What did Jane Austen and Fanny Burney have in common?

What inspired Jane Austen to write those famous first lines of Pride and Prejudice?

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Perhaps this sentence echoes Jane Austen's contemporary, Fanny Burney's (1752-1840) Camilla, where she writes: "It is received wisdom among match-makers, that a young lady without fortune has a less and less chance of getting off upon every public appearance". 

Jane Austen took several influences from authors that she admired, such as Maria Edgeworth, Samuel Johnson and Jane West. Did you know that, during Jane Austen's lifetime, there were plenty of proliferous female authors around? While Jane Austen herself wasn't famous for her works and only became slightly better known as an authoress towards the end of her life, Fanny Burney (also known as Frances D'Arblay) was a well-known and celebrated Georgian author and much admired by young Jane Austen herself. Fanny Burney only became overshadowed by Jane Austen much, much later during the Victorian era. 

In fact, in Fanny Burney's novel Cecilia (1782), the term, Pride and Prejudice, is mentioned three times, in block capitals. One example reads:  “The whole of this unfortunate business,” said Dr Lyster, “has been the result of PRIDE and PREJUDICE.” The powerful alliteration must have stuck firmly to young Jane's mind. 

I have written a more detailed analysis of Fanny Burney's most famous book, Evelina. I believe that Jane Austen's creation of Mr Darcy is influenced by Burney's male hero, Lord Osbourne, Evelina's broody and moody love interest in the novel. They meet at an assembly and get on very badly to begin with but are eventually united. There are many more similaries in Camilla as well. 

I recently read Claire Harman's biography of Fanny Burney, and it was fascinating to learn more about the author who was one of the most popular authors of her generation and who had a very eventful life. Based on my reading, I thought I might compare the two authors and their similarities and differences. 

Similarities between Jane Austen and Fanny Burney: 

-Both authors grew up in the Georgian era, although Fanny Burney was 23 years older than Jane Austen, having been born in 1752.

-Both wrote about young female protagonists. Burney's titles include 'Evelina', 'Cecilia' and 'Camilla', while Austen had 'Elinor and Marianne' (early title of Sense and Sensibility), 'Susan' (early title of Northanger Abbey), 'Catharine' (an early fragment) and 'Emma'.

-Austen's Northanger Abbey follows a similar pattern of a coming-of-age novel to Burney's Evelina. Like Evelina, Catherine Morland is a simple, naive character entering the world and "society", makes mistakes and learns as she matures in the novel.  

-Both authors have adopted a highly stylised, complex style of writing and write about manners and morals. Both use clever, often comical dialogue to portray characters and their voices.

-Both authors lived in Bath at around the same time, but it is not known if they met. 

Differences between Jane Austen and Fanny Burney: 

-Unlike Jane Austen, who lived a relatively quiet life as the daughter of a country clergyman, unknown to the public, Fanny Burney was born into a cultured family of authors. Her father, Charles Burney, was a music historian, composer and musician. Burney grew up in London, in the middle of fine society, mingling in theatrical and literary circles, and was always well known and recognised throughout her lifetime. 

-Although Jane Austen was invited to Carlton House to meet the Prince Regent's librarian, she never met members of the royal family. Austen was famously sceptical of the Prince Regent, sympathising with his long-suffering wife, Princess Caroline. She wrote, "Poor woman, I shall support her as long as I can, because she is a Woman and because I hate her Husband." Fanny Burney, on the other hand, was a firm monarchist and had, a few decades earlier, been appointed Mistress of the Robes to Queen Charlotte (The Prince Regent's mother). Burney suffered greatly during her five year stint in the palace, but continued to support the queen after leaving her royal duties. Burney also mingled with the French royal family while she lived in Paris. 

-Although Jane Austen was well travelled in the south of England, she never ventured abroad. Burney, on the other hand, married a French exile, General D'Arblay, and they lived across both countries and had a bilingual family. The couple were stranded in France for over a decade due to the war between England and France in the early 1800s. 

-While Jane Austen sets most of her scenes inside people's houses, Fanny Burney's books are mostly set in London and often outdoors - at the theatre or in a pleasure garden and so on - reflecting the sociable life that Burney led. 

A Review of "Unmarriageable" by Soniah Kamal

While I don't usually read much fan fiction or spin-offs, I just had to get hold of Soniah Kamal's Unmarriageable, which is a South Asian take on Pride and Prejudice. Having lived in South Asia for 12 years and having got married there, I was sure that this rewrite would resonate with me, as I could relate to the characterisations and contexts - which I absolutely did. 

