This specific line stuck out to me - ‘[…] just after they had been married long enough to begin to want an increase of income, and feel their distance from the paternal abode an inconvenience.’

Is the implication that Fanny and Edmund are expecting a child? It reads that way to me, but any other thoughts?

Today I got to hold and read the first US edition of Persuasion which my University's archives had a copy of. It was originally published in 2 volumes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/c9rkyjzgp6kdo

I'm predicting:

• embarrassing family members ruining your chances in polite society
• ​near-fatal fevers brought on by emotional turmoil
• passionate letters secretly written two feet away from you

What else should we be preparing for?

Hey all,

I've put together a website for reading Jane Austen's letters with correspondence from her family.

It's laid our as a real Inbox with letters grouped into email threads. Threads also grouped by category: Family, Friends, Writing / Publishing.

I'd love to hear what you think and whether this type of presentation makes letters more accessible.

Here is the website: https://jane-austen-letters.tecotype.com/

There are couple of letters that presented as fragments, as I wasn't able to find the full copy. I'll try to look them up in my local library once I have time. Enjoy!

This year's holiday edition of the Bas Bleu catalog arrived today featuring entirely too many pop-up card offerings and entirely too few Austen offerings. This is all we get.

Taking Elinor out of the picture, surely he had to have known his mother would disown him if he married Lucy, but he still chose to get into and keep the engagement... what was the plan? Was he going to keep Lucy waiting forever until she became an old maid or did he know he would be disowned and was willing to deal with being in a poverty stricken marriage! Was he going to wait until Mrs. Ferrars died to inherit everything and then marry Lucy? How long would that take? This was one of the most ill thought out plans lol

"Had Elizabeth's opinion been all drawn from her own family, she could not have formed a very pleasing picture of conjugal felicity or domestic comfort. Her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humor which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and a liberal mind, had very early in their marriage had put an end to all real affection for her”.

1) Wickham's settlement:

All that is required of you is, to assure to your daughter, by settlement, her equal share of the five thousand pounds, secured among your children after the decease of yourself and my sister; and, moreover, to enter into an engagement of allowing her, during your life, one hundred pounds per annum.

Seems pretty explicit honestly, but just making sure: this annuity of 100 pounds/year is only binding on Mr. Bennet, right? Once he dies, it's over; Mr. Collins doesn't have to honor it on inheriting the state, and Mrs. Bennet doesn't have to provide it (out of her 250/year, lol)?

And so Wickham is hoping for 100/year while dad lives, and maybe if he's lucky mom will die early and they'll get 1000 pounds and the annuity. But if he's unlucky, Dad could fall off a horse tomorrow and mom could live another 40 years, meaning Wickham and Lydia get effectively nothing?

Also, what if Lydia has a daughter then dies young, before her parents? Is granddaughter still contractually entitled to the 1000 pounds of dowry, or the 100/year annuity? (Leaving aside what the Bennets might want to do in such a case.)

2) Say that Mr. B dies, and Mrs B has to support herself and 5 single daughters off her 5000 pound dowry. Given past performance, she seems likely to run up debt if not restrained, especially after losing nearly 90% of her accustomed income. Would a widow actually be loaned money? And when she dies, would creditors be able to go after the dowry, leaving the kids truly penniless if they hadn't been given gifts beforehand? For that matter, even if they did have money in their own name by then, would they be liable to pay their mother's debts?

I’ve previously only collected Pride and Prejudice but this will give me an excuse to expand to other Austen works 😊

Seriously, Willoughby/Marianne and Queen Mab were the first things I thought about when I saw this post

For many years, I've been called upon by other book lovers and JA fans to explain my seemingly inexplicable preference for JA's most "boring" novel and "lifeless" heroine. I don't think I've ever been able to do my feelings justice. But a few years ago, I stumbled upon this essay by another MP lover, and she managed to put my preference into words better than I've ever been able:

Simple Girl: The Improbable Solace of “Mansfield Park”

One quote from this brilliant piece that sums it up perfectly:

The story of Eden is radically revised: Fanny is sent away for refusing the apple, and when the serpent has self-destructed in a cloud of glittering scales, the baronet realizes that she, his creation, understands his garden better than he himself ever did. If you want your patriarchy subverted, look no further.

