A Memoir of Jane Austen
LONDON: PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
AND PARLIAMENT STREET
JANE AUSTEN.
A MEMOIR
OF
JANE AUSTEN
BY HER NEPHEW
J. E. AUSTEN LEIGH
FOURTH EDITION
TO WHICH IS ADDED
LADY SUSAN
AND FRAGMENTS OF
TWO OTHER UNFINISHED TALES BY MISS AUSTEN
LONDON
RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, NEW BURLINGTON STREET
Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen
1879
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.' 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.
| PAGE | |
| Introductory Remarks—Birth of Jane Austen—Her Family Connections—Their Influence on her Writings. | 1 |
| Description of Steventon—Life at Steventon—Changes of Habits and Customs in the last Century | 18 |
| Early Compositions—Friends at Ashe—A very Old Letter—Lines on the Death of Mrs. Lefroy—Observations on Jane Austen's Letter-writing—Letters. | 41 |
| Removal from Steventon—Residence at Bath and at Southampton—Settling at Chawton | 66 |
| Description of Jane Austen's person, character, and tastes | 82 |
| Habits of Composition resumed after a long interval—First publication—The interest taken by the Author in the success of her Works | 95 |
| Seclusion from the literary world—Notice from the Prince Regent—Correspondence with Mr. Clarke—Suggestions to alter her style of writing | 108 |
| Slow growth of her fame—Ill success of first attempts at publication—Two Reviews of her works contrasted | 127 |
| Opinions expressed by eminent persons—Opinions of others of less eminence—Opinion of American readers | 136 |
| Observations on the Novels | 144 |
| Declining health of Jane Austen—Elasticity of her spirits—Her resignation and humility—Her death | 150 |
| The cancelled Chapter of 'Persuasion' | 167 |
| The last work | 181 |
| Postscript | 195 |
| LADY SUSAN | 199 |
| THE WATSONS | 297 |
'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.
This work was published before January 1, 1930, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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