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A Jane Austen Christmas

15 December 2024

I sincerely hope your Christmas… may abound in the gaieties which the season generally brings.

Christmas was a special time for Jane. December was the month of her birthday after all, which fell on the 16th in the middle of the Christmas celebrations.

All of Jane’s family and friends came together, so it was a time of celebration, balls, parties, masquerades, play acting, games and lots of food. Jane also gave gifts to the poorer members of the parish as she mentions in her letters to Cassandra.

It was a longer season than we have now, and stretched from Saint Nicholas Day on 6 December to 6 January, Twelfth Night, Epiphany, and sometimes far past this date as Jane stayed with her brothers or with friends for weeks at a time.

Since families and friends were already gathered together, it was also a time for weddings, which were often shared with other couples at the same service. As a girl, Jane was often asked to stand in as a witness, and you can see her name written in the Steventon Marriage Register.

Jane’s brother Edward married Elizabeth Bridges on Boxing Day 1791, at a lavish double wedding with her sister in Kent. Henry married their cousin Eliza on 31 December 1797 in London, no doubt inspiring the romantic endings Jane writes of in her novels.

On Christmas Day itself, Jane and her family went to Church, and whilst living at Steventon, Jane’s father Reverend George Austen would deliver the sermon. This was followed by carols and special prayers.

The congregation would have sung the same Christmas carols we sing today, including God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen written in the 13th century and published in a carol book in 1760, and The First Noel, which was actually French and written in the 14th century.

The prayers said at Christmas were from the Book of Common Prayer, the same prayer book Jane’s family used.

O God, You make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

On returning home, the rectory was decorated with foliage, such as bay leaves and cuttings from holly bushes, trees and rosemary. It was traditional to exchange gifts marking the first day of the Christmas season. Food was plentiful and usually a goose or turkey was eaten followed by plum pudding, that would be cooked together with the villagers in the bake house.

The day after Christmas, Saint Stephen’s Day, was the day when people gave to charity and servants were presented with Christmas Boxes by their employers. This is why Saint Stephen’s Day is called Boxing Day today.

It was such a special time for Jane that she mentions Christmas in all her novels. John Willoughby dances from eight o’clock until four in the morning in Sense and Sensibility. In Mansfield Park, Sir Thomas gives a ball for William and Fanny at Christmas time. In Northanger Abbey, Catherine worries about what ‘gown and what head-dress she should wear’ because ‘her great aunt had read her a lecture on the subject only the Christmas before.’

The Bennets play host to their family in Pride and Prejudice, and Caroline writes to Jane saying, ‘I sincerely hope your Christmas … may abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings.’ In Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Lucas marries, and Elizabeth writes to her aunt Gardiner, ‘You are all to come to Pemberley at Christmas.’

In Emma, Mr. Elton says, ‘This is quite the season indeed for friendly meetings. At Christmas every body invites their friends about them.’ Just as we look forward to seeing family and friends at Christmas, Emma is looking forward to a visit from her sister and her family. ‘Many a long October and November evening must be struggled through at Hartfield, before Christmas brought the next visit from Isabella and her husband, and their little children, to fill the house, and give her pleasant society again.’

In Persuasion, Jane gives us a perfect image of a happy Christmas day. ‘On one side was a table occupied by some chattering girls, cutting up silk and gold paper; and on the other were tressels and trays, bending under the weight of brawn and cold pies, where riotous boys were holding high revel; the whole completed by a roaring Christmas fire, which seemed determined to be heard, in spite of all the noise of the others. Charles and Mary also came in, of course, during their visit, and Mr Musgrove made a point of paying his respects to Lady Russell, and sat down close to her for ten minutes, talking with a very raised voice, but from the clamour of the children on his knees, generally in vain. It was a fine family-piece.‘

All of these events give us a wonderful insight into Jane’s Christmas season.

Christmas Letters to Cassandra

In a Christmas Eve letter to Cassandra, Jane says that she enjoyed a ball held that week and lists her charitable giving of what to whom. Many of Jane’s plays written for the family survive, and in 1787 the children staged a full length production which included cousins and friends.

Jane wrote to Cassandra on 7 January 1807. ‘When you receive this our guests will all be gone or going; and I shall be left to the comfortable disposal of my time, to ease of mind from the torments of rice puddings and apple dumplings, and probably to regret that I did not take more pains to please them all.’

