vrijdag 27 november 2009

Janeite

The term Janeite has been both embraced by devotees of the works of Jane Austen as well as used as a term of opprobrium. According to Austen scholar Claudia Johnson Janeitism is "the self-consciously idolatrous enthusiasm for 'Jane' and every detail relative to her

.Janeitism did not begin until after the publication of J. E. Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1870, when the literary elite felt that they had to separate their appreciation of Austen from that of the masses.[1] The term Janeite was originally coined by the literary scholar George Saintsbury in his 1894 introduction to a new edition of Pride and Prejudice.  As Austen scholar Deidre Lynch explains, "he meant to equip himself with a badge of honor he could jubilantly pin to his own lapel".   In the early twentieth century, Janeitism was "principally a male enthusiasm shared among publishers, professors, and literati".  Rudyard Kipling even published a short story entitled "Janeites" about a group of World War I soldiers who were fans of Austen's novels.
During the 1930s and 1940s, when Austen's works were canonized and accepted within the academy, the term began to change meaning. It was used to signify those who appreciated Austen in the "wrong" way and the term, according to Lynch, is "now used almost exclusively about and against other people" [emphasis in original)

http://tribes.tribe.net/cultofjaneausten

zaterdag 7 november 2009

Ibthorpe

Jane en Cassandra waren bevriend met Maria en Martha Lloyd, De Loyds huurden van de Austens. Mary Lloyd trouwde met James Austen. De Lloyds verhuisde naar Ibthorpe in 1792 en Jane en Cassandra logeerden bij hen in oktober 1792. Het lag niet ver van Steventon.

Jane would have known Ibthorpe from visiting the Lloyd family. It was not far away from Steventon. The Lloyds had been tenants of the Austens, taking over Deane parsonage in 1789, and were related by marriage. Jane and Cassandra were good friends with Mary and Martha Lloyd, and Mary Lloyd eventually married James Austen, Jane's brother. The Lloyds moved to Ibthorpe in 1792 and Jane and Cassandra stayed with them in October 1792.
Then in November 1800 Jane stayed with Martha Lloyd at Ibthorpe where she had 'the pleasure of spending my time very pleasantly' despite wet weather which made it 'too dirty even for such desperate walkers as Martha and I to get out of doors'.
She returned to Steventon in the December to be greeted with the news that her family was moving to Bath, and family tradition has it that she fainted away, the shock was so great.
Cassandra helped Martha nurse Mrs Lloyd in her final illness, and after the latter's death at Ibthorpe in April 1805, Martha Lloyd moved in with the Austens at Bath, and stayed with them after the move to Chawton in 1809. It was a happy arrangement and Martha stayed for about 20 years altogether.

Martha Lloyd, vriendin van Jane.


Naast Cassandra is Martha Lloyd (1765-1843) de dierbaarste vriend van Jane Austen geweest.
Toen de Rev Lloyd overleed in 1789 bood ds. Austen aan de weduwe en haar twee oudste dochters Deane pastorie aan om on te wonen.
De Lloyd familie had veel gemeen met de Austens en vanaf vroeg af aan bezochten zij elkaar.
Drie jaar later trouwde broer James, de broer van Jane Austen en nam de parochie van Deane, dat maakte het noodzakelijk voor de Lloyds om te verhuizen, ditmaal naar een huis in Hurstbourne, genaamd Ibthorpe.
Hoewel slechts 15 mijl van Steventon moet deze scheiding moeilijk geweest zij voor Jane, ze had weinig vrienden in de buurt en geen vorm van vervoer. Het is duidelijk uit correspondentie van Jane Austen en Martha dat Martha was ingewijd in het grote geheim - haar schrijven.
Met het verhuizen van de Austen's naar Bath in 1801, nam James zowel de Deane en Steventon bedrijven over en zijn groeiende gezin Mary Lloydl, werd zijn tweede vrouw en zij woonden in de pastorie van Steventon.
Terwijl ze in Bath woonden stierf de heer Austen uiteindelijk aan zijn lange ziekte en niet al te veel maanden later was mevrouw Lloyd ook gestorven. De vrouwen, die in een moeilijke financiële situatie besloten om huishouden te combineren en alle vier (mevrouw Austen, Cassandra, Jane en Martha Lloyd) verhuisde naar Southampton om bij Jane's jongere broer Frank en zijn vrouw Mary te wonen.
Op 7 juli 1809, verhuist Jane Austen naar een huisje in Chawton, samen met haar moeder, haar zus Cassandra en haar vriendin Martha Lloyd, op uitnodiging van haar broer Edward Knight.. Hun nieuwe huis was een laat 17e eeuws bakstenen gebouw met twee zitkamers, vijf slaapkamers, keukens, zolders, bijgebouwen, en ongeveer twee hectare grond. Het was ooit een herberg, en stond op de kruising tussen Gosport en Winchester wegen voldaan en werd de hoofdweg naar Londen.
Het gezin bleef op Chawton Cottage, zelfs na de dood van Jane Austen in 1817. Martha Lloyd heeft op veel huishoudelijke taken voor de familie verricht, het werk werd verdeeld onder de drie overlevende vrouwen. Helaas voor Frank stierf zijn vrouw in 1823 na de geboorte van hun 11e kind. In 1828 hertrouwde hij met Martha Lloyd. Op tweeënzestig jarige leeftijd was Martha eindelijk een bruid, en meer dan dat Lady Austen.