I feel that any of the Jane Austen novels would adapt well to South Asian literature and cinema, a topic which I will explore further in another post. There are so many similarities between Regency society and the social norms of contemporary South Asian culture. The marriage market, the stereotypical over-zealous, matchmaking mothers and aunties, the limited freedom of young women, marital gold diggers, societal taboos surrounding marriage and sex... it's all there in Pride and Prejudice - and in modern-day Pakistan (and elsewhere in South Asia). 

Many modern day South Asian girls battle with similar moral dilemmas to girls of Jane Austen's era, with pressure to marry a man of their parents' choice and to give up their careers after marriage. Premarital relationships would be unheard of and illegitimate children a definite no-no - which is why Mr Wickaam turns out to be a villain just like in the original story. 

This novel shows a modern, independent, free-thinking Elizabeth - young teacher, Alys Binat - who, like Elizabeth Bennet, isn't afraid to voice her opinions.  Alys, like her sisters, is under tremendous pressure from her mother, Mrs Binat, to marry and marry well. Soniah Kamal's Mrs Binat is very much like Mrs Bennet in P and P, hysterical, ridiculous, and in need of tranquillisers. Alys won't marry the rude, proud, snobbish Valentine Darcee - whose proposal she declines, as he is "unmarriageable". Neither will she marry the riciculous but wealthy, "suitable boy", Farhat Kaleen (Mr Collins). One of my favourite scenes in the novel is Mr Kaleen's proposal to Alys - very much like Mr Collins's - with his premeditated flowery phrases full of praise and pomp.

In Unmarriageable, Kamal really brings Jane Austen's spirit to life. The plot mirrors that of Pride and Prejudice and there are so many parallels between Alys' story and that of the original; the characters and their idiosyncrasies, the humour and wit, but there are also many South Asian references, which are very well explained to someone less familiar with the culture. In the first chapter, in her role as a teacher at an all-girls school, Alys discusses the role of women in Pakistani society -  a wonderful introduction to their world and the issues that girls and women deal with. After that, the story slows down a little and it did take me a while to get into the story, but it got much more interesting towards the end. 

There are several references to Pride and Prejudice in the book and, as Alys says (p.227), "we are... a society teeming with Austen's cruel Mrs Norrises, snobby looks-obsessed Sir Walters, and conniving John Thorpes and Lady Susans." I'm pretty sure you could find many a Mrs Bennet, a Lydia and a Mary Bennet in Pakistan as well! 

Following Colin Firth's footsteps at Lacock Abbey!

I absolutely love Lacock, as visiting the village feels like visiting a film set and it really takes you back to Pride and Prejudice (1995). On our last visit, the Lacock Abbey cloisters were closed for filming a Netflix series, so we missed seeing those, and this time we were lucky enough to have a peek. 

Lacock Abbey (now a National Trust property) was founded in 1229, and its vaulted rooms were used as a nunnery of the Augustinian order.

The gardens are lovely to walk around and picnic in. 

We have previously visited the manor house, which was built over the old cloisters in the 16th century. The house later became the home of William Henry Fox Talbot, who created the earliest camera negative. 

The house is currently closed, but the gardens and cloister are really worth a visit... and I shall tell you why!

Of course, the medieval cloister (above) downstairs is more famously known as Hogwarts school in Harry Potter, but as that is not exactly my genre, the cloister is far more familiar to me from Pride and Prejudice. This is where the flashback scene of Mr Darcy at Cambridge University was filmed and where we learn more about Mr Wickham's character and Mr Darcy's relationship with Mr Wickham. 

Colin Firth is filmed walking down the corridor, until he enters a room where he finds Mr Wickham "misbehaving" with a girl!

Also, the Lacock Abbey stables (below) were used as the exterior of the coaching inn where Lydia and Kitty meet their sisters when they return from London. Lydia throws open a window and waves at her sisters, and later inside the inn (shot elsewhere) they gossip about men and hats. 

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting another Jane Austen film location - do have a look at my previous blog from Lacock for a tour around Lacock village. 

Death Comes to Pemberley and A Fan Moment With Matthew Goode

I've never been much into fan fiction or sequels of Jane Austen, thinking that I didn't want to mess around with my idea of Jane Austen's writing. I was pleasantly surprised when, finding "Death Comes to Pemberley" on Amazon Prime, I actually really enjoyed this mini-series. 

