Walking in the
Literary Footsteps of Jane Austen
By Caroline M. Jackson
"It is a truth
universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune
must be in want of a wife." (Pride & Prejudice)
Thanks to the number of
Jane Austen novels adapted for film and television, many London-bound
visitors will be tempted to make a detour to explore the area of southern
England - from East Hampshire to Bath - where the author lived, wrote, and
set her stories such as Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma and Sense and
Sensibility to name a few. (During her lifetime, Jane’s books were
published anonymously, bearing the legend, “By a Lady,” a common
practice at that time.)
Born in 1775, at Steventon
Rectory in the beautiful county of Hampshire, Jane was the seventh of eight
children. Her father, the Rev. George Austen was a Church of England
clergyman who, although not a wealthy man, had a respectable income and was
“well connected.” He encouraged his two daughters in the habit of
learning, and Jane and her older sister Cassandra, were sent to school in
Oxford when Jane was only seven years old. The girls later studied at home,
where from the age of 12, Jane avidly read the classics in her father’s
extensive library. She also learned to play the piano, became accomplished
at embroidery and gleaned some French and Italian. Always interested in
writing and sketching, Jane was twelve when she first began writing but it
was not until she was eighteen that she began her first major novel Sense
and Sensibility which was her first published work. Her launch into the
literary field was not an easy one. When Jane was twenty-two years old, her
father offered Pride and Prejudice to a publisher who declined even to
glance at the manuscript.
Cassandra was one of Jane's
closest confidantes. When they had to be apart, the two devoted sisters kept
in touch by writing to each other, exchanging over a hundred letters during
their lifetime. Many letters recount Jane’s excitement at attending social
gatherings, or visits to places chosen for settings in her novels.
“The ball proceeded
pleasantly. The anxious cares, the incessant attentions of Mrs. Weston were
not thrown away. Everybody seemed happy, and the praise of being a
delightful ball, which is seldom bestowed till after a ball has ceased to
be, was repeatedly given in the very beginning of the existence of this.”
(From Emma)
Shortly after Jane turned
25, her 70-year-old father retired to Bath, a decision that caused her to
faint with dismay. It was only a few years later, in 1805, that the Rev.
Austen died, leaving the household with a considerably reduced income. Thus
it was that Jane, Cassandra, and her mother moved into lodgings in
Southampton, to be near other family members. It was not an unwanted move on
Jane’s part. "What happy feelings of escape,” she wrote to
Cassandra.
From Southampton, the
Austen family would take boat trips along the Beaulieu River to the New
Forest, famous for its wild ponies and beautiful scenery. They would pass
the shipyards at Buckler's Hard and travel on to lovely Beaulieu
Abbey. Both sites are open to the public still, and they make a delightful
day-trip from London. The pastoral countryside lends itself well to a
riverside picnic.
In 1809, when Jane's
brother Edward offered the Austen ménage a small 17thC-house on one of his
estates at Chawton, near Jane’s childhood home of Steventon, the three
women accepted. The red-brick house was too small to include a study for
Jane, so she penned her manuscripts on small pieces of paper at a mahogany
desk in the parlour. The creaky door became Jane’s ally: she didn’t want
approaching servants or visitors to know of her occupation, and the noise
allowed time to hide her manuscript under a sheet of blotting paper. It was
here at Chawton that Jane received many visits from family members, and
especially her lively nieces and nephews.
The little house at Chawton
(where Jane wrote most of her novels) is now a museum. The writer’s
bedroom is much as it was when Jane lived there (which was until a few
months before her death in Winchester in 1817), and included in the displays
are family mementoes and copies of Jane’s letters. Near the museum
entrance is an excellent gift and bookshop with a wide selection of books by
and about Jane Austen.
She began writing Sandition
early in 1817, but soon became very ill (with what’s thought to have been
Addison’s disease). She moved to Winchester for medical treatment, but
died a few weeks later, on July 18, 1817 – her head resting on
Cassandra’s shoulder. She was 41. Her funeral was held in Winchester
Cathedral and she was buried under the north aisle. A memorial plaque later
erected in her memory reads:
Known to many by her
writings, endeared to her family by the varied charms of her character and
ennobled by Christian faith and piety, was born at Steventon, Hants. Known
to many by her writings, endeared to her family by the varied charms of her.
“She opened her mouth with wisdom and her tongue is the law of
kindness."
Ten years after Jane's
death, Sir Walter Scott wrote of her in his journal, "That young lady
had a talent for describing the involvements, and feelings, and characters
of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful thing I ever met
with....What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!"
Visitors who would like to
follow the literary footsteps of the author may wish to tarry in some of the
following locations which she frequented. In Derbyshire: Bakewell,
Chatsworth House, Matlock, Dove Dale and the Peak District, all mentioned in
Pride and Prejudice. In Dorset: Lyme Regis was Jane's favourite holiday
resort. Bath on the border of Gloucester and Somerset, is where Jane wrote
major portions of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Many of the streets and
buildings she mentions still exist. Steventon (near Basingstoke) in
Hampshire is where Jane was born on December 16, 1775, and lived until 1801.
The 12thC Steventon Church, where Jane worshipped, is almost unchanged. A
plaque was erected up by the Canadian and American members of the Jane
Austen Society who paid for the refurbishment of the church bells in January
1995.
If you plan to visit Jane
Austen's House at Chawton, keep in mind that the village is a little tricky
to find and that closing time is 4.00 pm.
Winchester Cathedral is
well worth a visit and it is interesting to note that on her tomb, no
mention is made of Jane's literary accomplishments.
Nearby
visitor attractions:
The
New Forest Museum & Visitor Centre in Lyndhurst tells you all
about the area. To savour the local beauty, rent a bicycle or a horse and
leave the busy road. Only the wild ponies seem to read the speed limit
signs! A popular pub is The Mailman’s Arms on the High Street.
The
stately Palace House of Beaulieu, almost six miles SE of Lyndhurst,
is the ancestral home of the Montagu family. The grounds incorporate a
fascinating 13thC. Cistercian Abbey, and the National Motor Museum which
houses over 250 exhibits of classic automobiles.
At
Buckler's Hard, just two miles downriver, visitors can imagine life
as it would have been in an 18thC-hamlet and shipyard.
Costumes
designed for film and television adaptations of Jane Austen novels are on
view at Bath’s Museum of Costume till 7th November, 2004. Contact: http://www.visitbritain.com
