Jane Austen Quickstep Travel Guide

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

Romance Novel

10 Things About Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility

You want nothing but patience – or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.

Mrs Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

This is a line of Sense and Sensibility, the first novel Jane wrote in her teens and the first to be published.

The Novel

The novel is probably set between 1792 and 1797 and follows the Dashwood sisters and their widowed mother as they are forced to leave the family home in Sussex after their father dies. The cottage is inherited by John Dashwood, a son from a previous marriage and the Dashwood sisters have to leave. A distant relative offers them a cottage, and they move to Devon. The two eldest girls experience love and heartbreak, one with practical good sense and the other sensitive and emotional.

Ten Things You May Not Know About Sense and Sensibility

1. sense and sensibility had started life as a story about two sisters who wrote letters to each.

Jane’s first full length novel was originally known as Elinor and Marianne. She had written the early draft in epistolary format, which is totally in letter format. She had to change it later as the sisters always had to be apart. Women who wrote novels during the 18th century often called the books with the same name as their heroines.

Cassandra recalls Jane reading this novel to her family some 15 years prior to the publishing of Sense and Sensibility, although it’s unclear how much the novel changed in the intervening period.

2.  Jane was never known as the author outside her close family.

The novel was published on October 1811. All of Jane’s novels were published anonymously, including this novel which was simply titled By A Lady.  

Sense and Sensibility Front Plate
Jane Austen (1775-1817), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
3. jane had to fund the publishing costs herself, and is one of the first self-published authors

Thomas Egerton was affiliated with the Military Library, and due to Henry’s military connections, agreed to publish Sense and Sensibility on commission. She reportedly paid more than a third of her household income for publishing and distribution, which probably came from Henry and Eliza.

4. jane was still receiving royalties the year she died.

Jane wrote to Frank in April 1813. ‘You will be glad to hear that every Copy of S&S is sold.’ The first print run, which consisted of around 750-1000 copies completely sold out within two years, making Jane a handsome profit of £140. She was still receiving royalties in March 1817, the year of her death.    

5.  it took emma thomson five years to write the screenplay

Emma Thompson took five years to develop the screenplay for 1995’s big screen adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Her work paid off though, as it earned her an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with a nomination for Best Actress. Emma remains the only person to win an Oscar for both screenwriting and acting.

6. la sense and sensibility

The first French translation of Sense and Sensibility was written by Madame Isabelle de Montoliue, who had only a basic grasp of the English language. As such, this translation followed Jane’s original story only very loosely with key lines and even whole scenes changed.

7.  jane is the same age as elinor dashwood

Jane was the same age as Elinor Dashwood in the novel, and those who compare the two heroines to Cassandra and Jane, will probably choose Cassandra to be the sensible Elinor! One biographer argues that the character of Marianne Dashwood is based on Jane’s own personality (Park Honan. Jane Austen: Her Life).

8. The novel wasn’t published until 1811

The novel was published 14 years after its first draft in August 1797 when Jane was 36 years old. Even when Egerton agreed it publish and Jane submitted the novel, it took almost a year for her to see it in print.

9.  although the novel is light, jane shares negatives views on women, age and marriage

“A woman of seven and twenty,” said Marianne, after pausing a moment, “can never hope to feel or inspire affection again, and if her home is uncomfortable, or her fortune small, I can suppose that she might bring herself to submit to the offices of a nurse, for the sake of the provision and security of a wife. In his marrying such a woman therefore there would be nothing unsuitable. It would be a compact of convenience, and the world would be satisfied. In my eyes, it would be no marriage at all, but that would be nothing. To me, it would seem only a commercial exchange, in which each wished to be benefited at the expense of the other.”

10. the novel received positive reviews

 It was well-received by the public upon its release, and was regarded as having a realistic, “highly pleasing and interesting” plot with “naturally drawn” characters. The Critical Review praised the novel for its characters and for offering an “excellent” and useful moral. Overall, Elinor and her mother are praised, while Marianne’s extreme sensibility is seen as bringing unhappiness on herself!