Haar rol als vriendin en vertrouwelinge van Jane Austen kan niet worden ondergewaardeerd en haar bijdrage aan wat we weten van het leven van Jane Austen is aanzienlijk. We hebben niet alleen brieven, geschreven door Jane aan Martha, maar haar verzameling van recepten die ze gebruikte in Chawton werden later werden verzameld in The Jane Austen Cookbook.

Harris Bigg-Wither

Bigg and Bigg-Withers Family

The last of the Withers of Manydown family died 31 October 1789. The heir was Lovelace Bigg, who assumed the name Bigg-Withers under Royal Licence, along with the arms of the Withers family. He also changed his sons names, but the daughters retained their surname, Bigg.

Many glimpses of the life at Manydown between 1796-1799 are to be found in the letters of Jane Austen, whose father was Rector of Steventon, two and a half miles distant. The authoress was evidently very much at home with the party at Manydown, where she frequentlv stayed, and was especially intimate with Catherine and Alethea Bigg, who were about her own age.

Writing to her sister Cassandra of a ball 8th January 1799, given by Lady Dorchester, who then lived at Kempshott, Jane Austen says: "Catherine [Bigg] has the honour of giving her name to a set, which will be composed of two Withers, two Heathcotes, a Blachfoyd, and no Bigg except herself."

Harris Bigg-Wither was born in Wiltshire on 18 May 1781, the second youngest of nine children, and was named after his grandmother, Jane Harris. Harris was eight years old when his father Lovelace inherited Manydown Park. When he was 13, his elder brother died and Harris became heir to Manydown Park and several other properties. In December 1802 he proposed marriage to Jane Austen, although she was six years older than him. She accepted, but announced a change of mind the next day, leaving for Steventon.

Kleding uit de BBC film pride and prejudice



 


Writing desk


















Het bureau op de Jane Austen Museum.

Sense and Sensibility


In 1811, Jane Austen’s first novel, Sense and Sensibility was published on October 30th by Thomas Egerton. Jane paid for the privilege and awarded her publisher a commission on sales. She made a profit of £140 on the first edition, which sold all 750 printed copies by July 1813. A second edition was advertised in October 1813. Note the title page in the last illustration – there is no reference to Jane as the author. It simply states – By a Lady – it was not considered quite the done thing to be a lady novelist and so keeping her name a secret was preferred.


On April 25th of that year she was doing the last edits to her book. I love this snippet to Cassandra in a letter sent whilst she was staying at her brother Henry’s house in Sloane Street, London. If you remember, this was the brother who had married Eliza de Feuillide. Jane writes:

Lees verder:
http://janeaustensequelsblog.wordpress.com/

Kleding

November
The gown on the left is a Walking Dress from November 1814, and the gown on the right is a Morning Walking Dress from November 1809.