Death Comes to Pemberley is based on a novel by crime novelist P. D. James. I haven't read the novel yet, so I am not in the position to assess whether it is a good adaptation of James' novel, but I enjoyed it as a sequel to Jane Austen's work. I was impressed by the acting and thought the storyline was very captivating and credible. I was intrigued until the very end to find out who the murderer was. The series had all the essential elements of Pride and Prejudice woven into the screenplay, and the characters were recognisable. It resonated Jane Austen's wit, and I think that she herself would have enjoyed the story, given the fact that her juvenilia was full of stories like this and she may well have been amused by the twists to her story. 

Image from Wikipedia: https://binged.it/38WP7bi

I also loved seeing Matthew Goode cast as Wickham in this adaptation. I was smitten by Matthew Goode in Downton Abbey, a series which I really enjoyed, and I thought he made a great dashing villain in Death Comes to Pemberley as well. 

To my great surprise, I had the good luck of bumping into the said gentleman as I was visiting Oxford a couple of years ago. I was at the Bodleian Library with my family and I was quite shocked as I walked right up to him at a doorway to the library courtyard, and there he was, right in front of me, staring at me straight in the face. I immediately recognised him and thought that he was even more dashing in real life! He was incredibly handsome, in a Bond-like manner, dressed in a slim black suit - this reminded me of him as Henry Talbot in Downton Abbey. 

I was too embarrassed to ask for a photo, and I was mortified when my husband teasingly said that I'd love a photo with him, but Matthew was a perfect gentleman and happily obliged! He told me that he was shooting a Netflix series at the Bodleian (I later found out that they were shooting "A Discovery of Witches" - not my type of genre but perhaps some of you have seen it?). What a shy fangirl moment that was!

On Location in Lacock

Last Mother's Day (wow, it has taken me a year to write this post!) I was taken to Lacock in Wiltshire for a treat. I am a big fan of the National Trust, and I had wanted to visit Lacock for a long time, as it is one of the most famous film locations for several period dramas - most interestingly, the location for Meryton in Pride and Prejudice (1995) and Highbury in my favourite adaptation of Emma (1996 with Kate Beckinsale) - not to forget Downton Abbey. 

Stepping into Lacock is like stepping back in time. Lacock Abbey dates back to 1232, and the village houses are several centuries old. You can easily imagine why production companies might choose this as a location, as the village has changed very little over the centuries, there is not a satellite dish in sight (those are banned by the National Trust), and the only thing to remind us of our modern times is the cars parked on the side of the road. 

Lacock is, however, a working village with a school, village hall, church, quaint boutiques and several pubs, but walking the roads truly feels like walking through a film set. 

The High Street was used as a location for the Meryton high street. The exterior of the Red Lion pub on your left was used as a location for Meryton Assembly Rooms in P & P where Sir Lucas' country ball was held. Don't you love all those vintage cars parked outside? 

The High Street was also seen as shops in Pride and Prejudice, such as the haberdasher's shop where the Bennet sisters stopped to look at bonnets until they were interrupted by Mr Wickham (and a cold greeting from Mr Darcy). 

Another street, Church Street, served as the high street of Highbury in Emma. 

St Cyriac's Church was where the Westons'  wedding was shot at the beginning of Emma and perhaps some of the other wedding scenes as well (who recognises the church?)

I enjoyed reading "The Making of Jane Austen's Emma", which was a companion for the 1996 film. In the book, there are interesting stories about the production in Lacock. We learn that the company had just three days to film the Lacock scenes, as it was a busy time in the village and the National Trust didn't wish to have filming during the weekends, which are their busiest time with tourists flocking the village. 

It was fascinating to read about how the village was transformed from 1996 to 1813. Ground cover was laid, earth and grit spread around the roads, autumn leaves and manure scattered around the floor, straw for horses left in places... 

Some of the facades, for example Miss Bates' house, were changed entirely, and signs were changed to period ones, film lights added in front of windows and cars moved from the roads. Even the existing flowers were swapped with more period-appropriate ones. 



Some of you might recognise this house as being Harry Potter's first home. 

Harry Potter's Hogwart's school was shot in Lacock Abbey cloisters. This was also used as a location for Cambridge University, where Mr Darcy studied as a young man with Mr Wickham. We visited Lacock Abbey as well, which is an interesting building in itself, but the cloisters were closed at the time as there was a film crew working on a series. 