As Jane would say at the end of her letters, ‘I wish you a cheerful and at times even a Merry Christmas.’

Ten Wonderful Things about Emma

20 November 2024

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.
Jane Austen, Emma

So begins Jane Austen’s novel Emma, the last to be published in her lifetime. It is the only novel by Jane named after its heroine, and the only heroine who is under no pressure to marry.

So Emma has everything. She is intelligent, beautiful, and the youngest and fondest daughter of a wealthy father who indulges her every whim. The only person who ever expresses any criticism of Emma is Mr Knightley, who owns the nearby Donwell Abbey and estate.. and you can guess the rest.

Unlike Jane’s other heroines who need to marry for status or money, Emma is only concerned about boredom (the word used by some critics upon its publication).

Despite this, Emma as a heroine is usually voted second only to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. Emma appeared on the 23 December 1815 and sold the most copies of any of Jane’s novels at that time, and has only been surpassed by Pride and Prejudice in recent years.

1. EMMA WAS WRITTEN IN ITS ENTIRETY WHILST JANE LIVED AT CHAWTON

According to Cassandra, Jane started writing Emma on 21 January 1814 and finished it on 29 March 1815. She was then 39 years old.

Unlike three of Jane’s earlier novels which she started writing in her teens (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey), Jane wrote Emma in its entirety whilst living at Chawton Cottage. She started writing it once Mansfield Park was published and sold out which must have spurred her on!

2. JANE HAD DECIDED THAT EMMA WAS NO ELIZABETH BENNET!

Whilst Jane had described Elizabeth Bennet, ‘as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print’, she had told Cassandra that she was going to write about someone less perfect. ‘I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.’

As it turned out, many Jane Austen fans love her Emma and she is one of Jane’s most popular characters.

3. JANE REFERRED TO HER NOVELS AS HER CHILDREN

Jane referred to her novels as her own children, and had called Pride and Prejudice her ‘Own darling child’. She wrote in a letter to her niece Anna in 1815 (whose new daughter she had not yet seen), ‘As I wish very much to see your Jemima, I am sure you will like to see my Emma.’

4. EMMA WAS THE ONLY HEROINE IN JANE’S NOVELS THAT WAS NOT UNDER PRESSURE TO MARRY

Jane wrote the opening line of the novel, ‘Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition ..and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.’ Emma is the only heroine of Jane’s that is not under pressure to marry – for love, security or status.

Gwyneth Paltow As Emma Woodhouse in Jane Austen’s Emma

5. JANE WAS NEVER KNOWN AS THE AUTHOR OF EMMA OUTSIDE HER CLOSE FAMILY

Only Jane’s family and close friends knew Jane was the author of Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. When Emma was published the title page simply reads, ‘By the Author of “Pride and Prejudice, etc etc’.

Although Emma went on sale on 23 December 1815, the title page reads 1816 as it was so close to end of the year.

6. JANE’S FAME INCREASED IN THE LAST TWO YEARS OF HER LIFE

It was clear that Jane’s fame was increasing as the dedication inside Emma is to the Prince Regent. Whilst Jane was in London nursing Henry through a serious illness, his doctor was a friend of the Prince Regent’s librarian James Stanier-Clarke, and it was he who made the introduction.

Although Jane disliked the Prince Regent who was known to gamble and have many mistresses, she must have been flattered that he admired her novels and had copies in each of his residences. She sent a specially bound copy to Carlton House for the future King which is now in the Royal Household in London.

7. JANE’S NOVEL EMMA WAS ADVERTISED IN THE NEWSPAPERS

Much to Jane’s delight, the Morning Chronicle announced the publication of Emma on 23 December 1815.

8. JANE WAS WORRIED AS MOST AUTHORS ARE ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF EMMA

In a letter to John Murray written on 11 December a few weeks before Emma was published, Jane shared her worries about the public reception of her new novel. ‘I am very strongly haunted by the idea that to those Readers who have preferred P&P. it will appear inferior in Wit, & to those who have preferred MP. very inferior in good Sense.’