The 1809 Morning Walking Dress is described as follows:
"A petticoat and Roman tunic of fine thin cambric, long sleeves, and high collar, interjoined and trimmed with lace; the tunic finished at the bottom with a border of fretwork. A jubilee cloak of bright amber velvet, or shaded gold-coloured sarsnet, trimmed entirely round with swansdown, and confined at the center of the throat with a rich cord and tassels of blended silk and gold. The cottager's hat, of imperial-coloured straw, tied simply under the chin with a white ribbon. Parasol, gloves, and shoes, of correspondent shades with the hat."

The 1814 Walking Dress is described as follows:
"An Italian striped sarsnet lilac-coloured dress, ornamented round the bottom with a double quilling of satin ribband; short full sleeve, trimmed to correspond; the fronts of the dress open to cross the bosom and form an open stomacher; a Vandyke French ruff, and full bordered cap to correspond. The satin straw hat, tied under the chin with a check or striped Barcelona handkerchief, crossing the crown with a small plume of ostrich feathers in the front. French shawl, a white twill, embroidered with shaded scarlet and green silks, and fancifully disposed on the figure. Gloves, Limerick or York tan, drawn over the elbow. Half-boots of York tan or pale buff kid."

Overgenomen van:
http://www.solitary-elegance.com/ackermann.htm

vrijdag 6 november 2009

Brief van Jane Austen


Jane Austen Quiz



Take the Quiz here!

Chawton cottage's garden


Schrijftafel


Tea with Jane Austen

"You must drink tea with us tonight." Sense & Sensibility
Who would not want to sit down with Jane Austen and join her in a cup of tea? Here for the first time is a book that shares the secrets of one of her favorite rituals. Tea figures prominently in Jane Austen's life and work. In fact, the beloved novelist was the keeper and maker of tea in her family. Tea with Jane Austen begins with tea drinking in the morning and ends with tea in the evening, at balls and other gatherings. Each chapter includes a description of how tea was taken at a particular place or time of day, along with history, recipes, excerpts from Austen's novels and letters and illustrations from the time. The book also reveals how to make a perfect cup of tea! This volume is the perfect gift for tea lovers-and of course, Jane Austen fans.

Emma Woodhouse

Emma Woodhouse, that strong, rich, handsome and clever girl who went against everything in the 18th century. In Jane's own way she was such an inspiration to women feminist of this day in age. The creation goes out to all the clever girls who push the limits and yet, still look damn good doing it!

"'I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him. If she can hesitate as to "Yes," she ought to say "No" directly.'"

woensdag 4 november 2009

Pride and prejudice

De roman richt zich vooral op Elizabeth en haar relatie met Mr. Darcy, een zeer rijke en trotse man die haar tijdens een bal in Elizabeths woonplaats beledigt ("She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me"). Elizabeth hoort Darcy deze opmerking maken tegen zijn beste vriend Charles Bingley en krijgt direct een hekel aan hem. Wanneer Elizabeth later wordt voorgesteld aan George Wickham is haar eerste indruk dat hij charmant is en er is direct een wederzijdse aantrekkingskracht tussen hen. Wickham laat Elizabeth en iedereen in de omgeving geloven dat hij zeer onheus is behandeld door Darcy. Hij beweert dat Darcy hem een betrekking als geestelijke heeft ontzegd die Wickham door Darcy's vader was toegezegd. Elizabeths hekel aan Darcy wordt vervolgens nog meer aangewakkerd wanneer duidelijk wordt dat hij zijn vriend Bingley ervan heeft weerhouden Jane Bennet, op wie Bingley verliefd is, ten huwelijk te vragen. Darcy dacht uit Jane's serene houding op te maken dat ze niets om Bingley gaf. Elizabeth is ervan overtuigd dat haar hekel aan Darcy gegrond is, zowel door het aangevoerde bewijs van Darcy's kwalijke gedrag als door haar overtuiging van haar eigen feilloze inzicht in menselijke karakters.

Darcy wordt ondanks alles wat volgens hem tegen haar pleit, verliefd op Elisabeth, vraagt haar vervolgens ten huwelijk, maar licht tegelijkertijd al zijn bedenkingen omtrent haar lage afkomst en onfatsoenlijke familieleden toe. Elisabeth wijst hem bits af. Wanneer hij haar vraagt naar haar redenen gooit ze hem die zonder ook maar enigszins rekening te houden met zijn gevoelens voor de voeten - ze verwijt hem zowel de rampspoed van Wickham als van haar zuster Jane.

