Jane Austen and me #booksky

Jane Austen and me. We would have been well acquainted, I think, although I would need to be rather more ladylike to fit into her friendship circle. Would she have been generous with her writing advice, or was the critique of works of fiction restricted to trusted family?

On finding Jane

I was lucky enough never to have had an Austen novel as a set book in school. I think we had Far from the Madding Crowd and Vanity Fair. The first I hated and only read as far as we got in class. Vanity Fair I found more enjoyable, but again, I don’t think I finished. I’ve never read anything by either author again (although I don’t think I can name another Thackery novel without prompting).

But Jane… I read Pride and Prejudice first, to see what everyone was talking about. Then came the BBC adaptation, which had just about everyone rereading it. Did Elizabeth really meet Darcy in a state of deshabille? No, it was an idea from the producers. But it worked well…enough to shoot Colin Firth firmly into the spotlight (and many women’s hearts).

I reread P&P, and have done so more than once since. It’s charming, beautiful, intriguing, and even more amusing with hindsight. It paints a wonderful picture of a small town of its era. I have read a couple of spin-offs, fan fiction as well as the Pemberley novel (which was okay, but…).

Sense and Sensibility

But before I got carried away with not-Jane’s world, I worked my way through most of the others. Sense and Sensibility I found a little boring, as I didn’t really care for the nuances of the characters. I love Jason Koivu’s review of it on Goodreads, though, which he has kindly allowed me to quote for your benefit!

Call me Elinor.

Being the older sibling, while growing up I often felt like I was shoved into the role of being the sensible one, the reasonable one, the responsible one. That is how I was seen. That is what people believed of me. Underneath the skin of the rational, reserved tut-tutter writhed an often non-sensical, unreasonable, irresponsible being. But it took the occurrence of extreme circumstances for others to see it. 

Such is the life of Elinor Dashwood, the elder sister in a small, displaced family of all females. It is her younger, flightier sister Marianne who seems to grab life by the balls. By all outward appearances, Marianne is the feeling one. 

Revealing the depths of the true feelings these two sisters experience, whether on their sleeves or behind seemingly impenetrable layers of veils, is the goal Jane Austen set herself in Sense and Sensibility, and she achieved it spectacularly. With alternately bold and subtle strokes, the author created a masterwork of intricate design. One criticism might be that the design is too delicate in places (a cracked block or two out of the many solid ones upon which the premiss is built or too much of a reliance on happenstance), but it is not enough to deter from the overall achievement: Austen’s triumphant capture of human behavior and that odd incarnation of emotion in early 19th century Britain.

Jason Koivu, Review of Sense and Sensibiity, Goodreads, Nov 21 2014.

I remember Mansfield Park for the confusion of love unrequited, and Emma for her outrageous behaviour in trying matchmake for the neighbourhood. Northanger Abbey was grim in its gothic fancy. Jane apparently disliked gothic fiction (which was very popular in her day), and intended this to be a bit of a send-up. Come to think of it, we may have read this at school, but I remembered nothing of it when I read it later. I should try it again! As I can’t remember it at all, I suspect I haven’t read Persuasion. And definitely not Lady Susan or her ‘unpublished’ works which have now seen daylight. I had meant to rectify this in these months before her 250th birthday, but I’m sure she won’t mind.

Jane in Chawton

I was rather more taken with finding her house in Chawton. I apologise if you read the original post where I’ve taken this from, but over three years have passed, so maybe you can stand reading it again.

Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra came to live at the cottage in Chawton in 1809 due to the benevolence of her brother, who had inherited a substantial property from his adoptive parents. The pleasant building has been lovingly restored by the Jane Austen Society and many, many donations and grants.

Typical of me, I found great interest in the wallpaper. Early 19th century wallpaper was subject to considerable taxation, so this was a luxurious item. All that remained, when the cottage was rescued, were some indications in a couple of the rooms. The dining room held a faded scrap in the corner of a cupboard, and the true colour emerged pristine from underneath a fixing board. The bedroom above held a faded piece behind the panels for the window shutters. Interestingly, it was missing a piece of the pattern (a block of white print missed out during the process) and was hung upside down. ‘Probably a second, therefore cheaper.’ The display showed us both a corrected piece and the original it was taken from. The reproductions on the walls of both rooms are both charming and artistic. I would have them in my own home.

Jane spent most of her time sewing, cooking (assisting a cook and a maid), writing letters, gardening… In the account of how they spent their time I wondered where Jane fit in writing the books, but then, doesn’t every writer suffer the same problem? I was very taken with the view Jane Austen chose as she wrote. It looked out on the crossroads, and across to several village shops. I can just imagine the minor characters in her head as they passed by, going about their daily business.

Writing on a coffee table?

Her table, however, is more suited to having my coffee cup on it than a writing pad. But then, sheets of paper were smaller then, and so was her handwriting.

There were plenty of displays of items appropriate to the period, and letters from ‘Aunt Jane’ to several family members. In the archives and explanations of the relatives, there are people who I’m sure match characters precisely – like Colonel Fairfax, the whole of the Mansfield House crowd, and even Mr Wickham. Her sister Cassandra sounds a dead ringer for Jane Bennet. I wonder if Jane saw herself as Elizabeth, or made her the heroine she wished she could be?

There is much to see, and I lingered over the illustrations for the 1894 edition of Pride and Prejudice. I examined them in particular for the characters, and the accuracy between their faces between different scenes. As I went round, quotations from the books came to me at odd times–seeing the shelves in the bedroom cupboard for example (Elizabeth’s visit to the Collinses).

If you get a chance to visit, do.

Grave and Statue

I could easily visit the house where she died, in Winchester. But I have no wish to, really. I’d rather remember her busy life in Chawton, or imagine her life in Bath where she probably had a lively social life until her father died, after which finances for mother and daughters became strained. But I have already passed her grave, which is Winchester cathedral. It is always so crowded by tourists that I’ve never stopped to look at it. Maybe when all the celebrations are over, I will go and look at it – and the new statue of her in the Inner Close outside.

There is also footage of unveiling the final statue last month in Winchester on YouTube. I must admit, I prefer the maquette.

Austen unveiling (clip)