Jane Austen Quickstep Travel Guide

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

Regency Fashion

Sanditon by the Sea

But Sanditon itself – everybody has heard of Sanditon.

Saline air and immersion will be the very thing – my sensations tell me so already.

Jane loved the sea, so it seems fitting that the last novel she wrote would be about a coastal resort on the brink of transformation, a bold departure from her typical rural settings. Once a quiet fishing village, Sanditon is being developed into a fashionable seaside resort by the ambitious Thomas Parker, a businessman.

Coastal towns and sea bathing increased in popularity in Regency-era England as the royal family enjoyed holidays by the sea. The Prince Regent was also fond of swimming and could often be found on the beach of his holiday home in Brighton. Many towns on the coast of England were thought to have inspired Sanditon, such as Worthing, Sidmouth and Lyme. All places Jane had visited for holidays.

When she started writing the novel on 24 January 1817, she was unaware that her health would soon deteriorate leaving her manuscript incomplete. She laid down her quill for the last time on 18 March 1817, with the story remaining unread until her fondest nephew Edward decided to publish the story in A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1870.

You can read how her experimentation with prose, as the dashing Edward Denham speaks of the sea,

The terrific Grandeur of the Ocean in a Storm, its glass surface in a calm, its Gulls and its Samphire, and the deep fathoms of its Abysses, its quick vicissitudes, its direful Deceptions, its Mariners tempting it in sunshine and overwhelmed by the sudden Tempest.

The Brothers

In Jane’s notebook, you can just make out the date of 27 January 1817 in her handwriting at the top of the first page. Over the following weeks she wrote 24,000 words into three booklets, until her illness prevented her from continuing. Jane would talk over her novel with Cassandra, and had casually called it The Brothers, as there are two brothers at the middle of the plot. Her family later called it Sanditon after the town in which it is set.

Jane’s plot is built around a group of residents who want to turn their coastal town into a resort on the Sussex Coast. Charlotte Heywood is her heroine who helps Mr Parker and his family after an carriage accident. She returns to Sanditon and encounters the formidable Lady Denham, her wicked nephew Edward, and his odd sister Esther. Clara Brereton is the beautiful companion to Lady D, who rivals Charlotte for the heart of Sidney Parker.

Not country men

The Parkers are different from the usual type of men that Jane writes about because they are not country gentlemen. They are businessmen who want to transform where they live, as other towns have, and make themselves a fortune in the process.

She was as thoroughly amiable as she was lovely, and since having had the advantage of their Sanditon breezes, that loveliness was complete.

There were mixed reviews in the family about whether to publish Jane’s unfinished novel. In 1871, Jane’s fondest nephew wrote that, ‘Such an unfinished fragment cannot be presented to the public.’ However, he changed his mind, and included a short summary of the work in A Memoir of Jane Austen. The original manuscript was then published in full in 1925 under the title Fragment of a Novel.

King’s College Links to Jane’s Family

On Jane’s death, the three booklets were left to Cassandra, and upon her death to her niece Anna Lefroy. She passed them down through her family line to to Mary Isabella Lefroy, Jane’s great-great niece.

In 1930, they were given to King’s College, Cambridge, where Anna’s nephew Augustus Austen Leigh had been provost. They are very fragile and sensitive to light, so kept safely stored away and rarely on display.

King’s College Cambridge where the original script of Sanditon can be found (Public Domain)

Jane Austen’s Anniversary of her Death 2017

In 2017, the anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, King’s College displayed Jane’s copy of Sanditon on 18 July. It was wonderful to read Jane’s neat handwriting, and see the crossings out where she had edited the story.

Cassandra had written out her own copy of Jane’s manuscript of Sanditon before it was passed down in the family, and this can be found at Jane Austen’s House Museum at Chawton.

Online snippet of Cassandra’s copied version of Sanditon on display at the Jane Austen House Museum

TV Productions

In 2019 it was announced to great excitement that a screenplay of Jane’s novel was to be made by the BBC. Andrew Davis (of Colin Firth and Pride and Prejudice fame) was commissioned to write the screenplay and create his own ending to the novel. The adaptation has introduced Sanditon to a new audience, sparking interest in Jane’s final novel and its potential endings.

Andrew famously said that when he read the lines Jane wrote, it would only take up two scenes! The series first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 25 August 2019 in eight parts and was a great success.

Sanditon Promotional Photograph (Public Domain)

The romance between Charlotte and Sidney kept viewers enthralled, and reading Jane’s novel, you can speculate she also thought Sidney a match for the beautiful Charlotte.

Such a young man as Sidney, with his neat equipage and fashionable air.

Authors Note

Of course, there has been Sanditon 2 and Sanditon 3 that followed Sanditon which also have enjoyed great success and viewing numbers, especially in the US. Bridgerton is another great series watched by millions of people. It is sometimes linked with Sanditon, as the author Julia Quinn said she was inspired by Jane Austen to her romance novels. How lovely!

Further reading

Read Jane Austen’s Sanditon for free at Project Gutenberg

King’s College, Cambridge dedicated website page for Sanditon.

A Memoir of Jane Austen at the Jane Austen House Museum

Eight 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 started writing Mansfield Park in February 1811 whilst still revising Pride and Prejudice, and 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.

1. 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.

2. 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.  

3. 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 lived 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.  

4. 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 in the Navy who 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

5. 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.

6. 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)

7. A Wonderful Play – Lovers Vows

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.

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)

8. 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 told Cassandra before starting the novel that it was going to be about ordination.

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.

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?

Further Reading

Read more about the inspiration for Sotherton in Mansfield Park, Mrs Austen’s relatives the Leigh family seat at Stoneleigh Abbey.

Read Mansfield Park for free through Project Gutenberg.

Ten Wonderful Things about Emma

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.

A Jane Austen Christmas

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.

Steventon Church Christmas

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.

Chawton House Christmas

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.’

Persuasion

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 1817, and she referred to it as The Elliots.

Plot summary (no spoilers)

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, Anne is reacquainted with Captain Wentworth, who is home on leave and has since been promoted.

The Cobb itself, its old wonders and new improvements, with the very beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town, are what the stranger’s eye will seek.

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 youngest 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!

When Jane met Charles wife Fanny, she liked her and they got on well. Jane greatly admired her bravery, as England was at war with France at this time and Fanny lived with Charles on board his ship. Fanny 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 this part of her novel, one of the only manuscripts to have survived.

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.”

It was thought that some lines in the novel, with its heroine Anne being in later years, described in some parts as a mirror of Jane’s life. Of love lost, and in her case, never found again.

What do you think?

Jane Austen Travel

There are four locations that feature in Persuasion. Bath, Lyme Regis, Kellynch Hall, and Uppercross. Jane spent a number of years living in Bath and mentions places throughout the novel, some of which can still be found today including the Pump Room and Assembly Rooms.

In Lyme Regis, Louisa makes a leap from the Cobb, which is a man made brick structure that goes out to sea above the waves, that you can walk along. For Kellynch Hall and Uppercross, there has been much speculation as to what inspired these places. You can find out more in the Jane Austen Quickstep Travel Guide.

For More persuasion

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

Exhibition Review: Chawton In Stitches

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.

Map of England and Wales. Photograph ©Emma Darlington Courtesy of Chawton House

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.

Photograph ©Emma Darlington with thanks to Chawton House

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