Darcy schrijft een brief aan Elizabeth om de verwijten die ze hem heeft gemaakt met betrekking tot Wickham en Bingley/Jane te ontkrachten. Hij vertelt haar wat de redenen waren voor zijn bemoeienis met de verhouding tussen Jane en Bingley, en doet een uitgebreid verslag over zijn lange relatie met Wickham (Wickham en Darcy kennen elkaar al vanaf hun kindertijd). Wanneer Elizabeth de brief leest beseft ze dat Darcy gelijk heeft, zowel wat haar familie betreft (ze ergert zich immers zelf ook vaak aan het platte en oppervlakkige gedrag van haar moeder en jongere zusters) als wat Wickham betreft: ze bespeurt al terugdenkend aan haar gesprekken met Wickham inderdaad tegenstrijdigheden in zijn verhalen die ze in eerste instantie niet had opgemerkt. Ze realiseert zich dat Darcy gelijk moet hebben en dat Wickham een onbetrouwbaar persoon is, en ook – tot haar grote schaamte - dat haar eerste indruk van zowel Darcy als Wickham volledig onjuist was.

Wanneer Elizabeth tijdens een vakantie met haar oom en tante Gardiner in Derbyshire het landgoed van Darcy, Pemberley, bezoekt (in de overtuiging dat de familie niet op het landgoed verblijft), loopt ze Darcy zeer onverwacht toch tegen het lijf. Elizabeth geneert zich enorm wanneer ze tegenover hem staat. Zij is echter bijzonder onder de indruk van het prachtige landgoed. Darcy gedraagt zich tot Elizabeths niet geringe verbazing als een zeer hoffelijk en attent gastheer. Hij stelt haar een dag later zelfs voor aan zijn jongere zuster, Miss Georgiana. Elizabeth voelt zich vereerd en is zeer gecharmeerd van deze verlegen jongedame, met wie ze al snel bevriend raakt.

Wanneer Elizabeths jongste zuster Lydia wordt geschaakt door de onbetrouwbare en goklustige Wickham, is Darcy degene die Lydia en daarmee de familie Bennet redt van een grote schande. Hij zorgt ervoor dat Wickhams schulden worden afgelost, dat Lydia een inkomen krijgt en dat Wickham daardoor met Lydia trouwt. Door deze actie van Darcy is Elizabeth er tenslotte van overtuigd dat Darcy's karakter door en door goed is en dat hij toch de ware voor haar is. Ze geeft toe aan haar gevoelens voor hem. Kort nadat Bingley en Jane zich verloven vraagt Darcy Elizabeth nogmaals ten huwelijk en dit keer accepteert Elizabeth hem wel.

Topas kruizen















Jane kreeg deze Topas kruizen van haar
broer Charles in 1801.

Steventon

1775–1801: Steventon, Hampshire, U.K.
Steventon Rectory. The Rectory was demolished in 1820 but Steventon Church, where the Austens worshipped, still remains. If you visit the field where the house stood, you can see a metal pump (that replaced the wooden pump from Austen's time) and a lime tree that is thought to have been planted by Jane's eldest brother James. Note that Jane spent some time away from home during this time. In the Spring of 1783, according to her family tradition, she and Cassandra were sent to reside with tutor Mrs. Ann Crawley,
who lived in Oxford but moved to Southampton in the Summer of that year. Around this time, Cassandra
and Jane both caught typhus; Jane nearly died. Soon after, both girls returned to live at Steventon Rectory. Between the Spring of 1785 and December of 1786, Jane and Cassandra attended Reading Ladies'
Boarding School in Berkshire.