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY QUIZ

  1. What keeps Elinor and Edward apart?
    A – Marianne objects to their union.
    B – Elinor says he is too poor, so Edward goes away to seek his fortune.
    C – Mrs Dashwood acceptance of a move to Barton in Devon.
    D – Edward goes to Cambridge university.
  2. What are Marianne’s first impressions of Brandon?
    A – Dashing and handsome.
    B – Old and jaded.
    C – Young and immature.
    D – Rude and impolite.
  3. What injury does Marianne suffer when on a walk with Margaret?
    A – Shall falls into the sea.
    B – Her hair gets tangled in a branch.
    C – She twisted her ankle.
    D – She bumps her head.
  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.”
    A – Willoughby and Marianne.
    B – Elinor and Edward.
    C – John Dashwood and his wife.
    D – Edward and Marianne.
  5. What does Willoughby do that makes Marianne think they are engaged?
    A – He gives her a portrait of himself.
    B – He takes her to his house.
    C – He talks about having children.
    D – He cuts a lock of her hair.
  6. How is John Dashwood related to Elinor and Marianne?
    A – Half-brother.
    B – Cousin.
    C – Uncle.
    D – Nephew.
  7. What extravagant gift does Willoughby give Marianne?
    A – A carriage.
    B – A brooch.
    C – A horse.
    D – An ivory comb.
  8. What is the name of the house that Sir John and Lady Middleton live in? 
    A – Longbourne.
    B – Barton Park.
    C – Kellynch Hall.
    D – Clayton Park.

Click here for the  QUIZ ANSWERS

Dancing With Jane Austen

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.”

Ashe House where Jane Danced with her own Mr Darcy. Now planned for demolition.

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.”  

Goodnestone House, Kent

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.”

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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.

Exhibition Review: Sisters of the Pen

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.

Jane read Belinda over and over again.


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.

Decorated First Edition of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey

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.

Sketches of books, drawings, music sheets, and other accomplishments

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.

Beautiful hyacinths and daisies

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.

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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.

Jane Austen Weddings

The bride was elegantly dressed, the two bridesmaids were duly inferior, her father gave her away, her mother stood with salts in her hand, expecting to be agitated, her aunt tried to cry, and the service was impressively read by Dr Grant.

~ Mansfield Park

Although Jane wrote about love and marriage extensively in her novels, she rarely goes into detail when it comes to their wedding ceremonies.

Jane as a person would have seen many weddings in her lifetime. As a young girl she often stood in as a witness to the weddings her father conducted at St Nicholas in Steventon. She had three brothers, and probably watched them go to great lengths to find a wife.

Jane’s sister Cassandra was engaged to Tom Fowle, a pupil of her father’s who also lived at the rectory, and watched as their love grew over the years. It is thought that Jane accepted a proposal from an unsuitable match to avoid being left on her own. However, after Tom died, she could stay with Cassandra and her need to marry became less important.

Jane’s brothers were lucky in love, and Jane saw how happy Charles was in his marriage to Fanny, a girl he met in Bermuda. The Navy gave him status and paid his way, along with Frank who was also in the Navy. He married Mary, and Jane lived with them in Southampton until her move to Chawton. Edward was wealthy and happy with Elizabeth in Kent, and James married Mary, a local girl from Steventon. As a clergyman, he was probably the most cash strapped, however his marriage to Mary bought him a new carriage and a pack of hounds.

Jane wrote about people finding love and happiness, and it was important to her that in the eyes of the church, people would marry for love and live happy ever after.

There is however a reality that goes alongside. In this painting by Gillroy, you can see two people wooing each other before they are married. He holds the music book whilst she plays the harp. Everything is in twos, as cupid watches over them shooting his arrow into their hearts.

Harmony Before Matrimony ( 1805) James Gillray ( 1756-1815)

In his next painting that follows titled, ‘Matrimonial Harmonics’, he shows the couple after the wedding where she is trying to play the piano amongst the noise of the house, a baby crying whilst her husband tries to read the newspaper.

Harmony Before Matrimony ( 1805) James Gillray ( 1756-1815)

It showed the comic side of marriage at that time that is probably still true today.

The elements of a regency wedding

Jane’s niece Caroline wrote about weddings when she was a girl, ‘Weddings were then usually very quiet. The old fashion of festivity and publicity had quite gone by, and was universally condemned as showing the bad taste of all former generations…. This was the order of the day.’

