Jane Austen Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Praise

  Acknowledgements

  List of Illustrations

  1 - 1775

  2 - Meritocrats

  3 - Boys

  4 - School

  5 - The French Connection

  6 - Bad Behaviour

  7 - Weddings And Funerals

  8 - Neighbours

  9 - Dancing

  10 - The Doll And the Poker

  11 - A Letter

  12 - Defence Systems

  13 - Friends in East Kent

  14 - Travels with My Mother

  15 - Three Books

  16 - Twenty-five

  17 - Manydown

  18 - Brotherly Love

  19 - A Death in the Family

  20 - At Chawton

  21 - Inside Mansfield Park

  22 - Dedication

  23 - The Sorceress

  24 - College Street

  25 - Postscript

  Appendix i - A NOTE ON JANE AUSTEN’S LAST ILLNESS

  Appendix ii - “AN AFRICAN STORY” FROM FANNY AUSTEN’S POCKET-BOOK, 1809, WITH A NOTE ON ATTITUDES TO SLAVERY

  Notes

  Short Bibliography

  About the Author

  ALSO BY CLAIRE TOMALIN

  Copyright Page

  For my

  good neighbours,

  Sue and David Gentleman

  “The uneventful nature of the author’s life . . . has been a good deal exaggerated.”

  —Jane Austen’s great-nephews, William and R. A. Austen-Leigh

  Acclaim for CLAIRE TOMALIN’s

  Jane Austen

  “One of those rare biographies you imagine that the subject herself might have approved.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

  “Scholarly yet empathic . . . [Tomalin] is the finest, most disinterested of biographers.” —The New York Review of Books

  “Like Austen herself, Tomalin writes as an expert on human nature. . . . She is especially good at deploying small documentary details to great effect. . . . This is the new life that Janeites and Austenians . . . will want to read.” —The Boston Globe

  “Claire Tomalin . . . one of our most painstaking, distinguished and sympathetic biographers, has produced a portrait of remarkable subtlety.” — The Economist

  “Another altogether admirable biographical performance by Claire Tomalin.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram

  “Tomalin is [a] natural biographer. . . . Throughout her book we feel a watchful consanguinity with Austen.” —Los Angeles Times

  “Jane Austen is written with much the same verve its subject brought to her novels, and its tale is nearly as absorbing as they. I can think of no higher praise.” —The Women’s Review of Books

  “[Tomalin’s] assessment of the impact of Austen’s early life on her adult personality is particularly subtle.” —San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

  “Compulsively readable . . . probably the most complete view to date of Austen’s sometimes uneasy place in the polite world she describes.” —The Seattle Times

  “A fine addition to the Austenophile’s library.” — Chicago Sun-Times

  “Richly peopled and evocative.” —The New Leader

  “Compelling. Tomalin . . . has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Austen family that enables her to transport readers back to another time and place.” —Bookpage

  Steel engraving made in 1869 for the first Memoir

  of Jane Austen, from a copy of Cassandra Austen’s

  sketch. “There is a look which I recognise as hers . . .

  though the general resemblance is not strong,”

  wrote her niece Caroline.

  List of Illustrations

  FRONTISPIECE

  Jane Austen, engraving used as frontispiece to A Memoir of Jane Austen by her nephew James-Edward Austen-Leigh, 1870

  Revd. George Austen, miniature ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Mrs. George Austen, née Cassandra Leigh, silhouette ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Cottages at Steventon, drawing by Anna Lefroy (collection of the great-grandsons of Admiral Sir Francis Austen)

  James Austen, miniature ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Edward Austen, later Knight, detail from a portrait painted during his Grand Tour, 1789 ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Henry Austen, miniature, c. 1820 ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust) Cassandra Austen, silhouette ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Francis Austen, miniature ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Jane Austen, pencil and watercolour on paper, by Cassandra Austen, c. 1801 (The National Portrait Gallery, London)

  Charles Austen, portrait by R. Field, 1807 ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Steventon rectory (front view), drawing by Anna Lefroy (collection of the great-grandsons of Admiral Sir Francis Austen)