In receiving feedback and reading the reviews, it seems that the literary critics of the day enjoyed Emma and wrote positive reviews. Sir Walter Scott wrote in the Quarterly Review that he thought Emma was part of a new trend in fiction, ‘Which has arisen almost in our own times, and which draws the characters and incidents introduced more immediately from the current of ordinary life than was permitted by the former rules of the novel.‘

9. JANE MADE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY FROM EMMA ALTHOUGH IT WAS HER MOST SUCCESSFUL

Written in 1814, Emma was ready in March 1815. Egerton was Jane’s previous publisher and he delayed publishing whilst he negotiated with Murray, another successful publisher. John Murray was a prominent London publisher of many famous authors and The Quarterly Review, which Jane read and admired which may be why she chose him.

They eventually agreed that Jane would publish at her own expense and as the first editions of her previous novels had sold out, it was decided to print 2,000 copies of Emma. Murray received 10% of the profits and Egerton made a healthy £450 (around $600 USD) from this transaction.

The accounts show that Jane made much less at £222 (around $300 USD) from the initial sales. After the reprint of Mansfield Park was deducted, her royalties were £40 (around $55 USD) which she received in February 1817.

Although Emma was Jane’s most successful novel in the way of sales, it made her the least money.

10. JANE SHOWS YOU CAN BE HAPPY BEING SINGLE

Jane shows that you can be happy being single and marriage is not the key to happiness. (As long as you have a wealthy father, lots of shopping trips, great friends that forgive you, and a warm fire!).

FOR MORE EMMA:

You can read Emma for free through Project Gutenberg

Find Emma themed events on our Events page, including a monthly themed walk around London or join a walk and talk in Chawton to hear about Jane’s second most popular heroine.

Although a little dated you can hear a BBC 4 Radio program on Emma

You can read about the Royal Household copies of Emma in Jane Austen 200

Gwyneth Paltrow is still one of the best actresses that played Emma.

Persuasion

30 October 2024

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago.

Persuasion was published posthumously in December 1817, in a four volume set along with Northanger Abbey, as they are both shorter novels.

A first edition of *Persuasion (Bauman Rare Books*)

According to Cassandra, Jane wrote the novel in 1815 to 1816, whilst at home in Chawton Cottage. It was the last of her novels to be completed before her death in 181, and she referred to it as The Elliots.

Plot summary

The story follows Anne Elliot, Jane’s most mature heroine who is 27 years old. She is unmarried, having seven years earlier been persuaded to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a promising young naval officer. When the Elliots rent out their family estate to try to reduce their debts and expenditure, Anne Captain Wentworth, who is home on leave and has since been promoted.

The theme focuses on the relationship between Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, who are given a second chance at love after years of separation and misunderstanding. It deals with themes of loss, love, second chances, and pride. Jane had a deep love of the sea and the Navy, and weaves those themes throughout.

Family themes

Jane and Cassandra were given Topaz crosses by their brother Charles, bought with his winnings gained as a Royal Navy officer. Jane was so impressed with the gift, she wrote it into Mansfield Park, where Fanny’s brother William gives his sister a topaz cross.

It seems that she was further inspired by Charles’s career as there are similarities between the career of the real life Navy Captain and Captain Wentworth. Both began their careers in North America, commanding sloops and then frigates. They are both about the same age, popular with their crews, and won prize money, although Captain Wentworth won considerably more.

Jane admired Fanny, thought her brave, and got on well with her when they met. She has similar traits to Mrs Croft in Persuasion who follows her husband, no matter where he was commissioned to serve and what danger awaits.

Another ending

Jane rewrote the ending of the novel, as explained by her nephew in his Memoir of Jane Austen. Edward writes that his aunt finished the novel in July 1816, but was dissatisfied with the ending. “She thought it tame and flat, and was desirous of producing something better”.

In her revision, Jane expanded Chapter 10 of Volume 2 into two chapters, and made the original Chapter 11 into Chapter 12 of the finished novel.

The original draft of the last two chapters of Persuasion is the only part of a manuscript of Jane Austen’s that has survived. It was on show in 2017 for Jane Austen 200, and I was lucky enough to read from her novel.

Publication

Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published by John Murray in December 1817. For the first time the biographical notice, written by Jane’s brother Henry, named Jane Austen as the author. Her family kept the copyright.

The Title Page of 1818 Edition (Public Domain: Wikipedia)

The first edition of around 1750 copies sold quickly, and the total profits were estimated to be around £500 at that time.

