Memoir of Jane Austen, by James Edward Austen-Leigh

Transcribed from the 1871 Richard Bentley and Son edition by Les Bowler.

A MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN.

PREFACE.

The Memoir of my Aunt, Jane Austen, has been received with more favour than I had ventured to expect.  The notices taken of it in the periodical press, as well as letters addressed to me by many with whom I am not personally acquainted, show that an unabated interest is still taken in every particular that can be told about her.  I am thus encouraged not only to offer a Second Edition of the Memoir, but also to enlarge it with some additional matter which I might have scrupled to intrude on the public if they had not thus seemed to call for it.  In the present Edition, the narrative is somewhat enlarged, and a few more letters are added; with a short specimen of her childish stories.  The cancelled chapter of ‘Persuasion’ is given, in compliance with wishes both publicly and privately expressed.  A fragment of a story entitled ‘The Watsons’ is printed;

and extracts are given from a novel which she had begun a few months before her death; but the chief addition is a short tale never before published, called ‘Lady Susan.’ {0a}  I regret that the little which I have been able to add could not appear in my First Edition; as much of it was either unknown to me, or not at my command, when I first published; and I hope that I may claim some indulgent allowance for the difficulty of recovering little facts and feelings which had been merged half a century deep in oblivion.

November 17, 1870.

CONTENTS.

Chapter I.    Introductory Remarks—Birth of Jane Austen—Her Family Connections—Their Influence on her Writings

Chapter II.   Description of Steventon—Life at Steventon—Changes of Habits and Customs in the last Century

Chapter III.  Early Compositions—Friends at Ashe—A very Old Letter—Lines on the Death of Mrs. Lefroy—Observations on Jane Austen’s Letter-writing—Letters

Chapter IV.   Removal from Steventon—Residence at Bath and at Southampton—Settling at Chawton

Chapter V.    Description of Jane Austen’s person, character, and tastes

Chapter VI.   Habits of Composition resumed after a long interval—First publication—The interest taken by the Author in the success of her Works

Chapter VII.  Seclusion from the literary world—Notice from the Prince Regent—Correspondence with Mr. Clarke—Suggestions to alter her style of writing

Chapter VIII. Slow growth of her fame—Ill success of first attempts at publication—Two Reviews of her works contrasted

Chapter IX.   Opinions expressed by eminent persons—Opinions of others of less eminence—Opinion of American readers

Chapter X.    Observations on the Novels

Chapter XI.   Declining health of Jane Austen—Elasticity of her spirits—Her resignation and humility—Her death

Chapter XII.  The cancelled Chapter of ‘Persuasion’

Chapter XIII. The last work

Chapter XIV.  Postscript

‘He knew of no one but himself who was inclined to the work. This is no uncommon motive.  A man sees something to be done, knows of no one who will do it but himself, and so is driven to the enterprise.’

Helps’ Life of Columbus, ch. i.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory Remarks—Birth of Jane Austen—Her Family Connections—Their Influence on her Writings.

More than half a century has passed away since I, the youngest of the mourners, {1} attended the funeral of my dear aunt Jane in Winchester Cathedral; and now, in my old age, I am asked whether my memory will serve to rescue from oblivion any events of her life or any traits of her character to satisfy the enquiries of a generation of readers who have been born since she died.  Of events her life was singularly barren: few changes and no great crisis

ever broke the smooth current of its course.  Even her fame may be said to have been posthumous: it did not attain to any vigorous life till she had ceased to exist.  Her talents did not introduce her to the notice of other writers, or connect her with the literary world, or in any degree pierce through the obscurity of her domestic retirement.  I have therefore scarcely any materials for a detailed life of my aunt; but I have a distinct recollection of her person and character; and perhaps many may take an interest in a delineation, if any such can be drawn, of that prolific mind whence sprung the Dashwoods and Bennets, the Bertrams and Woodhouses, the Thorpes and Musgroves, who have been admitted as familiar guests to the firesides of so many families, and are known there as individually and intimately as if they were living neighbours.  Many may care to know whether the moral rectitude, the correct taste, and the warm affections with which she invested her ideal characters, were really existing in the native source whence those ideas flowed, and were actually exhibited by her in the various relations of life.  I can indeed bear witness that there was scarcely a charm in her most delightful characters that was not a true reflection of her own sweet temper and loving heart.  I was young when we lost her; but the impressions made on the young are deep, and though in the course of fifty years I have forgotten much, I have not forgotten that ‘Aunt Jane’ was the delight of all her nephews and

nieces.  We did not think of her as being clever, still less as being famous; but we valued her as one always kind, sympathising, and amusing.  To all this I am a living witness, but whether I can sketch out such a faint outline of this excellence as shall be perceptible to others may be reasonably doubted.  Aided, however, by a few survivors {3} who knew her, I will not refuse to make the attempt.  I am the more inclined to undertake the task from a conviction that, however little I may have to tell, no one else is left who could tell so much of her.

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, at the Parsonage House of Steventon in Hampshire.  Her father, the Rev. George Austen, was of a family long established in the neighbourhood