There are stalls and shops selling various Harry Potter related paraphernalia around the village, catering to the flocks of tourists that visit the village. I loved it how there were many stalls (as below) in front of people's houses, selling crafts and preserves with an honesty box and not a salesman in sight. Obviously, being a National Trust village, there is a feeling of trust that people will behave sensibly and be kind to the locals. 

All in all, Lacock is a wonderful place to visit and I would recommend a day trip there with a visit to the Abbey, one of the lovely ancient pubs, and the quaint gift shops that line the streets of Lacock, spotting familiar film locations on the way. 

You can get more information on Lacock and several other film locations in Karin Quint's guidebook and do have a look at the film companions for some interesting snippets. 

Further reading: 

Birtwistle, S. & Conklin, S. (1996) The Making of Jane Austen's Emma. Penguin Books. 
Birtwistle, S. & Conklin, S. (1995) The Making of Pride and Prejudice. Penguin Books. 
Quint, Karin. (2019 Jane Austen's England - A Travel Guide. ACC Art Books. 

Winter Visit to Basildon Park (Netherfield)

Yesterday I visited Basildon Park, a large, beautiful Georgian country house owned by the National Trust and situated in the Thames Valley in Berkshire, down the road from Reading. I had been hoping to visit the place for quite some time, as the mansion is famous for serving as a filming location for several period dramas, such as Downton Abbey, the Duchess, and Pride and Prejudice (2005). 

Admittedly, I am no fan of the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, as I am only too conscious of the historical inaccuracies in this adaptation of one of my favourite novels. However, I do admit that many of the locations in the film are gorgeous and, cinematographically, the film does have some beautiful scenes in it. 

In the film, Basildon Park is the location of Netherfield, Mr Bingley's home. The two main scenes filmed there include the Netherfield Ball (filmed in the dining room) and Lizzy's visit to Netherfield (filmed in the Octagon Room). The Dining Room (below) was also used as a location for the Downton Abbey London home. 

A volunteer, who was there during the shooting of Pride and Prejudice, interestingly told me that the filming day was an extremely hot summer's day. There were up to 200 people in the Dining Room at any one time with the dancers, the orchestra, and the filming crew all packed in these sweaty conditions. The number of people seems very large, as the room is not as spacious at it appears on film, with a large mirror mounted on the back wall creating an illusion of extra space. In addition, there were decorated boards covering the original design of the walls, making the room even smaller! The furniture was obviously moved from the room, as was the 200-year-old carpet, for the duration of the dancing. 

The allegedly 200-year-old carpet that was rolled up and stored in the attic for the duration of the filming.

The Octagon Room (below) was the scene of some prickly repartee, where Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley admire the ladies and pass some comments while  Lizzy takes a turn about the room with Miss Bingley. Here, too, the original crimson-coloured walls walls were covered with pastel-coloured board, changing the entire look of the room. 

The mansion itself dates back to the 18th Century (Georgian era) and was commissioned by Francis Sykes in 1771. Having made a fortune in the East India Company, Sykes was looking for a home befitting his status, and Basildon Park just served the purpose. For this reason, there is a room dedicated to India downstairs (below), beautifully decorated with elaborate landscape wallpaper. The room displays Indian items of clothing and stories written by people about their memories from India. I almost felt like writing a memoir of my own and adding it in! Or perhaps I could have added the bit about Jane Austen and her Colonial Connections...

A kurta and a sari and pictures of Indian nawabs with exotic wallpaper. 

Some of the original Georgian features were still there, such as this beautiful ceiling decorated with plasterwork. 

We also had a look at the bedrooms, some of which still had a period design. 

This regal-looking four-poster bed dates back to the 1820s. 

This one was more modern, with textiles designed by the the last resident of the house, Lady Ilyffe. 

The drawing room displayed some impressive paintings from the family collection. 

       

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Basildon Park and its beautiful parkland, with glimpses of the Thames flowing right below (almost visible in the picture below)... 

“The Real Mr Darcy” or Perhaps Not?