So a regency wedding was a quiet, simple affair, and were conducted with the service in the Book of Common Prayer, with ‘Do you take this woman..’. Engagements were usually short, and did not involve an engagement ring. Papers were drawn up, money changed hands, and a mother would take her daughter to buy a trousseau, a box of clothes and possessions to take to her married home. Family joined honeymoons and hopefully the couple are in love or at least like one another.

How to have your own regency wedding?

1. find multiple brides

It was common for multiple couples to marry at the same time, looking at each other as they said their wedding vows. They took place in the mornings, usually after the service and rarely on Sundays as that service was long.

Edward was the first of Jane’s brothers to marry. He was adopted by wealthy cousins in Kent, and Elizabeth Bridges was a local beauty. She married Edward at a joint wedding with her sister on 31 December 1791.

2.  make it legal

Hardwicke’s Marriage Act of 1753 came into force on 25 March 1754, an Act designed for ‘the better preventing of clandestine Marriages’. It was introduced to stem the rise of forced marriages and disputes, and the licence given to the lady was proof of her status.

If getting married in church, the ceremony had to be performed by a clergyman, between the hours of 8am to 12 noon, with two witnesses and the couple signing the Marriage Register to make it legal. Mr Austen was meticulous in his duties, and recorded the weddings in his parish in the Steventon Register. (Of course he sometimes asked his daughter Jane to do this, and she noted her own weddings in the front of the resider on the specimen pages!).

Another way to marry was by an ordinary licence from the local bishop or a special license from the Archbishop of Canterbury. It took longer and was very costly, though a matter of money and status, as Mrs Bennet exclaims of Mr Darcy’s fortune in Pride and Prejudice.

Ten thousand a year, and very likely more! Tis as good as a Lord! And a special licence! You must and shall be married by a special licence!

3. money and love 

In Pride and Prejudice, one of the first things we learn about Mr Darcy is his immense fortune, ‘£10,000 a year!’ He was a millionaire by today’s standards, which explains why Mrs Bennet is so excited that Elizabeth may marry such a rich man.

Jane enjoyed Fanny Burney’s novels, especially Cecilia which influenced her own writing. The novel features a heroine who must marry to inherit her fortune – similar to the plot lines in Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Jane wrote of inheritance, money and marriage, and homelessness, and knew herself that as a clergyman’s daughter she had no dowry to speak of, and money mattered. 

Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.

She turned down a proposal to be mistress of Manydown, as she did not love Harris. In her novel Northanger Abbey she wrote around the same time, Catherine Moreland says, ‘To marry for money is the wickedest thing in existence.’

Cassandra and her fiancee Tom had to wait to marry, as he had yet to inherit a living. He went out to the West Indies to better his situation, which is where he died, and Cassandra remained single the rest of her life.

It was a male dominated world, and when a woman married, she passed from the control of her father to her husband. It had been known that some men put their name on the cover of a published novel that their wife had written, another good reason for Jane not to marry.

4. timing is everything

In the regency period, weddings were often held around Christmas time when families had more time to gather, as the holiday was much longer than it is today. Edward married on 27 December 1791 at a joint wedding with her sister. Jane’s other brother Henry married their cousin Eliza in London by special license on 31 December 1797, New Years Eve.

Mr Austen gave a generous £40 to Henry’s regiment for a feast to celebrate his marriage (the same amount he gave to Jane for her annual allowance). He was particularly fond of Eliza, and kept a portrait of her that she had given him as a gift. A local from the village said that, ‘Mr. Austen has put a coronet on his carriage … because of his son’s being married to a French countess.’

5.  FIND A frock
La Belle Assemblée Morning Dress (1818)

Wearing a specially made traditional white wedding gown with veil did not come into fashion until the Victorian era. Most brides married in their best Sunday dress, with a bonnet or turban adorning their heads. White or another pastel was typically chosen for the gown if it was new, and the wealthy, may get a special dress made for the wedding day. 

While Regency weddings were low key, an exception occurred when the Prince Regent’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, married in 1816. The public were desperate for details, and her elaborate wedding dress was made of silver threads. It was heartbreaking to hear that the following year Charlotte died in childbirth.

1795 The Marriage of George IV when Prince of Wales. By Henry Singleton ...
1795 The Marriage of George IV by Henry Singleton

Mrs Austen dressed in her red riding coat for her wedding that she later cut up to make coats for her little boys! 