Garden

















Jane Austen loved a garden. She took a keen interest in flower gardening and kitchen gardening alike.
The Austens grew their own food whenever they could and had flower gardens wherever they lived, at their
parsonage at Steventon in Hampshire, their town gardens at Bath and Southampton, and when
they returned to Hampshire, at their cottage garden at Chawton. In Jane’s letters to her sister Cassandra,
we see her planning the details of these family gardens, discussing the planting of fruit, flowers, and trees
with enthusiasm. In the course of her life, she also had the opportunity to visit many of the grander
gardens of England: her brother’s two estates at Chawton and Godmersham, the manor houses
of friends and family, and probably even the great estate at Chatsworth, assumed by many to be the inspiration for Pemberley…

So begins the book
“In the Garden with Jane Austen,” by Kim Wilson,
author of Tea with Jane Austen,
published by Jones Books [2008]
___________________________________________

“Our Garden is putting in order, by a Man who bears a remarkably good character, has a very fine complexion & asks something less than the first. The shrubs which border the gravel walk he says are only sweetbriar & roses, & the latter of an indifferent sort;–we mean to get a few of a better kind therefore, & at my own particular desire he procures us some Syringas. I could not do without a Syringa, for the sake of Cowper’s Line.–We talk also of a Laburnam.–The Border under the Terrace Wall, is clearing away to receive Currants & Gooseberry Bushes, & a spot is found very proper for raspberries.” – Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, February 8, 1807
.

Chawton Cottage














Kleding uit Jane Austen films in Chawton Cottage

Inrichting Chawton Cottage

maandag 2 november 2009


This frank sketch by her sister and closest confidante Cassandra is the only reasonably certain portrait from life. Even so, Jane's relatives were not entirely convinced by it: 'there is a look which I recognise as hers', her niece wrote, 'though the general resemblance is not strong, yet as it represents a pleasing countenance it is so far a truth.

Chawton Cottage

Jane Austens House, Chawton from an Adventure Balloon! (House is just below car park

Pelisse Dress Coat 1814


Said to have been worn by Jane Austen
'Pelisse' was the fashionable contemporary term for this garment, which was half-way between a dress and a coat, and typically calf-length. It has sometimes been referred to as an overdress, a coat, a redingote, and incorrectly misinterpreted as a dressing gown more recently. The garment is of good quality silk in a twill weave, woven with a small repeat pattern of oak leaves in a golden straw colour on a warm brown ground. On the stylistic evidence of the shape of the bodice and skirt and the size of the sleeve heads, and the ruched decorative trim, it can be accurately dated to c1813-15.
It has close-fitting long sleeves, a high standing collar, and is open at centre front with no fastenings, but edged on either side with gold cord. It would have been worn over a cotton gown which would have shown several inches below the pelisse hem, as well as at centre front and at the cuffs (hence no accurate assessment of the height of the wearer can be offered). It is lined throughout with white silk.
Why do we think the Pelisse Dress Coat was worn by Jane Austen?

The pelisse was given to Hampshire Museums Service in 1993. The donors' great, great, great grandfather was Jane Austen's elder brother James (1765-1819), who got it from their grandmother, who had received it from Eleanor Steele (nee Glubbe, b1857). She had visited the Knight family as a young lady of eighteen, and was given the dress by Miss Marianne Knight, sister of Captain John Knight, around 1875. At the age of seventy three she eventually felt that the pelisse should return to the Austen family, and sent it to James's great granddaughter Mrs Winifred Jenkyns. Her note accompanying the parcel reads: "I missed the little coat for a long time but lately it turned up. I cannot remember if it was 'Jane's' but it seems probable"
The family has linked the pelisse with a letter written by Jane on 14 October 1813 "I produced my brown bombasin yesterday and it was very much admired indeed - and I like it better than ever". Bombazine was a fabric with silk warp and woollen weft, an example in Barbara Johnson's Album of Fashions and Fabrics (in the Victoria and Albert Museum) dated 1814 has a worsted weft. The Jane Austen pelisse however is all silk, so this may not be the garment referred to in the diary entry. Oak leaves were an immensely popular design for the Waterloo period, and especially at the time of England's victory, as evidenced by many garments of this date figuring oak leaves, surviving in English Museums, so this is another consistency in terms of dating. Whether the silk could have been woven locally at Whitchurch Silk Mill has not been fully researched, but it is almost undoubtedly English.
There are two dark brown dresses in the Museum of Costume, Bath thought to have been worn to the Duchess of Richmond's Waterloo Ball in Brussels on 15 June 1815; brown goes in and out of fashion but again the colouring of the pelisse is consistent with the proferred dating. Jane mentioned having a 'brown cambric muslin for morning wear' in 1801 and the 'brown bombasin' for gowns for both Cassandra and herself in 1813.

