Join me on my Sense and Sensibility tour of London!

A few weeks ago, I visited London and decided to tour some of the locations mentioned in Sense and Sensibility, which is largely set in London. 

At Jane Austen's time, central London was concentrated on a much smaller area, and the most fashionable district was between the Piccadilly, Mayfair and Hyde Park area. 

Portman Square was one of the fashionable spots to live. 

Portman Square

The square was built in the Georgian times by John Berkely Portman, MP, and it has a large garden in the middle and is surrounded by townhouses. Many of the original buildings were bombed during the war, but number 20, "Home House" (pictured above), remains. 

Upper Berkeley Street off Portman Square is where Elinor and Marianne stay with Mrs Jennings. Jane writes: “Since the death of her husband, who had traded with success in a less elegant part of the town, she had resided every winter in a house in one of the streets near Portman-square”.

Upper Berkeley Street 

Jane describes Mrs Jennings as follows: "Mrs. Jennings, Lady Middleton's mother, was a good-humoured, merry, fat, elderly woman, who talked a great deal, seemed very happy, and rather vulgar."  Prone to gossip and match-making, Mrs Jennings would have enjoyed staying at a fashionable location like this where she could socialise and form networks with other ladies of a similar class.

Mrs Jennings' town house is likely to have been a large, comfortable establishment. Jane writes: "The house was handsome, and handsomely fitted up, and the young ladies were immediately put in possession of a very comfortable apartment."

Upper Berkeley Street 

Mayfair is where the wealthiest residents lived, and it still remains an affluent part of the city where few people can afford to live. Logically, Jane Austen placed some of her wealthier characters in this part of the city. Hanover Square at the heart of Mayfair is where Mrs Jennings' daughter, Mrs Palmer, and Mr Palmer live. 

Hanover Square

The square is named after the House of Hanover, the German family of the king, and St George's Church here was a popular place for weddings. (Interestingly, the author of the Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe, is buried here too!). 

This square was built in the Georgian times and still retains a Georgian feel, although the square is now a mix of Georgian and more modern architecture. 

Hanover Square

We then move on to Conduit Street off Regent Street where Mrs Jennings' older daughter, Lady Middleton, stays with her husband, Sir John Middleton. 

Conduit Street 

Elinor and Marianne visit the Middletons here, and the two Miss Steeles stay here as guests of the Middletons. Conduit Street appears to have been a more desirable address than their own: "At this time the two Miss Steeles, lately arrived at their cousin's house in Bartlett Buildings, Holborn, presented themselves again before their more grand relations in Conduit and Berkeley Street; and were welcomed by them all with great cordiality."

Conduit Street 

It's rather difficult to photograph this street due to heavy traffic! It is a very busy street, and there are many designer shops (such as Vivienne Westwood) and other high-end stores here.

Moving on to Sackville Street off Piccadilly, which is another street built in the Georgian times that retains some of its period feel.

Sackville Street

41 Sackville Street is the location of the real-life Gray's jewellers, a fashionable and expensive jeweller at the time. Elinor and Marianne visit Gray's to exchange some of their mother's old jewellery, only to find the shop crowded and having to wait a long time for a young man to make his choice. This young man happens to be Robert Ferrars, the younger brother of Edward Ferrars. 

"But the correctness of his eye, and the delicacy of his taste, proved to be beyond his politeness. He was giving orders for a toothpick -case for himself, and till its size, shape, and ornaments were determined, all of which, after examining and debating for a quarter of an hour over every toothpick-case in the shop, were finally arranged by his own inventive fancy, he had no leisure to bestow any other attention on the two ladies, than what was comprised in three or four very broad stares." The girls' first impression of Robert Ferrars can't have been that favourable!

Old Bond Street

Around the corner, also situated off Piccadilly, is Old Bond Street where Elinor and Marianne often shop with Mrs Jennings and socialise. As in Jane Austen's time, this is still a designer shopping hub for the very wealthy and famous and a place "to be seen". While out shopping, Marianne is always watching out for Willoughby: "Wherever they went, she was evidently always on the watch. In Bond Street especially, where much of their business lay, her eyes were in constant inquiry; and in whatever shop the party were engaged, her mind was equally abstracted from everything actually before them, from all that interested and occupied the others."

Willoughby rents rooms in Bond Street and sometimes avoids Elinor and Marianne when he notices them out shopping. He later tells Elinor: "I watched you safely out of the house one morning, and left my name... You would be surprised how often I watched you, how often I was on the point of falling in with you. I have entered many a shop to avoid your sight, as the carriage drove by. Lodging as I did in Bond Street, there was hardly a day in which I did not catch the glimpse of one or other of you;  and nothing but the most constant watchfulness on my side, a most invariably prevailing desire to keep out of your sight, could have separated us so long. I avoided the Middletons as much as possible, as well as everybody else who was likely to prove an acquaintance in common." 