6. THE READING of the banns

The Harwicke Marriage Act made marriages more public and a calling of the Banns of Matrimony became a requirement. For three Sundays prior to the wedding the congregation were asked if they had a reason to speak against the marriage.

I publish the Banns of marriage between [Groom’s Name] of [his local parish] and [Bride’s Name] of [her local parish]. If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in Holy matrimony, ye are to declare it. This is the first [second, third] time of asking.

As many people could not read, it was the only way people knew about an upcoming wedding. It comes from the marriage liturgy section of the Book of Common Prayer, first published in 1549 to guide the clergy in their religious duties.

7.  rings

 Engagement rings were not the diamond solitaires you see today. Sometimes a ring might be given as a token of affection in a long engagement, though it was more likely to be a portrait or a lock of hair, as Marianne gave to Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility.

Edward in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility wears a ring made from his fiancee’s hair as a token of their engagement.

It was usual for women to wear wedding rings, and less an obligation for men. In Appleton’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Artin (1869), it stated that ‘Although a ring is absolutely necessary in a Church of England marriage, it may be of any metal, and of any size.’

8. eat caKE

Jane’s niece Caroline (James’s daughter) gave a wonderful description of her sister Anna’s wedding to family friend Ben Lefroy on 8 November 1814.

The breakfast was such as best breakfasts then were. Some variety of bread, hot rolls, buttered toast, tongue, ham and eggs. The addition of chocolate at one end of the table and the wedding-cake in the middle marked the speciality of the day…soon after the breakfast the bride and bridegroom departed. They had a long day’s journey before them to Hendon…. In the evening the servants had cake and wine.

In Jane’s novel Emma, there is lots of talk about the wedding cake, and whether it was good for you or not – even an apothecary is consulted by Mr Woodhouse!

9.  get noticed

The newspaper announcement was, perhaps, the most socially important part of the wedding. Jane once wrote in a letter, ‘The latter writes me word that Miss Blackford is married, but I have never seen it in the papers, and one may as well be single if the wedding is not to be in print.’

In Pride and Prejudice, the simple announcement of Wickham and Lydia’s wedding worries Mrs Bennet. ‘I suppose you have heard of it; indeed, you must have seen it in the papers. It was in the Times and the Courier, I know; though it was not put in as it ought to be. It was only said, ‘Lately, George Wickham Esq., to Miss Lydia Bennet,’ without there being a syllable said of her father, or the place where she lived, or anything.’

10. have a rather large honeymoon (or not)

Literally, the ‘honeymoon’ originally referred to the first month of marriage (a moon) when couples were new to each other. It was not until the early 1800s did people take a post-wedding holiday.

Often, the bride’s sister or closest female friend accompanied the couple, as Julia did Maria in Mansfield Park. When Mr and Mrs Knight visited the Austen’s at Steventon, they took a shine to Edward and took him with them on their honeymoon. As England was at war with France, it made sense to stay local and most couples simply took a short trip to visit friends and family.

In Pride and Prejudice, Mr Collins and Charlotte simply went home.

The wedding took place; the bride and bridegroom set off for Kent from the church door, and every body had as much to say or to hear on the subject as usual.

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REGENCY WEDDINGS AND MARRIAGE QUIZ

  1. Which sisters are married on the same day?
  2. Who marries a lady for her £50,000 fortune?
  3. Which of Jane’s characters get married on her birthday, 16 December?
  4. Who was given £500 to spend on wedding clothes?
  5. Whose wedding is lacking in white satin and lace veils?
  6. Who has two ‘duly inferior’ bridesmaids at her wedding?

Click here for the QUIZ ANSWERS

TAGS: Jane Austen weddings, Regency weddings, Hardwicke Marriage Act, Pride and Prejudice marriage, Marriage Register, marriage laws, why Jane Austen never married, church, honeymoons, eloping in the Regency era, Regency wedding, marriages, Bride, Vows.


Aunt Philadelphia, or Phila to her friends

Catharine had the misfortune, as many heroines have had before her, of losing her parents when she was very young.