By 1814 Jane was expressing a preference for long sleeved garments which is consistent with her wearing a pelisse at this date. For a long time long sleeves on gowns had usually indicated day wear, and day pelisses were generally made of robust cotton or wool. The silk of the pelisse suggests a special occasion garment, or evening wear. Jane wrote, after attending a dinner party in London on 9 March 1814: "Mrs Tilson [her hostess] had long sleeves too, and she assured me that they are worn in the evening by many. I was glad to hear this". In September 1814 she wrote to a friend from London that "Long sleeves appear universal, even as Dress". Jane and Cassandra's gowns and pelisses would have been made by professional dressmakers in Bath and London; it is fair to assume that any pelisse of Jane's would have been made in the most fashionable style, not in any sense provincial and lagging behind the fashions. The pelisse is lightweight, and could easily have been worn over a thin muslin gown at a dinner party in autumn or spring, or outdoors on a summer's evening.

Kosten van levensonderhoud

The cost of postage had risen in 1784 as the Chancellor of the Exchequer explained that the increases would be on the mail instead of a tax on coal. The income from letters was used to boost the funds of the Government, and the prices were raised again in 1797, 1801, 1805 and 1812.
During the wars against France (1793-1815) the income was regarded as a tax levied to help the war effort, but once Napoleon had been defeated, there was a backlash of feeling against the high rates. By this time, it was often hard to decide if it was worth sending a letter at all: the cost of a letter could be as much as a day's wages for a working man. It became a matter of importance to get around the cost in one way or another. For instance it was cheaper to send a letter from London to Scotland by the coastal shipping - 8 pence instead of by road which cost 13½ pence (1sh.1½d).
Because the recipient usually paid the cost of the delivery, it was possible to arrange to send an empty letter (or one with an agreed error in the name or address) - so that the recipient would know the handwriting, realise that all was well with the sender, so refuse to accept it, and not have to pay.

To give some idea of comparative costs:
In 1825 on a suggested budget of £250 a year given by Mrs Rundell in her New System of Domestic Economy for 'a gentleman, his lady, three children and a Maid-Servant', where food took £2.11.7d a week or £134.2.4d a year, the biggest single item was:
•10s 6d a week for butcher's meat (18 lbs at 7d a pound, or about ½ lb each day)
followed by:
•7s for beer and other liquors
•6s for bread
•3s 6d for 3½ lb butter
•3s 6d for fish
•3s for sugar (4½ lb at 8d a lb) and
•2s 6d for tea (5 ozs at 8s a pound)
•two pounds of candles cost 1s 2d a week in 1825
•coal and wood 3s 9d
•rent and taxes were allowed at only £25 a year
•clothes (for 5) £36
•the maid £16
•the education of 3 children £10.10s.

There were small margins for recreation, medical expenses and savings, but although the family probably had more than enough food in total, it devoted only 3d each week a week to milk (2 pints) and 6d each to fruit and vegetables.
However, on an income of £1000 per annum the budget is quite different! Now there is an establishment of 10, for besides the same-sized family there is a cook, a housemaid, a nursery-maid, a coachman and a footman, whose combined wages are £87 a year ; there is also a 'Chariot, Coach, Phaeton or other four-wheel carriage, and a pair of horses', costing £65-17s a year in keep. The family consumes 52½ lb of meat a week - a daily allowance of ¾ lb for each person - there is now a guinea a week for drink, and ¾ lb of butter for each person. The smallest items are still fruit and vegetables (9d per person per week) and eggs and milk (4½d per week).*

To put this in a recognised context, in Sense & Sensibility Mrs John Dashwood, trying to dissuade her husband from giving his mother and sisters any money at all, points out that they will be so well off, they will need nothing. ... Altogether, they will have five hundred a year amongst them, and what on earth can four women want for more than that? They will live so cheap! Their housekeeping will be nothing at all. They will have no carriage, no horses, and hardly any servants; they will keep no company, and can have no expenses of any kind! Only conceive how comfortable they will be! Five hundred a year! I am sure I cannot imagine how they will spend half of it."