  Revd. George Austen presenting his son Edward to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Knight, silhouette, c. 1778 ( D. Rose Esq./Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Mrs. Tysoe Saul Hancock, née Philadelphia Austen, after a miniature by J. Smart ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Warren Hastings, portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1768 (The National Portrait Gallery, London)

  Eliza Hancock, miniature ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Château de Jourdan, photograph (collection of the author)

  William John Chute, pastel and pencil portrait, 1790 (The National Trust, Southern Region)

  Mrs. William Chute, née Elizabeth Smith, drawing (The National Trust, Southern Region)

  Thomas Vere Chute, drawing (The National Trust, Southern Region)

  John Portal of Laverstoke and Freefolk, painting by Henry Calvert (private collection. Photo: Nathan Kelly)

  Hon. Newton Wallop, “Leavers” portrait from Eton (The Trustees of the Portsmouth Estates. Photo: Nathan Kelly)

  Hon. Coulson Wallop, “Leavers” portrait from Eton (The Trustees of the Portsmouth Estates. Photo: Nathan Kelly)

  Sir William Heathcote, the Revd. William Heathcote and Major Gilbert out Hunting, painting by Daniel Gardner (National Trust Photographic Library/John Hammond)

  St. Nicholas Church, Steventon, photograph (Hampshire Record Office 65M89/Z217/1)

  Page from the Marriage Register of St. Nicholas Church, Steventon (Hampshire Record Office 71M82/PR3)

  West doorway of St. Nicholas Church, Steventon, photograph (Hampshire Record Office 65M89/Z217/12)

  Thomas Langlois Lefroy, miniature by G. Engleheart, 1799 (Photo: Hampshire Record Office 23M93/83/1/1)

  Manydown, from Select Illustrations of Hampshire by G. F. Proser, 1833

  James Leigh-Perrot, miniature by J. Smart (Hampshire Record Office 23M93/51/2/1)

  Mrs. James Leigh-Perrot, née Jane Cholmeley, silhouette ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Revd. (Isaac Peter) George Lefroy, miniature (Helen Lefroy)

  Mrs. George Lefroy, née Anne Brydges, miniature (Helen Lefroy)

  Godmersham Park, Kent, from The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent by E. Hasted, 1799

  Mrs. Thomas Knight, née Catherine Knatchbull, portrait by George Romney (private collection)

  Mrs. Edward Austen, née Elizabeth Bridges, miniature ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Revd. George Austen, silhouette ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  “A General View of Bath from the Claverton Road,” from Bath by John Claude Nattes, 1806

  View of Lyme Regis, watercolour (Fotomas Index)

  Chawton Cottage, early photograph (private family collection/Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  The Prince Regent Driving a Curricle, engraving by Thomas Rowlandson (Courtauld Institute of Art)

  Engraving from Ra
ison et Sensibilité, Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1828 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris)

  Title-page engraving from Sense and Sensibility, Richard Bentley, London, 1833

  Title-page engraving from Pride and Prejudice, Richard Bentley, London, 1833

  Engraving from La Famille Elliot, ou L’Ancienne Inclination, Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1821 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris)

  Title-page engraving from Mansfield Park, Richard Bentley, London, 1833

  Engraving from Emma, Richard Bentley, London, 1833

  Lady Austen, née Martha Lloyd, daguerreotype ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  Cassandra Austen, silhouette (collection of the great-grandsons of Admiral Sir Francis Austen)

  Admiral Sir Francis Austen, daguerreotype ( Jane Austen Memorial Trust)

  TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS

  The apprentice register in the Public Record Office, showing Philadelphia Austen’s apprenticeship to Hester Cole, milliner, Covent Garden, May 9, 1745 (Public Record Office IR1/1 18f146)

  Endpaper of Jane Austen’s copy of Fables choisies (collection of the great-grandsons of Admiral Sir Francis Austen)

  “Sir Thomas Grandison and his daughters Caroline and Charlotte,” an 1886 engraving from the original copper-plate of 1778 by Isaac Taylor, from Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson (1754)

  Page from Eliza Chute’s diary, 1799 (Hampshire Record Office 23M93/70/1/7)

  “Nutting,” from the 1794 edition of The Seasons (1726–30) by James Thomson

  Poem by Jane Austen to her brother Frank on the birth of his son (British Library Add. MSS 42180, f. 7)