Persuasion in film

Persuasion Office Release Poster (Public Domain Wikipedia)

Persuasion has barely made it onto screen. The only one I can find came out in 2022 as a modern version of the story. Although Dakota Johnson took the lead role, the film had mixed reviews. It’s now streaming on Netflix, so may fare better to television audiences as Sunday afternoon entertainment.

The end

For fans of Jane Austen, Persuasion is Jane’s most mature novel. Anne is like all of her heroines, poor and unprotected, cultivating the theme that is so particular to Jane Austen, the style that Sir Walter Scott describes as “renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting.”

For More

Read the last two chapters of Persuasion can be found at the London British Library.

Exhibition Review: Chawton In Stitches

20 July 2024

Chawton House Library
13 May to 26 August 2024

This exhibition showcases the work of award-winning graduate of the Royal School of Needlework Emily Barnett, whose degree project took inspiration from the gardens and collection at Chawton House. Her final show stopping piece comprises three beautifully embroidered panels, focusing on:
~ the Orchard and the Knight family cookbook
~ the Rose Garden and Elizabeth Blackwell’s Curious Herbal
~ the Library Terrace and the women’s writing collection.

Chawton In Stitches

Jane was skilled at needlework, particularly cross-stitch, as her brothers often noted when she made shirts for them. You can see the consistent neatness of her stitching in the quilt and shawl on display at the Jane Austen’s House Museum, and in the needle case she made for her niece.

Good light is needed, and good eyesight, and Jane probably wore one of the two pairs of spectacles kept in her travel writing desk. She was no doubt taught by her mother, Mrs Austen, who continued to sew in the front room of Steventon Rectory as visitors came and went.

Jane also loved gardens and flowers, and often talked of ‘improvements’ in her novels. She walked through the fields of Hampshire every day, and often visited Edward and his family at Chawton House and even advised him on a wall or two!

It was lovely then to see a demonstration of sewing mastery during Regency Week. I was part of a group watching a young girl sewing beautiful lilac petals onto a silk cloth. We discovered that she was the artist who inspired ‘Chawton In Stitches’, the current exhibition at Chawton House, and this inspired me to find out more.

Exhibition Visit

I enjoy visiting Chawton House, with its large open rooms and staircases, and looking through the window where Jane would watch the comings and goings through the village.

The exhibition rooms are on the top floor, and Emily’s work is interspersed throughout, along with a history of needlework and various examples of stitching from the 18th and 19th century. You can see how the curator has pulled together the items, including needlework in its form, the attitude to women who sew, and how needlework was seen as a talent rather than a necessity.

Countryside Framed Wall Sampler

I was not disappointed when the first item that caught my eye was this beautiful sampler, sewn by Mary Pennington, aged ten in 1830. The stitches are tiny and delicate, and there is a lot of detail with leaves, flowers and animals. She has also stitched in that she was ‘Instructed by Mrs Stubbs’ who no doubt made sure she got a mention!

Close up of Wall Sampler. Photograph ©Emma Darlington Courtesy of Chawton House

Embroidery was taught to girls from a young age. They were instructed in the making of samples as a pastime, with the end pieces seen as artworks in a style that was popular in the Georgian period. They were large enough, and good enough to be framed and decorate a wall, and I suspect that this sampler took pride of place in their household.

Map of England and Wales

Another fascinating item in this room is an embroidered map of England and Wales that dates to the 18th century. A popular form of sampler in the Georgian period involved the reproduction of maps. This cloth is stitched plainly and clearly, so was probably used for learning. The writing almost looks as though it is written in pen, and the detail is amazing.

Oh that Mary Wollstonecraft!

On the opposite wall is an interesting collection of books where women authors have extolled the virtues of needlework. Some of the books show needlework projects and instructions on delicate pages that fold out, and it’s amazing that they are in such good condition.

In contrast, Mary Wollstonecraft looks upon the ‘work’ as a way of controlling women. The guide explained that she is really saying that she thinks women should be educated like men instead. A much better use of their time.

A real feminist of her day, though what Lady Catherine would say, I do not know!

Showcase of Books for Women including Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (London, 1792) Photograph ©Emma Darlington Courtesy of Chawton House

In the next room there are some of Emily’s working boards on display, where she has taken images and photographs from the garden to use for inspiration. They are in clusters, and you can see the results hanging on the opposite wall.