But, if, in addition to feeding/clothing the four ladies of the house, they would have to provide living quarters/food/uniform for the house servant, and if they grew their own food, they would have to employ a gardener - more outlay. Allowing for the fact that they would probably make their own clothes, they would still have to buy the materials. It would not be luxurious living by any standards.
So, it does seem as though the parsimonious Mrs John Dashwood could have convinced herself that her four indigent in-laws could manage with no financial help from their brother.
Ron and Eunice Shanahan have collected British postal history for nearly 40 years. Though their period letters were originally purchased for the postal markings, over the years, the contents of the letters became of as much interest as the postal markings. Eunice writes for Stamp News Australasia, and has managed to sneak a fair bit of social history into the articles. The Shanahans host the Regency Postal Page.

zondag 1 november 2009

The quilt Jane made


Jane Austen was both fond of and good at needlework. Several pieces of her work survive and can be seen at the Jane Austen's House museum in Chawton, Hampshire, UK, including a white embroidered indian muslin tucker, a white embroidered lawn handkerchief and this patchwork quilt which was made by herself, her sister, Cassandra, and her mother at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

In May 1811, in a letter to Cassandra, Jane asked, "have you remembered to collect pieces for the Patchwork? -- we are now at a standstill."

This very fine patchwork quilt uses 64 different fabrics. The quilt is worked using two sizes of lozenge diamond, and a rhomboid shape of black-and-white spotted fabric for the light-coloured 'trellis' effect dividing the diamonds.

Each diamond-shaped patch is placed in sequences of four around a central diamond-shaped floral motif featuring a basket of flowers. The quilt has a deep border of smaller diamond patches adorned with landscapes and flowers.
The patchwork quilt has been re-sited – the one which was made by Jane and her mother and sister while they were in Chawton. It used to be hung over a rail in Jane’s bedroom, but the textile experts, who recently cleaned and restored it, said that being sewn ‘on the cross’, it put too much strain on the stitches. We had a bed made up in the Costume Room – just boxes and padding, so that the quilt could be thrown over it. This room is dust- and finger-free, and the lights only come on when anyone is looking at the display, so the conditions are ideal. We were recently given a reproduction of a Tent Bed by the Trustees of Keats’ House in Hampstead. Mr Austen bought Tent Beds for Jane and Cassandra when they lived at Steventon. It has two iron rails curving lengthways from either side of the bedhead to the footboard so that curtains could be hung along them to keep out the draughts. We have had some dainty curtains specially made, tied back so that the bed can be seen. Luckily this bed fits into the costume display area, and we can dispose of the boxes and display the quilt more appropriately.

Godmersham Park






















Jane Austen’s father George was from Kent. The family resumed links with the county when Jane’s brother Edward was adopted as a boy by a rich relative, Thomas Knight, who owned Godmersham Park. When Edward later inherited the house and estate, Jane was a frequent visitor to help look after a growing number of nieces and nephews.
The visits to Kent by Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra often lasted several months. The sisters were not usually there at the same time, and so many of the surviving letters from Jane to Cassandra date from these visits. Jane mentions going to Canterbury for shopping and balls and to other East Kent towns, such as Deal, Ramsgate and Broadstairs.
Elizabeth Bridges, Edward’s wife, lived before her marriage at Goodnestone Park with her parents Sir Brook Bridges and Lady Fanny, and until they inherited Godmersham, Edward and Elizabeth lived in a smaller house on the Goodnestone estate. When Jane visited her brother, she was often entertained at Goodnestone with dinners and dances.
Elizabeth died in childbirth in 1808 aged only 35. She and Edward are commemorated in the church of St Lawrence the Martyr at Godmersham, on a large memorial on the wall of the nave and also in a stained glass window in the chancel. There is too a memorial to Thomas and Catherine Knight, Edward’s adoptive parents.
One can imagine that both Godmersham Park and Goodnestone Park provided background material and inspiration for many of the settings in Austen’s novels.
It was a long journey by coach and horses from Hampshire to Kent (and back again) requiring stops along the way.
We know from Jane Austen’s letters that she often rested at the Bull and George Inn at Dartford, sometimes overnight, and sometimes just staying for a meal.
A plaque was put up in 2006 on the wall of Boots in High Street, site of the old inn