It is here at Old Bond Street that Willoughby writes the letter that breaks Marianne's heart and makes her very ill. 

 "Bond Street, January 

MY DEAR MADAM, -- I have just had the honour of receiving your letter, for which I beg to return my sincere acknowledgments. I am much concerned to find there was anything in my behaviour last night that did not meet your approbation; and though I am quite at a loss to discover in what point I could be so unfortunate as to offend you, I entreat your forgiveness of what I can assure you to have been perfectly unintentional. I shall never reflect on my former acquaintance with your family in Devonshire without the most grateful pleasure, and flatter myself it will not be broken by any mistake or misapprehension of my actions. My esteem for your whole family is very sincere; but if I have been so unfortunate as to give rise to a belief of more than I felt, or meant to express, I shall reproach myself for not having been more guarded in my professions of that esteem. That I should ever have meant more you will allow to be impossible, when you understand that my affections have been long engaged elsewhere, and it will not be many weeks, I believe, before this engagement is fulfilled. It is with great regret that I obey your commands of returning the letters, with which I have been honoured from you, and the lock of hair, which you so obligingly bestowed on me."

Opposite Bond Street is St James Street where Marianne's "saviour", Col Brandon stays when he is in town. This was a location of many gentlemen's clubs and close to St James' Palace, a royal residence. This was also close to Pall Mall, where Edward Ferrars has his lodgings. 

Finally, I end my tour at Kensington Gardens where Elinor goes for a walk with Mrs Jennings.

The sunken gardens.

Kensington Palace, which was used by the royal family then as it is now.

At Kensington Gardens, Elinor comes across the elder Miss Steele. At the insistence of Mrs Jennings, Miss Steele reveals a secret about her sister, Lucy's engagement to Edward Ferrars. This is a turning point in the novel, sending Elinor into emotional turmoil and forcing her to rethink her own hopes and dreams. 

Further reading:

My erstwhile tour of Jane Austen's London: https://austenised.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-footsteps-of-jane-in-london.html

Helpful guides to Jane Austen's London: 

Edwards, A-M. (1991) In the Steps of Jane Austen - Walking Tours of Austen's England. Jones Books. 

Quint, K. (2019) Jane Austen's England - A Travel Guide. ACC Art Books. 

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/

Chawton House Lockdown Literary Festival and Interesting Literary Connections

This weekend I was pleased to discover the Chawton House Lockdown Literary Literary Festival. While my home life during lockdown keeps me very busy, I managed to squeeze in some time to watch a speech by Devoney Looser, Professor of English at Arizona State University and author of "The Making of Jane Austen". Professor Looser is an expert in early women's literature.

Her speech was very eye-opening and I would love to share some of the things I learnt from her today.

Did you know that

-During Jane Austen's lifetime, there was an almost equal number of male and female writers? This fact surprised me, as I had assumed the profession to be far more common amongst men, thinking that it was considered more acceptable for men to become authors. There were hundreds of other active women writers and, in fact, women were far more prolific fiction writers than men.

-Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility was likely to have been influenced by the writing of Jane West, a household name who was probably the most famous female writer at the time. Jane West wrote "A Gossip's Story", featuring two sisters, one of whom was more rational and the other more emotional, just like Elinor and Marianne - in fact, the more emotional of the two sisters was named Marianne. It would be fascinating to read "The Gossip's Story" and compare the two. Later on, Jane West rewrote Jane Austen's Emma in "Ringrove", which is another piece of writing that I would be keen to explore.

-A contemporary of Jane Austen and a well-known writer, Jane Porter, was born in the same year as Jane (1775). Jane Austen was approached by the Prince Regent's librarian, James Stanier Clarke, to write a historical romance dedicated to Prince Leopold. She never endeavoured to do this, famously saying that she preferred writing about things she knew well. However, Jane Porter took a similar offer eight years later, perhaps in the hope of royal pension, and wrote "Duke Christian of Luneburg".

Interesting literary connections and I can't wait to learn more!

Regency Christmas at Mompesson House

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen! Last year I celebrated this day at Jane Austen's House in Chawton, and what a memorable, beautiful day that was, singing carols and enjoying some mulled wine and mince pies at Chawton, perusing the Emma exhibition and trying on bonnets with my two-year-old dress-up enthusiast. 

