Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters | Page 2

and it finally found utterance in her latest work,
when, through Anne Elliot, she claimed for women the right of 'loving
longest when existence or when hope is gone.'
Then, again, her nephew and nieces hardly knew how much she had
gone into society, or how much, with a certain characteristic aloofness,
she had enjoyed it. Bath, either when she was the guest of her uncle and
aunt or when she was a resident; London, with her brother Henry and

his wife, and the rather miscellaneous society which they enjoyed;
Godmersham, with her brother Edward and his county neighbours in
East Kent;--these had all given her many opportunities of studying the
particular types which she blended into her own creations.
A third point is the uneventful nature of the author's life, which, as we
think, has been a good deal exaggerated. Quiet it certainly was; but the
quiet life of a member of a large family in the England of that date was
compatible with a good deal of stirring incident, happening, if not to
herself, at all events to those who were nearest to her, and who
commanded her deepest sympathies.
We hope therefore that our narrative, with all its imperfections and its
inevitable repetition of much that has already been published, will at
least be of use in removing misconceptions, in laying some new facts
before the reader, and in placing others in a fresh light. It is intended as
a narrative, and not as a piece of literary criticism; for we should not
care to embark upon the latter in competition with biographers and
essayists who have a better claim to be heard.
Both in the plan and in the execution of our work we have received
much valuable help from another member of the family, Mary A.
Austen Leigh.[2]
An arrangement courteously made by the owners of the copyright has
procured for us a free and ample use of the Letters as edited by Lord
Brabourne[3]; while the kindness of Mr. J. G. Nicholson of Castlefield
House, Sturton-by-Scawby, Lincolnshire, has opened a completely new
source of information in the letters which passed between the Austens
and their kinsmen of the half-blood--Walters of Kent and afterwards of
Lincolnshire. Miss Jane Austen, granddaughter of Admiral Charles
Austen, and Miss Margaret Bellas, great-granddaughter of James
Austen, are so good as to allow us to make a fuller use of their family
documents than was found possible by the author of the Memoir; while
Mr. J. H. Hubback permits us to draw freely upon the Sailor Brothers,
and Captain E. L. Austen, R.N., upon his MSS. Finally, we owe to
Admiral Ernest Rice kind permission to have the photograph taken,
from which the reproduction of his Zoffany portrait is made into a

frontispiece for this volume. We hope that any other friends who have
helped us will accept this general expression of our gratitude.
W. A. L. R. A. A. L.
April 1913.

In the notes to the text, the following works are referred to under the
shortened forms here given:--
Memoir of Jane Austen, by her nephew, J. E. Austen Leigh: quoted
from second edition, 1871. As Memoir.
Letters of Jane Austen, edited by Edward Lord Brabourne, 1884. As
Brabourne.
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers, by J. H. Hubback and Edith C. Hubback,
1906. As Sailor Brothers.
Jane Austen: Her Homes and her Friends Constance Hill, 1902. As
Miss Hill.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Father of one of the present writers, and grandfather of the other.
[2] Daughter of the author of the Memoir.
[3] It has not, however, been possible to consult the originals except in
the instance of the letters from Jane to Anna Lefroy.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE v

CHRONOLOGY xiii
I. AUSTENS AND LEIGHS, 1600-1764 1
II. STEVENTON, 1764-1785 11
III. WARREN HASTINGS AND THE HANCOCKS, 1752-1794 31
IV. FAMILY LIFE, 1779-1792 46
V. GROWTH AND CHANGE, 1792-1796 67
VI. ROMANCE, 1795-1802 84
VII. AUTHORSHIP AND CORRESPONDENCE, 1796-1798 95
VIII. GODMERSHAM AND STEVENTON, 1798-1799 109
IX. THE LEIGH PERROTS AND BATH, 1799-1800 126
X. CHANGE OF HOME, 1800-1801 141
XI. BATH AGAIN, 1801-1805 165
XII. FROM BATH TO SOUTHAMPTON, 1805-1808 189
XIII. FROM SOUTHAMPTON TO CHAWTON, 1808-1809 209
XIV. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, 1809-1811 235
XV. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, 1812-1814 255
XVI. MANSFIELD PARK, 1812-1814 273
XVII. EMMA, 1814-1815 299
XVIII. PERSUASION, 1815-1816 325
XIX. AUNT JANE, 1814-1817 341

XX. FAILING HEALTH, 1816-1817 369
XXI. WINCHESTER, 1817 388
APPENDIX: THE TEXT OF JANE AUSTEN'S NOVELS 405
BIBLIOGRAPHY 421
PEDIGREES to face page 428 I. Austen II. Leigh III. Craven, Fowle,
and Lloyd Families
INDEX 429
* * * * *
PORTRAIT OF JANE AUSTEN Frontispiece

CHRONOLOGY OF JANE AUSTEN'S LIFE
1775, Dec. 16 Birth, at Steventon.
1779, June Charles John Austen born.
1780, July James Austen matriculated at Oxford (St.