Chawton


Chawton Cottage, in Chawton village near Alton, was Jane Austen’s last home from 1808and it was here that she settled into her writing and became a published author. Jane and her mother and sister had left Bath and set up home in Southampton with brother Frank and his wife, following the death of Mr Austen senior. But by 1808 Frank had moved his family to the Isle of Wight. Now another of Jane’s brothers, Edward Knight, stepped in to help his mother and sisters. Edward, adopted at 16 by wealthy but childless Kent relatives, inherited their estates in Kent and Hampshire. He made his home at Godmersham Park, near Canterbury, but after his wife’s early death in 1808 thought he might spend more time at Chawton Great House in Hampshire, nearer his relatives. Probably with this in mind, he offered the Austen women Chawton Cottage, formerly the home of his estate manager, rent-free for the rest of their lives.
There had been some talk of them moving to Kent, but Chawton was close to friends and relations. Eldest brother James was still at Steventon, a horse-ride away, brother Henry made occasional visits to the branch of his bank in nearby Alton, and Frank when not at sea was not very far away either (he soon moved his wife and family to Alton to be even closer to his mother and sisters). Henry inspected the cottage and reported back that there were six bedrooms, which meant there would be room for their friend Martha to move in with them. The cottage had a large garden, where the women grew fruit and vegetables and took gentle exercise. It was on a busy junction of three roads, with daily coaches passing through. Today the village is bypassed and a lot quieter. Edward had a window on the road side blocked up, giving more privacy. Once settled into Chawton Jane began revising Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, which were written at Steventon. With brother Henry’s help, she succeeded in getting these novels published, in 1811 and 1813. She followed these with Mansfield Park and Emma. Henry managed to buy back Northanger Abbey from a publisher who had not printed it, and it was eventually published after Jane’s death along with Persuasion, the last complete novel.
In 1817, after starting another book, Jane became very ill and moved to Winchester for medical help. She died a few weeks later. Ten years later Jane’s mother died, and the following year Martha married Jane’s brother Frank at the ripe age of 63. Jane’s sister Cassandra continued to live in Chawton Cottage until her death in 1845 She was buried in Chawton churchyard, as was her mother.
There are monuments to both. This church, where Jane and the family worshipped, was rebuilt in 1838 by Edward, whose home Chawton Great House is next door. However, this rebuilt church burnt down and was replaced in 1871 with the present building.
Edward did not use the Great House much, but brother Frank rented it from him from 1814 - 1820, and it was also used at different times by Henry and Charles. It remains in the Knight family, but in 1993, Richard Knight sold a 125 year lease on the building. It is currently a study centre for women’s writing. There are regular tours of the house:

Jane and Cassandra frequently walked into the nearby town of Alton for shopping and entertainment. Brother Henry had a branch of his bank, Austen, Maude and Tilson, here and often visited on business from London. Later, after the bank collapsed, Henry became a clergyman at Chawton.

Chawton


The "cottage" in Chawton where Jane Austen lived during the last eight years of her life, now Jane Austen's House MuseumAround early 1809, Austen's brother Edward offered his mother and sisters a more settled life—the use of a large "cottage" in Chawton village that was part of Edward's nearby estate, Chawton House. Jane, Cassandra, and their mother moved into Chawton cottage on 7 July 1809. In Chawton, life was quieter than it had been since the family's move to Bath in 1800The Austens did not socialise with the neighbouring gentry and entertained only. when family visited. Austen's niece Anna described the Austen family's life in Chawton: "It was a very quiet life, according to our ideas, but they were great readers, and besides the housekeeping our aunts occupied themselves in working with the poor and in teaching some girl or boy to read or write." Austen wrote almost daily, but privately, and seems to have been relieved of some household responsibilities to give her more opportunity to write. In this setting, she was able to be productive as a writer once more.




 


 


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JANE AUSTEN/ WEBSITES

Jane Austen

Jane Austen

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