The Fascinating Story of Hester Wheeler - an Inspiration for Colonel Brandon's foster child?

Whenever I study the life and times of Jane Austen, I come across interesting stories of her contemporaries. One such story is that of Hester Wheeler - foster child of the Chute family, who lived at the Vyne, an estate close to my home. Did the story of Hester Wheeler inspire Jane Austen in her writing? 

                                                                   The Vyne from across the river. 

You may remember reading about my earlier visits to the Vyne. The Vyne is a tudor mansion located in Sherborne St John, close to Basingstoke, and was the home of John and Eliza Chute, friends of the Austen family. James Austen was vicar of Sherborne St John and the Austen brothers were close to the Chutes. The brothers often went hunting with John Chute, and the Austen family sometimes visited the Vyne. Jane, however, didn't seem to warm to Eliza Chute, as discussed in my blog. 

                                                            The Georgian style staircase inside the house.

The Chutes got married in 1793 and had a long marriage, but it is unlikely to have been a happy one. Eliza Chute was a well-read and intelligent woman, who like other women of her times, lacked the freedom of independence and was lonely in the big house, and never managed to have a child of her own. 

                                                        A botanical painting by the talented Eliza Chute. 

After 10 years of marriage, the Chutes adopted Caroline Wiggett, a distant cousin of Mr Chute, in 1803 when she was 3 years old.

                                                                                Caroline Wiggett

Caroline considered Eliza and John as her aunt and uncle, and some say that the story of Caroline's adoption inspired the story of Fanny Price. She is said to have had a lonely childhood at the Vyne (like Fanny Price), but Jane Austen seems to have considered Eliza Chute a loving foster mother, as in 1817 when Caroline Wiggett was severely ill, she writes, "I am sorry to hear of Caroline Wiggetts being so ill. Mrs Chute would feel almost like a mother in losing her". Adoption by wealthy relatives was relatively common at the time and, despite the similarities, I feel that Fanny's story may equally well have been inspired by Jane's own brother, Edward's story, don't you think?

                                                                                 Playroom in the orangery. 

The Chutes then took in another child, Hester Wheeler, to live with them in 1814. Caroline Austen, Jane Austen's niece, was very fond of Hester and fascinated by her dramatic life story, and recalls in 1814: "In the summer of this year, I had the great pleasure of a friend and companion in Hester Wheeler, a girl about thirteen, whom Mrs Chute had brought to The Vyne about twelvemonth before. I had heard a great deal of her from my brother and brother's being so often there...To me she was a very delightful companion, the first I had ever felt really fond of, and it seemed afterwards that our intimacy must have lasted much longer than the twelve days, which I see  was the term of her visit, so deep was the impression she made on me. Long before, I had eagerly listened to her history, all that I could hear of it, and how it was that she came to be at The Vine." 

                                                                                      Eliza Chute 

                                                                                  John Chute 

Caroline explains how Hester's great-aunt had been governess to the Chute family and Mrs Chute had acknowledged "a strong claim of charity towards the family". "They were in very humble life, as Hester never sought to conceal. They must have at one time kept a shop, for she told me of a recollection of standing on her grandmother's counter." 

And now to the scandalous part, as Caroline recollects: "Hester's mother was singularly beautiful; and unhappily a Captain Wheeler, stationed in the town, fell in some sort of love with her, and married her. He also deserted her, a few months afterwards, before Hester's birth, and never reappeared. In time it came to be rumoured that he was a married man when he first made her acquintance, and even that Wheeler was not his real name - but nobody ever knew. How much his young wife had loved him, and how much she grieved for him, as I never heard I will not pretend to say; but she was left in sad straits and difficulties, and had to seek maintenance for herself and her child, and leaving the little girl with her relations, she entered the family of Mr Beach as governess to his daughter. The position was different then from what it is now; for she acted as lady's maid to my Aunt Mrs Fowle... her health soon failed, and she fell into a decline." 

Caroline then recounts how Hester's mother (and Hester) had been looked after by the Chutes at The Vyne until she died, and had then taken Hester in to live with them. Hester had been home educated and grew up to become quite a rebellious teenager, and eventually became a governess like her mother and died young of the same disease as her mother had.  

The story of Hester echoes that of Colonel Brandon and his foster child by Eliza. Hester's story may well have inspired Jane Austen when writing about Eliza, but Captain Wheeler's promiscuous character also reminds me of Willoughby and Wickham. Jane Austen certainly drew inspiration from the local gossip and stories whispered by her friends and neighbours, and wrote about things actually happening around her. 

References and further reading: 

Reminiscences of Caroline Austen. (1986) The Jane Austen Society. 

Jane Austen’s Letters Collected and edited by Deirdre Le Faye (Third Edition). Oxford University Press (1997).

Tomalin, C. Jane Austen - A Life. Viking (1997). 

My visit to the Vyne: https://austenised.blogspot.com/2016/08/visiting-chutes-at-vyne.html

Tony Grant's visit to the Vyne (Jane Austen's World): https://janeaustensworld.com/tag/chute-family/