Jane Austen was only 41 when she died, but during her short
life she produced some wonderful romantic fiction, loved the world over.
Born in 1775, she went to
boarding school in Oxford and Abbey School in Reading (still a girls school
today). From the age of 11 she was home schooled. Her father had an extensive
library at home and Jane would spend long hours fostering her love of reading.
In her early 20s she began
drafting her first novels. When her father retired, the family moved to Bath,
but Jane didn’t take to the place and was unhappy there. She wrote little. She did, however, enjoy visits to the seaside, including Lyme Regis.
‘A very strange stranger it
must be
who does not see charms
in the immediate environs of
Lyme
to make him wish to know it
better.’
(Persuasion,
Jane Austen)
[The following text extracts and photos are taken from one of our book,
Jane and
her family first came to Lyme in autumn 1803 and returned in the summer of
1804, staying for 3 months each time, when it was very much the fashion
for those recovering from the Bath season to visit the recently established
resort of Lyme. In a letter to her sister Cassandra, Jane describes how she
spent her days dancing, rambling and sea-bathing. ...
Although Jane was rather dismissive
of the town, it is clear she loved its surroundings. In Persuasion she writes: ‘As there is nothing to admire in the
buildings themselves, the remarkable situation of the town, the principal
street almost hurrying into the water, the walk to the Cobb, skirting round the
pleasant little bay, which in the season is animated with bathing machines and
company, the Cobb itself, its wonders and new improvements, with the very
beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the west of the town, are what the stranger’s
eye will see’.
Many locations in Austen’s novels
are imaginary, but in Persuasion she
describes recognisable places in Lyme: the Walk (today’s Marine Parade),
cottages, inns and coastal scenery. In one of the best-known scenes in Persuasion, the foolish Louisa Musgrove
throws herself from a set of stone steps on the Cobb into the arms of an
unprepared Captain Wentworth.
Lyme Regis Museum has a Literary Gallery dedicated to
John Fowles, Jane Austen and other writers and artists associated with the
town.
When their father died, the
family moved to Southampton. Shortly afterwards, Edward, Jane’s brother,
inherited some estates from the Knight family. One of these estates was Chawton
in Alton, Hampshire. Edward moved into the great house (now Chawton HouseLibrary) and offered his mother and sisters a large ‘cottage’ rent free, about
a quarter of a mile away in the village. They moved in in 1809 and Jane spent
the remainder of her life there.
Her writing flourished, and she
settled into a happy routine of sitting at her writing table after breakfast, enjoying
long walks in the afternoons, then reading, sewing and conversing in the
evenings. She was an accomplished pianist, and many of Jane’s heroines in her
novels also played the piano.
However, Jane knew how it felt to
be a poor relation, and this sense of being slightly outside high society is
keenly felt in her novels. She lived always in the company of her parents and
siblings, yet enjoyed her fair share of romances, and although never marrying
was a fond and willing aunt to her nieces and nephews.
[Extract from Lesser
Known Lyme Regis]
Diana Shervington is doubly related to Jane as
both her grandmothers were grand-daughters of Jane’s brother, Edward. She came
to live in Lyme in 1986.
‘When I was young we spent a lot of time at the Dower House, near
Chawton in Hampshire, where Jane spent the last 8 years of her life. My
cousin Edward inherited Chawton, but he was bored stiff with Jane Austen! He
was only interested in sport and said, “Everyone keeps turning up all the time
and asking about her. I don’t want to be bothered with all this stuff!” So most
of the things that were owned by Jane and her sister Cassandra came down to our
Aunt. My brother had some of the larger artefacts such as all the first
editions, and as the youngest of the children, some of the smaller, personal
things came down to me. I inherited these things when I was 16.
When I first visited Lyme as
a young woman, I loved it straight away. I was delighted with Pyne House and
was absolutely thrilled to see all the places Jane had described in Persuasion. I’d been very aware of Jane all my life
and walked around in a wonderful Jane Austen dream.
I began to take a
serious interest in Jane when my children were off my hands. I started
researching some of her music books and worked with the founder of the JaneAusten Society. Gradually I came to realise that I could help others by showing
them the artefacts and giving talks. I’ve given some of Jane’s things to the
Lyme Regis Museum, including some of her embroidery, the set of spillikins and
some bone counters with letters on them that Jane probably used to learn her
alphabet. I like to think that these things will always stay in Lyme for people
to enjoy.’
Jane Austen's cottage (or Chawton cottage) is now a museum – Jane Austen's House Museum – a wonderful place telling the story of
Jane and her family. Its furnished rooms contain objects owned by the
family, and there is a learning centre with interactive exhibits.
At Chawton Jane shared a room
with her sister Cassandra, with whom she was very close. Neither sister married
and tender relationships between sisters are often a part of Jane’s stories. Without
central heating, it was quite common to sleep several to a bed. And,
interestingly, the bed was made to the exact specifications of each customer.
Jane writes with precision and
attention to detail, describing every-day little things vividly. Also, both
her brothers were in the Navy and this undoubtedly influenced her writing. Both
Mansfield Park and Persuasion have strong naval themes. She
doesn’t give many descriptions of her characters’ physical features or clothing – maybe this is intentional, allowing the reader the freedom to create pictures
in his or her own mind.
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