  Dedication page addressed to the Prince Regent, from the first edition of Emma, 1816

  Page from Mary Austen’s diary, 1817 (Hampshire Record Office 23M93/62/1/8)

  Acknowledgements

  I should like to extend warm thanks to the many institutions and individuals from whom I have received advice and help. They include the Jane Austen Society; the Kent County Archives; the Hampshire County Archives and especially Claire Skinner; Winchester Cathedral and its archivist John Hardacre; Winchester College and its headmaster J. P. Sabben-Clare and bursar Bill Organ; the National Trust and in particular Charles O’Brien; the London Library; the British Library; Hoare’s Bank and its archivist Mrs. Hutchings; and the College of Arms.

  I must record that it was Jane Tapley who, after hearing me speak on Mrs. Jordan at the Theatre Royal in Bath, put the idea into my head that I might approach the subject of Jane Austen. I doubt if I should have been bold enough to do so without her encouraging suggestion, and I remain very grateful to her for making it.

  Others to whom I am indebted are Tom Carpenter, Jean Bowden and all at Chawton Cottage; Mrs. Matilda Taylor; Lord and Lady Fitzwalter; Mr. and Mrs. Nigel Havers; Eric Beck; Anthony Storr; Irvine Loudon; Wendy Cope; Brian Southam; Anthony Neville; Paul Mc-Quail; Nicholas Monck; Leslie Mitchell; Olwen Hufton; Eric Korn; Gráinne Kelly; Donna Poppy; Julian Litten; Sir Jonathan and Lady Portal; The Earl of Portsmouth; Christine Jackson; the Revd. Professor Owen Chadwick; Valerie Fildes; Charles Elliott; and Tony Lacey.

  With my daughter Jo Tomalin I have shared a love of Jane Austen for many years; discussions with her have been helpful and enjoyable.

  In France, thanks are due to my father Emile Delavenay and my sister Marguerite Smith for much assistance; also to the Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères; to Mme Odette Bigeon; to M. Jean Ducourneau, the Abbé Michel Devert, M. Yves de Coincy of the Château de Jourdan, M. Michel A. Rateau, and M. Gaël Henaff.

  I owe a particular debt to Deirdre Le Faye, for her kindness in answering my queries and for her invaluable book, Jane Austen: A Family Record.

  This edition incorporates some corrections and suggestions given me by Robin Vick drawn from his meticulous and wide-ranging studies, which he has generously shared with me.

  Clive Caplan shared his admirable research into Henry Austen’s military career with me, gave me a copy of Susan Ferrier’s novel Marriage , and encouraged me with his enthusiasm. Alwyn Austen, great-grandson of Jane Austen’s brother Francis, has been another cheering and generous friend; I recall my visits to him in Kent and our trips together with especial pleasure and gratitude.

  My husband Michael Frayn walked many miles with me about Hampshire in the footsteps of the Austens, as well as around Bath and Lyme Regis, and in the Gers in France on the track of Cousin Eliza. He was patient and forbearing with my working habits, and made valuable suggestions for improving the book.

  1

  1775

  The winter of 1775 was a hard one. On 11 November the naturalist Gilbert White saw that the trees around his Hampshire village of Selborne had lost almost all their leaves. “Trees begin to be naked,” he wrote in his diary. Fifteen miles away, higher up in the Downs, in the village of Steventon, the rector’s wife was expecting the birth of her seventh child from day to day as the last leaves fell. She was thirty-six and had been married for eleven years. Four sturdy little boys ran about the parsonage and the big garden at the back, with its yard and outhouses, rising to the fields and woodland beyond. The eldest, James, at ten already showed promise as a scholar, sharing his father’s taste in books, and the only daughter, Cassy, kept her mother entertained with her constant chatter as she followed her round the house and out to visit the dairy and the chickens and ducks. Cassy would be three in January. Outside Mr. Austen’s study the house was seldom entirely quiet.

  The November days went by and the rains set in, keeping the boys indoors; by the end of the month it was dark in the house at three in the afternoon, and dinner had to be eaten very promptly if they were to do without candles. Still no baby appeared. December came, bringing an epidemic of colds and feverish complaints. There was a sharp frost, putting ice on the ponds, enough for the boys to go sliding; then, on the 16th, White noted, “Fog, sun, sweet day.”