Jane Austen – Catharine, or The Bower (From Juvenilia)

Philadelphia Austen Hancock, born 15 May 1730, died 26 February 1792

Rowan and Rowan. Philadelphia Hancock Portrait Mounted on a Ring (John Smart, circa 1741 -1811)

Jane rather admired her Aunt Philadelphia, the elder sister to her father Revd George Austen. She died when Jane was 16 years old, and there must have been many discussions about her life and travels that fascinated a young Jane. It is thought that she wrote her aunt Phila into her Juvenilia, and you can see the beauty of the Austen family in this portrait painted onto a ring.

At a youthful 22 years old, Phila set out for Calcutta, India, to find a husband of her own. Her siblings were early orphans, and with no dowry to speak of nor family connections, she knew she had to marry well to secure her future.

On that long crossing, she made friends with Margaret Maskelyne who was also seeking a husband. They agreed that the East India Company was the place to find single men, and a few months after her arrival on 22 February 1753, Phila married a surgeon Tysoe Saul Hancock.

A miniature portrait of Hancock by John Smart, likely in 1768 (Public Domain)

Margaret met and married his colleague Robert Clive, who eventually became the Commander in Chief of British India. The two couples later befriended another East India couple, Warren and Marian Hastings, and for a short time all three couples shared a home together.

Phila and Tysoe remained childless for nine years until December 1761, when her daughter Eliza was born. It was therefore speculated that Hastings and not Hancock was the father of her only child. To add to the rumours, Hastings gave Eliza, known as his godchild, a huge fortune of ten thousand pounds to secure her future and ensure that Phila would also live comfortably the rest of their lives.

To England

In 1765, the Hancocks returned to England aboard HMS Medway, accompanied by their Indian servants. They arrived in London in the summer of 1765.  Struggling financially, Hancock returned to India where he hoped to increase his fortune for his family. He would never return, and died in Calcutta on 5 November 1775 at the age of 51.

Tysoe-Saul-Hancock-his-wife-Philadelphia-their-daughter-Elizabeth-and-their-Indian-maid-Clarinda
Tysoe Saul Hancock with his wife Philadelphia, their daughter Eliza and their Indian maid Clarinda.Circa 1763–5 by Joshua Reynolds

To Europe

Philadelphia was worried about her future after her husband’s death, as their income would now be restricted and not enough to live in the city of London. With the intention of finding a finishing school for Eliza, they left for Europe in 1777.

Mother and daughter first visited Germany, Belgium and then France, where they settled in Paris. Often attending royal events that included the French Queen, Marie Antoinette, they moved in wealthy circles. It was then in 1781 that Eliza met and married Jean Capot, Comte de Feuillide, who became a French count.

It was on a visit to England that Phila became a grandmother when Eliza gave birth prematurely to a son at Calais on 25 June 1786. The new baby boy was given five impressive names, Hastings-François-Louis-Henri-Eugène.

They returned to France who was at war with England, and decided it was no longer safe to stay. The family returned to England in 1789, around the same time that the French Revolution broke out.

It was also during this time that the first signs of breast cancer appeared. Eliza wrote to her cousin Phylly about her mother’s illness in June 1791,

Dear Cousin, … I wished to have it in my power to inform You of some change for the better; My Dear Mother’s general health continues, Thank God, pretty good and her Breast I trust is in a more promising state than when You quitted Town.

By October Phila’s condition was much worse, and she consulted a surgeon who told her there was no hope. She wrote out her will, and was under his care when she died on 26 February 1792, with her daughter and son-in-law by her side.

She is buried in the churchyard of St John-at-Hampstea in London, where her gravestone reads,

In memory of Philadelphia Wife of Tysoe Saul Hancock whose moral excellence united the practice of every Christian virtue she bore with pious resignation the severest trials of a tedious and painful malady and expired on the 26th day of February 1792 aged 61.

Further reading:

This blog post was inspired by a new book by Jan Merriman titled Jane Austen’s Remarkable Aunt, Philadelphia Hancock: ‘A Girl of Genius and Feeling

Meet Jan and find out more about her research at a special author’s event in April at the Jane Austen House Museum

Read more about Phila’s daughter Eliza and her dalliance with the Austen family in the blog post For the Love of Eliza

Deirdre Le Faye (1979) a paper titled Jane Austen and Her Hancock Relatives

Thank you to Rowan and Rowan for their photographs of Philadelphia Hancock‘s Jewellery found through Geri Walton, who has written a more in-depth blog post that contains excerpts from her own book, Jane Austen’s Cousin: The Outlandish Countess de Feuillide.