Photograph ©Emma Darlington with thanks to Chawton House

Petals on Panels

The working boards are represented on three large long panels mounted on the wall. The flowers almost look real and the petals are finely sewn and raised from the fabric, with author names appearing amongst the greenery. I looked at them for a long time, and I am still fascinated as to how the flowers and greenery is raised so neatly from the fabric.

Although this is a small exhibition, it’s a sweet one. I can’t help thinking as I walk away about the ladies in Jane’s novels, and how needlework was instantly produced and worked upon when a male visitor appears!

It’s definitely worth a visit and included in the entry fee. We’ve got a beautiful day, so it’s down to the courtyard for some sunshine, tea and lemon drizzle cake!

Needlework Events

Chawton House are hosting a series of embroidery workshops that you can find on their events page

The book JANE AUSTEN EMBROIDERY by JENNIE BATCHELOR and ALISON LARKIN was on display as part of the exhibition, and you can find a review on the books page

A Sister’s Love: Cassandra Austen

9 January 2024

Born 9 January 1773 – Died 22 March 1845

Cassandra Austen is well known as the most treasured sister of Jane Austen. They were born almost three years apart and were inseparable from birth.

Their mother Mrs Austen said that,

If Cassandra was to have her head cut off, Jane would insist on sharing her same fate.

From being very young, Jane looked up to her sister and often spoke of her virtues. Jane dedicated History, part of her Juvenilia she wrote around aged 12 to Cassandra, and said she was,

..a Pheonix. Your taste is refine, your sentiments are noble, & your Virtues innumerable.

Even before then, Jane was only 7 years old when she followed Cassandra to boarding school. First to Oxford, then to Reading and Southampton. And when Cassandra returned home, Jane did too. They shared a room all their lives, and told each other everything. They gossiped, as sisters do, and had insider jokes, and wrote to each other almost every day whilst apart.

Whilst Jane’s life is well known, and her talents as a writer have been acknowledged. It was made possible by her sister Cassandra.

A silhouette of Cassandra Austen

Silhouette of Cassandra Austen (Public Domain)

Cassandra was described as ‘handsome’ by some, although in this silhouette she looks very pretty. Eliza described her cousins as, ‘two beauties’, and some said Cassandra was prettier than Jane. This silhouette was done whilst Cassandra was alive, in contrast to the one we have of Jane created after her death.

Cassandra was a talented artist and painted the only portrait of Jane we have, including a back view

Cassandra was a wonderful water-colourist, and where Jane was known as a writer, Cassandra was known as a painter.

When Jane put together her Juvenilia, Cassandra painted the characters inside the notebooks. It is thought that the royal characters look more like the Austen family than the royal family, and that Jane posed for this picture of Mary Queen of Scotts.

I have seen Jane’s Juvenilia, and as I looked at the portraits on each page, I was amazed at how detailed they were, and it really does show how talented an artist Cassandra was.

BAL3837 Mary Queen of Scots, c.1790 (w/c) by Austen, Cassandra
(c.1772-1845) Private Collection English (Public Domain/Out of Copyright)

We can also thank Cassandra for the portrait of Jane looking out to the sea whilst on holiday in Lyme Regis in 1804. Jane has her ribbons untied, so quite racy at the time.

Jane Austen by Cassandra Austen at Lyme Regis (Public Domain)

This frontal portrait of Jane was painted around 1810, although Jane’s relatives had mixed reviews as to whether it looked like her. It is the one you can find in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Portrait of Jane Austen dated to 1810 (Public Domain)

Cassandra was engaged only once in her life to Thomas Fowle

Cassandra knew Tom well as he lived at the Rectory as a pupil of her father George Austen. They became engaged in 1795 when Cassandra was 22 years old. Needing money to marry, Tom went to the Caribbean to be a Military Chaplain. He would never return. He caught yellow fever and died in 1797, and was buried at sea on 13 February, although Cassandra did not receive this terrible news until the April of that year.

Cassandra took the news of Tom’s death with great ‘self-command’, and it must have seemed so unfair that her future happiness was cut short.

Cassandra often stayed with Tom’s family in Kintbury in Berkshire, which is 25 miles from Steventon, and upon her marriage would live in Wiltshire, 60 miles away. Letters from this period when Cassandra was staying at Godmersham have not survived. Jane may have been a little jealous of her sister, though probably more upset that they would be parted. This could account for her flirting so outrageously with Tom Lefroy.