  The 16th of December was the day of Jane Austen’s birth. The month’s delay in her arrival inspired her father to a small joke about how he and his wife had “in old age grown such bad reckoners”; he was forty-four. 1 The child came in the evening, he said, without much warning. There was no need for a doctor; it was rare to call one for something as routine as childbirth, and the nearest, in Basingstoke, was seven miles away over bad roads. In any case, “everything was soon happily over.” They were pleased to have a second daughter, “a present plaything for her sister Cassy and a future companion. She is to be Jenny.” George Austen’s letter went on to talk of the prospects of a ploughing match in which he was interested, Kent against Hants for a rump of beef, weather permitting. A village rector in a remote country parish was as much a real farmer as a shepherd of souls.

  The baby was immediately christened at home by her father, like all the Austen children. There would be a church ceremony later. And now winter set in in earnest. Mr. Austen’s ploughing match could not take place, as snow fell steadily, thickly and persistently, drifting right up to the tops of the gates. Soon the lanes were filled and almost impassable. The poultry would not stir out of the hen house, and wild birds appeared at the kitchen door for crumbs. “Rugged, Siberian weather,” wrote White, remarking that the snow formed romantic and grotesque shapes as it continued to fall and then freeze. Newborn lambs were frozen to the ground, and hares came into the gardens looking for food.

  Inside the parsonage, Mrs. Austen lay upstairs in the four-poster, warmly bundled under her feather-beds, the baby in her cradle beside her, while someone else—very likely her sister-in-law Philadelphia Hancock—supervised the household, all the cleaning and cooking necessary where there were many small children, together with the extra washing for the newly delivered mother. 2 The maids stoked the fires and boiled coppers, and when she could the washerwoman made her way from the village and toiled for a day, although laundry froze before it dried and the house was full of airing sheets and baby things. Mr. Austen might read to the children after their three o’clock dinner, but boys like to ru
n and slide up and down stairs, and there were no carpets to dull the noise. Mrs. Austen would not be expected to set foot on the floor for two weeks at least.

  Neighbours could not easily call, except for a few robust gentlemen on horseback, bringing congratulatory messages and gifts from their wives. On Christmas Eve the children laid out the traditional holly branches on the window ledges, and on Christmas morning Mr. Austen, well booted and coated, set off up the hill to his tiny, unheated stone church, St. Nicholas, hoping the light would suffice to read the lesson and serve the sacrament to those farmers and villagers who turned out to hear him. The Digweed family could be relied on, long-term tenants of the old brick manor house next to the church; Hugh Digweed farmed most of the land around Steventon and acted as squire. Then back down the hill, through the snow and silence. There were not more than thirty families living in Steventon, the single row of cottages at some distance from the parsonage; and there was neither shop nor inn.

  If Aunt Philadelphia was indeed in charge, it meant their cousin Betsy was also there: grave, dark, delicately pretty Betsy, who had been born in India, where her father was even now, and where Aunt Philadelphia sometimes talked of taking her back. Betsy was fourteen, almost grown up; older than any of the Steventon children, and infinitely more sophisticated in their eyes. She lived mostly in town, meaning London. There she had her own horse, something none of the Austen boys could yet boast, and when she was not riding she was more likely to travel about in her mother’s carriage than on foot. She was learning French; she had performed in a play with some other children when she was only ten; she owned a harpsichord, and four strings of pearls, a present just arrived from her father.3 James, Edward and even precocious four-year-old Henry watched and listened to their cousin admiringly.

  When the children were allowed into their mother’s room, they saw that the new baby had a round face, fat cheeks and bright dark eyes. It was agreed that she looked most like Henry, who had been the longest and finest of all the babies so far, so it is safe to assume that Jane was also long and large. Mrs. Austen fed her daughter at the breast, as she had all her children. She would not dream of going outside the house for at least a month after the birth, whatever the weather.4 The continuing Siberian winter did not encourage her, and when the thaw began, in February, there were floods, which still kept her in. So the baby enjoyed undivided attention, and three cosy months in the firstfloor bedroom.