I shall retreat in as much secrecy as possible to the most remote corner of the house, where I shall order a barrel of oysters, and be famously snug.
Jane Austen, The Watsons
Spotlight on The Watsons Explores Jane Austen’s Abandoned Novel
Jane Austen started writing The Watsons around 1803 and probably stopped working on it after her father died in January 1805. According to Jane’s great-niece Fanny, Jane began the novel “Somewhere in 1804… but her father died early in 1805 and it was never finished.”
The story follows Emma Watson, who is forced to return to her birth family after the rich uncle who adopted her dies without leaving her an inheritance. Only five chapters (roughly 18,000 words) were ever completed.
When Jane’s sister, Cassandra, showed the manuscript of this work to some of her nieces, she also told them something of the intended story. Mr. Watson was soon to die, and Emma would be dependent on sister-in-law and brother for a home. She was to decline an offer of marriage from Lord Osborne, and much of the interest of the tale was to arise from Lady Osborne’s love for Mr Howard, and his counter affection for Emma, whom he was finally to marry.
As with Sanditon, other creators have finished The Watsons including Austen’s niece Catherine Hubback, and Jane’s great-great-niece Edith Brown.
As Margaret Drabble writes, “One feels that through [Emma] Jane Austen was expressing the indignation of a whole class of women, to which she herself belonged.”
The History of the Manuscript
The original manuscript was 80 pages long and inherited by Jane’s sister Cassandra upon Jane’s death. She divided up the pages in 1915. It was untitled, so the fragment was published in 1871 under the title of The Watsons, chosen by Jane’s nephew (James) Edward Austen-Leigh.
A small section is now held by the Morgan Library & Museum in New York and the remaining 68 pages by the Bodleian Library in Oxford. They bought the rare manuscript, which features paper patches used by the economical author for making revisions, for almost £1 million ($1.64 million) at Sotheby’s in 2011.
The Watsons on Show
The manuscript is written into 11 booklets, one of which will be on display at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, at their permanent exhibition Jane Austen and the Art of Writing.
“This is a rare opportunity to glimpse Jane Austen at work and her fiction as she created it. Jane Austen’s art is famously frugal. The densely filled and patched small pages of The Watsons manuscript offer us a precious insight into that rich and mysterious frugality.” Museum trustee Kathryn Sutherland told the BBC.
The unfinished novel is made all the more valuable because all of Jane’s manuscripts are lost, except for the ending of Persuasion, which Jane rewrote. The Watsons will be on view through to Jane’s birthday on December 16
The Watsons in Film
Professor Kathryn Sutherland examines the manuscript and discusses her thoughts and insights into Jane’s creative processes.
The film is available from 28 November 2024 online, and visitors to the Jane Austen House Museum can see the film about The Watsons as part of a new permanent exhibition, Jane Austen and the Art of Writing.
The rare books on display alongside are part of the museum’s preparations for Jane’s 250th birthday celebrations in December 2025.