Jane wrote to Cassandra on her birthday and dates her letter ‘Saturday 9 – Sunday 10 January 1796’.

In the first place I hope you will live twenty three years longer...

Jane then continues with a long gossipy letter that includes a visit to Madam Lefroy and her infatuation for her nephew, Tom Lefroy.

Cassandra would have been related to Martha Lloyd through marriage

Jane’s brother James married his second wife Mary Lloyd (Martha’s sister) in 1797. Their youngest sister Eliza Lloyd married Fulwar Craven Fowle a year later. His brother Tom Fowle (Martha’s brother-in-law) was engaged to Cassandra, and had they married, been related through marriage.

Cassandra was a wonderful childminder and often called on to help

Being single, Cassandra could drop everything and go where she was needed. Cassandra and Edward were close, and she spent many months at Godmersham Park over the years, as Edward and his wife Elizabeth’s family grew to eleven children.

Godmersham Park in Kent (Photograph ©EmmaDarlington)

Cassandra would often help his wife Elizabeth, especially when she was due to give birth. Sadly, Elizabeth became ill after the birth of their eleventh child, and died a few days later. The family were devastated, and as the children were still young, Cassandra spent many months helping Edward and his family.

Elizabeth Austen, Edward Austen’s Wife and Cassandra’s Sister-in-Law (Public Domain)

Cassandra inherited Mrs Austen’s good housekeeping skills

Whilst living at Chawton Cottage, Cassandra would buy supplies, allocate duties to the servants, arranging the cooking, cleaning, and generally keep the house running efficiently. This meant that Jane was free to write and practice her piano playing which she did every morning.

Mrs Austen herself was a good housekeeper and had taught Cassandra well. Whilst at Steventon Rectory she had milked cows, planted vegetables, cooked, mended, sewed, and kept the house running smoothly. With four boys at home, plus the pupils her husband tutored and her own two girls, she was very busy indeed.

After Jane had died, visitors to the cottage felt it somehow cold and sad, and Cassandra’s life without her beloved sister must have been lonely at times. Anna Lefroy, their niece, said that their relationship, ‘passed the common love of sisters; and it had been so from childhood.‘

Cassandra had a dog named Scout

Ten years after Jane’s death in 1827, Cassandra was 54 years old when Mrs Austen died. She was now living alone in Chawton Cottage, got a dog and named him Scout. To the amusement of the villagers, he would carry the milk from Chawton House in a pail with the handle between his teeth!

None of Cassandra’s Letters have survived

In 1843, two years before her own death, Cassandra burned most of Jane’s letters and only 160 or so have survived. She felt the contents were too personal to them both, and she was probably right. Jane was such a private person, and as her fame increased, Cassandra probably wanted to protect her memory.

Cassandra also burned her own letters to Jane, so although we can read some of Jane’s correspondence to Cassandra, we are missing the other half.

Cassandra spent her dying days with her two brothers, Frank and Henry

Whilst visiting Frank at Portsdown Lodge, high above Portsmouth, Cassandra had a stroke. In his twilight years at 71 years old, Frank had to leave Cassandra to join his ship for a North America posting.

It was brother Henry that came to look after Cassandra in the last days of her life. After his bank failed he took Holy Orders, and I would like to think that Cassandra died in his arms, just as Jane had died in hers.

Cassandra’s Brother Henry Thomas Austen (Public Domain)

Cassandra has her own memorial tablet inside St Nicholas Church

Cassandra is buried on the Chawton Estate her brother Edward inherited. You can find it inside on the left side of the church, and Mrs Austen’s is on the right side. It is sad to see that there is no mention of Mrs Austen’s daughter Jane on her memorial stone, as she predeceased her.

Cassandra Austen’s Memorial Stone Inside St Nicholas Church (©EmmaDarlington)

The tablet is faded now, and reads:

IN MEMORY OF
CASSANDRA ELIZABETH 
AUSTEN
DAUGHTER OF THE LATE
REVEREND GEORGE AUSTEN
RECTOR OF SEVENTON
IN THIS COUNTY
DIED 22 OF MARCH 1845
BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH WE HAVE
PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD
JESUS CHRIST     Rom V.I.