Having just visited the “Jane Austen Among Family and Friends” mini exhibition at the British Library, I thought I would share my thoughts about the exhibition, but decided against it, as something else quite captivating has cropped up! Don’t take me wrong, I did enjoy the exhibition, which forms part of the several Jane Austen 200 festivities that take place around Britain this year to mark the bicentenary of her death. It was interesting to see some of Jane Austen’s teenage writings, as well as many of her original letters where she lists people’s opinions on her works and describes important personal events, such as her father’s death. The touching writing desk and glasses were exhibited at Willis Museum in Basingstoke last year. However, for understandable reasons, photography is not allowed at the British Library and I didn’t come back with much to share.

However, I thought I should mention my thoughts regarding the current hot topic of “The Real Mr Darcy”! It amuses me how scholars have taken up a criticism of the current representation of Mr Darcy in popular culture and have gone to lengths to prove that the popular image of Mr Darcy is utterly wrong! The topic has been on all the leading UK newsmedia with sensational headlines, such as “the 'Real’ Mr Darcy was nothing like Colin Firth” (the BBC) and “Real Mr Darcy was more ballet dancer than beefcake” (The Times), and so on and so forth. The whole discussion has left austenites almost betrayed, begging to keep the “hot Mr Darcy” of their imagination.

Watch the making of the portrait: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0CjIV1oBQ0

The whole discussion is based on revelations made by professors John Sutherland and Amanda Vickery who spent a month researching the male beauty norms of Georgian England, and actually commissioned “the first historically accurate portrait” of Mr Darcy, created by the artist Nick Hardcastle. The portrait shows a pale-skinned man with narrow shoulders and strong, defined legs, with long, powdered hair, a narrow jaw and a long, pointy nose. The portrait would appear to be a contrast to the muscular, angular-jawed Colin Firth who in the adaptation has short, dark hair and slightly tanned skin.

Now I do feel that there is truth in that the noblemen of the period would probably have spent a great deal of time indoors and been quite pale in general, which clearly was the beauty norm of the day. It is also quite likely that muscular torsos were associated with the working classes and, as the main sports popular at the time were horse-riding and fencing, gentlemen must have been more slender and had muscular legs rather than well-built upper bodies. Many of the icons of the time period did have long, narrow jaws and long, pointy noses, as did the Austen brothers in their portraits.

However, I am not at all convinced that the hairstyle sported by Mr Darcy would necessarily have been long and powdered or that he would have worn a wig. Jane Austen wrote the first version of Pride and Prejudice, then called "First Impressions", in 1796-1797, which she revised for publication in 1811-1812. As I have written previously, the fashion revolution that significantly reduced the use of wigs and powder took place in 1795, the same year as hair powder tax was introduced. After that, powder was mainly used by liveried servants, lawyers and perhaps the older generations, who in many ways preferred the old styles of fashion. Most young people must have switched to the more modern, relaxed, shorter hairstyles that required no powder. And I believe that Mr Darcy must have been at the forefront of fashion, mixing with the fashionable crowds of London.

I am also skeptical of the claim that the character of Mr Darcy was inspired by the First Earl of Morley. I don’t think that Jane Austen would have admired him, as he was known to be mired in a sex scandal and that is a topic that Jane Austen dealt with strictly in Mansfield Park. She was a moral writer, with a strong sense of responsibility, critical of "loose morals", and Morley simply wasn't her type. 

The novel is clearly a product of the Georgian rather than of the Regency period, but we will never know for sure exactly how Mr Darcy would have looked in the author’s imagination. Does it really matter?

What is so great about Colin Firth is not whether his looks are a historically accurate match for Mr Darcy, but that he really brought the character to life, appealing to the modern audience. Thanks to the adaptation, Pride and Prejudice is now much better known all around the world, and I’m thankful for it.

Pride and Prejudice Revisited

Still being kept super busy with my baby, I will try to post to my blog every now and then. I still actively follow other Jane Austen blogs, although I may not have the time to comment or contribute to them that often.

This month being the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, many bloggers have chosen to discuss themes related to Jane Austen’s most popular novel. Some time ago, I spotted this lovely little documentary on Pride and Prejudice in a Dutch blog,  Jane Austen.

Part 1

Pride and Prejudice Revisited interviews various well-known and established Jane Austen biographers and screenwriters for the adaptations, who each recount their experiences with Jane Austen. It is interesting to hear what first attracted them to Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice in particular, and why they have continued their association with the writer.

The documentary also discusses the modern adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, from Bridget Jones’ Diary to Bride and Prejudice, pointing out why all the the vastly different adaptations have been ever so popular. This brings light to the immortality of Jane’s novels and their adaptability to modern culture.