Exhibition Review: In Training for a Heroine: Jane Austen’s Travel Writing Desk

Friday 15th November 2024 – Sunday 23rd February 2025

Jane Austen’s writing desk is now on display at God’s House Tower, where it remains until February 23, as part of region-wide events to celebrate her 250th birthday.

IN TRAINING FOR A HEROINE is one of the first Jane Austen 250 events happening to celebrate her birth, starting in November 2024.

The focus of the exhibition is Jane Austen’s writing slope, a travel writing desk that Jane took everywhere with her. On show at the aptly named God’s House Tower in Southampton, it is on loan from the British Library. It is the first time the desk has been back in the city since Jane Austen lived here 200 years ago, just a stone’s throw from where she lived at Castle Square.

The travel writing slope is in a special case in the middle of the room, which feels just like a Castle, and reminders of Jane’s writing of Northanger Abbey is everywhere..

Jane Austen travel writing slope at the In Training for a Heroine exhibition
Jane Austen’s Travel Writing Slope is the treasure of the In Training for a Heroine Exhibition at God’s House Tower in Southampton

In Training for a Heroine told the story Jane Austen as a young, ambitious writer at the beginning of her career, the travelling writing desk symbolising a world of opportunity and possibility. Extracts from Jane Austen’s letters provide an insight into her life and her time in Southampton where she lived briefly in 1783 and from 1806-1809.

Dan Crow, Director of ‘a space’ arts, which manages God’s House Tower said: “We are thrilled to host the travelling writing desk and look forward to producing an exhibition that will launch a city-wide programme of events and activities to mark Jane’s 250th birthday.

Claire Whitaker, CEO of Southampton Forward, said: “This is a great opportunity for the city. The return of Jane Austen’s desk to Southampton marks the first in a series of events which celebrate ‘Jane Austen 250’, which is part of a regional programme. “These events will celebrate Jane Austen’s deep ties to Southampton, invite different perspectives of her life and literary works and explore her writing through a contemporary lens”.

Jane Austen’s Travel Writing Slope

Mr Austen purchased the slope for Jane’s 19th birthday in 1794. It is a portable, mahogany desk, sometimes called a ‘lap-desk’, was designed to fold into a case for ease of traveling. It has a secret drawer where Jane stored her most treasured possessions, including letters and manuscripts, and her money!

Jane Austen’s Travel Writing Slope on show.. you can see up close in this photograph the damage it has sustained over time..

Almost Lost

While traveling to Dartford in 1798, she nearly lost it when the slope was accidentally put onto a carriage which was on its way to Gravesend, and the West Indies! Jane told the dramatic story to Cassandra on  24 October 1798.

I should have begun my letter soon after our arrival but for a little adventure which prevented me.  After we had been here a quarter of an hour it was discovered that my writing and dressing boxes had been by accident put into a chaise which was just packing off as we came in, and were driven away towards Gravesend in their way to the West Indies.  No part of my property could have been such a prize before, for in my writing-box was all my worldly wealth. . . . Mr. Nottley immediately despatched a man and horse after the chaise, and in half an hour’s time I had the pleasure of being as rich as ever; they were got about two or three miles off.

Letters, Sketches and Recorded Clips

Wall display of items relating to Jane Austen’s time in Southampton and the move to Chawton House, where the Austen ladies moved from here

God’s House Tower

Jane would have left town through God’s House Gate, at the south-eastern corner of the town’s walls. God’s House Gate is accessed from Winkle Street, inside the old walled town of Southampton. It was built in the thirteenth century and enlarged in the fourteenth, and allowed access in and out of the walled town, and led directly to Porter’s Meadow and the ferry that took her across the River Itchen.

God’s House Tower in Southampton, part of the original walls that were built to protect the city from French invasion during the Wars

TAGS: Jane Austen, Travel, Writing Slope, British Library, Letters, Regency era, Regency, Southampton, Birthday, 250th, Anniversary, Exhibition, Treasures, In Training for a Heroine.

See Jane’s Travel Writing Slope from all angles at the British Library.

Read the British Library blog post about Jane Austen 250

Read an in-depth review of the exhibition in a post by JASNA