Cassandra is buried with a previous resident of Chawton Cottage

In the churchyard at Chawton, Cassandra rests between her mother and Bridger Seward. He was Edward Austen’s bailiff who moved out of Chawton Cottage so the Austen ladies could move in. His faded gravestone shows he died in 1808 at 90 years old.

Mrs Cassandra Austen and her daughter Cassandra Austen in St Nicholas Churchyard (©EmmaDarlington)

Jane Austen Treasures – Pelisse Coat

14 November 2023

Jane Austen’s silk pelisse is the most well provenanced item of clothing believed to have been worn by Jane.

It was given to Hampshire County Museum Services and Archives by a descendant of Jane’s family, and is one of the most special items owned by Jane Austen.

It is a pleasure to see it in person and I am always struck at how slight Jane was. From the length of the coat we know that Jane was between 5 feet 6 and 5 feet 8. Compared to women of her time she was seen as tall and slim.

We have a good idea of what Jane looked like from her family, and you can imagine her soft brown curls and hazel eyes being complemented by the silk weave of the oak leaves.

The coat is in such good condition considering it is over 200 years old. The style reflects the change in fashion to a looser waist and high frill collar which was popular when she had it made, although it would have had a belt which has been lost along the way.

Jane mentions her coat in a letter to Cassandra dated 23-24 August 1814,

I must provide for the possibility, by troubling you send up my Silk Pelisse by Collier on Saturday. -I feel it would be necessary on such an occasion.

Jane was staying with Henry at his home in Henrietta Street in London at the time. Henry had mentioned that they could call in to see their friends the Birches and the Crutchleys on the way back to Chawton.

It seems they were families of importance for Jane to risk her coat being brought by Colliers, the pubic carriage that ran between Alton and London.

Jane did have another coat as she mentions another trimmed pelisse in her letter dated 30 April 1811, however, this one is made of silk so it was more of a luxury item worn on special occasions.

We like to think that Jane made this purchase from the money she received from sales of Pride and Prejudice published in 1813.

Jane’s pelisse dates to 1814 which is the same year she wrote Mansfield Park. She writes about the importance of owning a pelisse as an indication of ones social standing as the other ladies look down on Fanny for not owning one,

The young ladies who approached her at first with some respect, in consideration of her coming from a baronet’s family, were soon offended by what they termed “airs”; for, as she neither played on the pianoforte nor wore fine pelisses, they could, on farther observation, admit no right of superiority.

We know that Jane loved shopping and a pelisse was a fashionable item to wear in the early 18th century. This fashion plate from La Belle Assemblée dated September 1813 is a beautiful example of a coat worn outdoors.

Morning Dress September 1813. A Fashion Plate from *La Belle Assemblée*. Number 18 *© Public Domain*

Although pelisse coats had been worn from the 17th century, their style changed over time from being more of a cloak to a fitted garment worn with a high collar.

Fabric was important, and Jane probably purchased hers from one of the large warehouses in London. French imports of silk were banned at the time due to the war so the fabric would have been made in England. Jane would have paid a seamstress to make up the coat which would have cost more than the fabric, and the finished coat would have been an luxury item for her.

She liked wearing brown, and she chose a fabric decorated with an oak leaf pattern which represented the wooden ships in the fleet of the British Navy. It may have been a display of support for her Navy brothers Charles and Frank who were on active duty at the time.

Jane also mentions a pelisse in her military novel Persuasion where Captain Wentworth likens his old ship to a pelisse,

I had no more discoveries to make than you would have as to the fashion and strength of any old pelisse, which you had seen sent about among half your acquaintance ever since you could remember, and which at last, on some wet day, is lent to yourself.

How wonderful Captain Wentworth is to be concerned with Anne’s pelisse coat.. we love him even more!

See Jane Austen’s Pelisse Today

Jane’s pelisse is only shown at special events in order to preserve it, so go and see it if you get the chance.

A replica of Jane’s coat was on display for while in Jane’s dressing room in her Chawton home, now the Jane Austen House Museum.

©EmmaDarlington courtesy of the Jane Austen House Museum

Want to make your own pelisse?

The talented Hilary Davidson has created a pattern from Jane’s pelisse that you can use to sew your own. You can find it through a link on her website www.hilarydavidson.net.

Links

If you are making a special visit, check the events page before you to Jane Austen House Museum www.janeaustenshousemuseum.org.uk

For a pattern to make your own Jane Austen pelisse see www.hilarydavidson.net

Fashion