 200 hours.

Nobody was keen on eating him, and he had to laid down and packaged into small, bite-sized pieces!

The other Mr Darcy

In the film edition of Pride and Prejudice, the role of Mr Darcy was played by Matthew Macfayden. He played alongside Keira Knightley as Elizabeth, and the film has been a great success. To celebrate, a bust of Matthew as Mr Darcy is presented in the hallway of Chatsworth House, often used as a film location and some say as inspiration for Pemberley.

A Real Looker

So what did Mr Darcy look like? A special FBI profiler created an image of Mr Darcy from descriptions and research. He produced this image, which some say makes Mr Darcy look too old, however, his hair is probably powdered as was the fashion in the regency period.

What does your Mr Darcy look like?

Further reading

News about the 6ft Mr Darcy cake.

Jane Austen letter about ‘her own darling child’ from London.

Chatsworth House in Cheshire, now National Trust.

Jane Austen 250 taking place in 2025 and a number of events will include a more modern day Mr Darcy.