This year, I didn't make it to Chawton Cottage but I did visit Mompesson House in Salisbury for their Regency Christmas display at the weekend. 

Mompesson House is a Georgian house situated in the Cathedral Close in Salisbury. You may have seen the house in the beautiful 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility where the house was used as a location for Mrs Jennings' Chelsea home. Both the exterior and the entrance hall were used in the film.

In the film, Mrs Jennings walks the staircase with authority, greeting her parrot on the way. Elinor climbs the staircase with Lucy Steele, discussing Marianne's rumoured wedding. 

The drawing room upstairs was also used in the film, but the upstairs rooms were closed for visitors. However, I enjoyed the display downstairs and remember seeing a similar exhibition at Fairfax House in York years ago.

The downstairs rooms of Mompesson House were decorated with greenery, ribbons, fruit and candles in the fashion of the late 18th and early 19th century. Fireplaces, shelves and windows were adorned with evergreens, such as holly and mistletoe, the most common Christmas decorations during the Georgian period. 

Fruit, such as pears and clove oranges made beautiful, aromatic decorations. 

There was also festive period food on display, with Christmas breakfast set in the Library.

A lavish spread of Dessert is set in the Drawing Room. 

                                                              Christmas pudding 

Fruit, cake and nuts

Bullet pudding, which actually involves a game. 

Parties and gatherings were hosted during the festive period, and card games were popular entertainment. 

At the end of Christmas, on the 12th Night, a beautifully decorated cake was served as the main highlight of the celebration. 

Christmas trees were not yet popular, becoming more widespread in the Victorian period. However, Princess Charlotte did have a tree similar to this one.

I was delighted to discover that the tree was decorated with familiar quotes from Jane Austen's books! Now there's an idea for us Austenites! 

The upstairs was closed for the time being, which only calls for another visit! The Christmas display continues for another two days until December 18th. 

Hope you have all had a lovely Jane Austen day. 

From Prada to Nada (or From Riches to Rags)

Just as I was writing about how I imagined a modern Elinor and Marianne to be, I had the chance to see a modern adaptation of Sense and Sensibility – From Prada to Nada. As opposed to rural Devon, this light comedy, directed by Angel Gracia, is set amongst the palm trees of modern L.A.

The opening scene shows two Mexican-American sisters, Nora (Camilla Belle) and Mary (Alexa Vega), out shopping designer-style. They drive into their Beverly Hills mansion, where their father is celebrating his birthday. But – as we already know – he is soon to die and the two sisters are ousted from their home, following the arrival of their (illegitimate) brother, Gabe (Pablo Cruz).

Shopaholic Mary (Marianne)

Studious Nora (Elinor)

The girls find a new place to live with their aunt and other relatives, on the other side of town. You get to see a totally different side of L.A. to what we are used to seeing in films and on TV. The Mexican East L.A. is an L.A. of immigrants and the proletariat, shabby and run-down - but also vibrant, colourful, noisy and full of life.

From this setting…

…to this ‘hood.

Enter Edward Ferris (Nicholas D’Agosto), brother of her sister-in-law and a well-to-do lawyer  - a less awkward version of Edward Ferrars without the imposing family connections. He soon becomes interested in law student Nora who, however, has a “10-year plan” for life and is not interested in a relationship – or so she thinks.

Nora and Edward

The younger sister, Mary, is soon swept off her feet by Rodrigo (Kuno Becker), her charming teacher of literature – love over literature, as with Marianne and Willoughby – who of course turns out to be the villain of the story.

Mary with Rodrigo

What makes this storyline less convincing is the fact that this version of Colonel Brandon, helpful neighbour Bruno (Wilder Walderrama), is actually far more charming and attractive than Rodrigo. (You might remember Walderrama from his silly role as Fez in the 70’s Show – in From Prada To Nada, however, he acts well and has plenty of charm.)

Nora with Bruno

As one might expect from a modern adaptation, the roles of the two sisters differ somewhat from the novel. While Mary (Marianne) is portrayed as snobbish and super-confident, Nora (Elinor) is the opposite - down-to-earth and hesitant. You would not describe them as ‘emotional’ vs. ‘reserved’ as  you might characterise the polarities of the characters in the novel.

From Prada to Nada is a light take on Sense and Sensibility, which certainly doesn’t match up to the wit of Jane Austen. A harmless chick flick, it is a pleasant enough watch, as long as you don’t expect a mind-blowing artistic experience. After a bimbo beginning, the film does get more enjoyable towards  the end, thanks to the colourful Mexican flavour – though I would have preferred having “less cheese on my nachos”!

Looking forward to seeing Scents and Sensibility next…