According to the documentary – and I would have to agree – it was the ground-breaking 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that truly brought Pride and Prejudice to the masses and brought people to love Jane Austen. Perhaps the sexualisation of Mr Darcy with the ‘wet shirt scene’ had something to do with it…?!

The screenwriter for the 1995 miniseries, Andrew Davies, points out how Jane Austen’s novels read differently in different eras, resulting in very different adaptations of the same novels. Wouldn’t you agree that the popular 2005 film with Keira Knightley  caters much more to the modern taste than the tamer, more slow-paced 1980 version for instance? (I will, however, stay partial to Davies’ 1995 version, with its amazing period detail, witty dialogue and slow progress towards culmination, as in the novel).

The documentary also analyses why people have grown to adore and admire the character of Elizabeth, who has become the ideal woman for many – she is, after all, both beautiful and intelligent, with “a twinkle in her eye” (well said!) and a wit unmatched in the world of literature.

Part 2

The second part of the documentary discusses, for example, why the proud, arrogant Mr Darcy remains so attractive to readers.

Sue Birtwistle, the producer for the 1995 Pride and Prejudice, makes the interesting point how most stories in romantic fiction actually retell the story of Elizabeth and Darcy and how they become attracted to each other against all odds.

She also draws attention to how the characters in the novel are archetypes, characters that live on in literature as well as in life. We all know a flirtatious, attention-seeking Lydia and an odious, off-putting Mr Collins, don’t we?

Part 3

Something that often goes unnoticed is how Jane Austen, through her stories, brings light to the snobbery and injustice in society. The third part of the documentary reveals how this translates to other cultures as well, showing the examples of the cultures of Iran and India, where women sometimes have to go against their family and society, just like the characters in Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is a story that could very well happen in modern-day Asia. 

The documentary points out the the huge effect that the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has had on the world of costume drama. Can you honestly say that you remember any quality costume drama before the year 1995?

xxx

I really enjoyed the documentary, as I always love to hear opinions on my favourite novel, and what could be more interesting than to hear the viewpoints of those who are experts on the subject! I also love the snippets from  various adaptations that make up this lovely documentary.

Have you already seen this and did you learn anything interesting from watching it?

They lived happily ever after… and then?

As we all know, Jane Austen’s heroes and heroines all had their share of happy endings (and the villains perhaps less happy ones, deservedly). Although Jane Austen never wrote sequels to her novels and gave little indication of what would happen to her characters after the wedding, she is known to have shared these little secrets with her close friends and family, such as her nephews and nieces.

Let’s have a look at these intriguing nibbles of information!

 

Sense and Sensibility

Ann Steele, Lucy Steele’s older sister, who can’t stop talking about the eligible Dr Davies, never managed to catch him in the end.

 

Pride and Prejudice

One of the foolish younger Bennet sisters, Kitty, ended up marrying a clergyman near Pemberley, being close to Elizabeth and enjoying a wider, classier social circle.

The plain younger sister, Mary, married one of Uncle Phillips’ clerks and was content with the small social circle of Meryton.

 

Emma

Mr Woodhouse continued to live for 2 years after Emma’s marriage, keeping Emma and Mr Knightley from settling down at Donwell Abbey until then.

While playing the alphabet game that irritated many of those present, Frank Churchill placed some letters in front of Jane Fairfax, which she brushed aside in anguish, without reading them. These letters contained the word ‘pardon’.

The weak, poorly Jane Fairfax only lived for another 9-10 years after her wedding, succumbing to tuberculosis. 

 

Mansfield Park  

The ‘considerable amount’ of money given by the insufferable Mrs Norris to Fanny’s brother, William, was one pound.

Jane Austen had a high regard for her heroes and felt that they were of higher calibre than the real men of her acquaintance. Edmund Bertram was along with Emma’s Mr Knightley, one of her two favourite characters.  “They are very far from being what I know English gentlemen often are”, she described (A Memoir, p. 118).

                                              *                      *                       *

Unfortunately, Jane Austen never got to share her secrets of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, as these novels were published after her death and those close to her never had the chance to give their views to the author.

If you had had the chance to meet Jane Austen, what would you have asked her about her characters?

 

References:

Austen-Leigh, J-E. (2002). A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections. Oxford World Classics.

Le Faye, D. (2002) Jane Austen – The World of Her Novels. Frances Lincoln.

 

Images from: http://sharetv.org