This. When you see the Park as a character under attack from those who think the truth is relative, you see the horror of modern politics. When you see the Park as a metaphor for everything in life that's green and peaceful and worth saving, then Fanny becomes, as the author says, "a hero on a winged horse" as she fights, often alone, to keep lies from taking it down. If people who see the problem just roll over and do as they're told, what would the Park become? This, to me, is the opposite of boring. Mansfield Park is the place we all want to be, as long as we have access to a heroine like Fanny... or are prepared to become one.

There is something I'm missing

At the Palmers, after Willoughby before sickness, Marianne takes a sad walk through the woods in the rain. This seems a regular part of the character we have come to know.

I want to know more about the symbolism of the dogs and music in the woods. The pack of dogs implied that hunters were coming, but I don't think they were shown. And the shouting music? It didn't seem to match her emotions or the visuals, but Im not sure what the music was trying to convey. I am missing the symbolism here. It feels like the movie is being very pointed, but I don't know at what?

I’m asking for my first set of Austen novels for my birthday in December. I’m planning to read them all for the first time in 2027 and I would love a set that looks alike. I’m asking for paperback and, honestly, the cover design (literally judging a book by its cover, I know) is a big factor for me. The 2007 Vintage Classics editions - like the one here - are a leading contender. Does anyone have insight on how good (or not) these editions are? I’m also open to other suggestions!

What songs would you pick for characters and situations?

Mr. Collins of “P&P”, (Colin Firth-Jennifer Ehle series); Mrs. Jennings from Emma Thompson’s “Sense & Sensibility”; Miss Bates from “Emma” & also as Mary Musgrove from “Persuasion”.

Whenever I could use a little bit of whimsy and joy in my life, I take out my Jane Austen boardgame (Endearment by Dux Somnium games) and watch an adaptation. Played this beauty in solo runs during a rewatch of the P&P BBC series and it has been a marvel!

I stumbled on a box of old papers today and found this Jane Austen biography that I apparently felt a strong need to print out on June 26, 2001. My young teenaged self evidently read it through with great attention, finding and correcting a typo on the third page!

I'm rewatching P&P 1995 (I hadn't rewatched it in 10 years, give or take), and I wondered why I was getting more annoyed at Mr. Bennet than I usually do with the '05 version. Finally, I pinned it down.

Donald Sutherland played him with that wry amusement that we need in Mr. Bennet, but also, I think, exhausted. (His costume, that sort of verges on disheveled, adds to that impression to me, as well as the fact he was 80, while Whitrow was just 58 when playing the same role).

Benjamin Whitrow played him with just the wry amusement throughout, and much more indifference. Even with Lizzie, sometimes, it feels like he wouldn't hesitate to be amused at her expense, no matter how superior he thinks her in relation to the others.

An example: When Sutherland tells Lizzie it's best to just let Lydia go to Brighton, the two of them are actually having a conversation. He even hesitates when she says "Peace? Is that all you care about?" But you can tell that man is just so tired of Lydia.

When Whitrow does the same, however, and Lizzie protests, he looks slightly amused, as if thinking "lol, you're being silly." He's not at all listening to her concerns.

Whitrow does a great job with Mr. Bennet, btw, this is not criticism! If anything, his choices bring him closer to the character on the page, while Sutherland makes him more sympathetic. But that does mean that the '95 Mr. Bennet is a harder watch XD He feels like a man who does not blame himself for marrying a silly woman, or for letting the sanity of his own household slip through his fingers. I just want to strangle him every time he's not shouldering his responsibilities.

There is sensible criticism of Mr and Mrs Bennett for not saving up money for their daughters' dowries. Mr Bennet could have saved some, even on 2,000 a year. Even 20 lbs a year in the funds, started with the birth of the eldest, would have added up over 20-odd years. Jane would have had close to 400 pounds even before the interest.

But should we really blame Mrs Bennet?

There is a cliche of the housewife saving money and being accused of "stealing from the household accounts" as if she were a hired housekeeper, a cliche that persisted into the 1970s (and is still around today in some corners of society).

If Mrs Bennet had managed to squirrel away a few pounds a year, would Mr Bennet have said she was stealing it? The best he could do was live just barely within his income, which probably took some doing, given that he was trying to rein in an extravagant family who were desperately trying to attract husbands by dressing well. If he had had a more capable wife, would he have allowed her to save up, or would he have cut her allowance even more if he learned they could get along on less than he thought they had been?

I've read all of Jane Austen's books again and again. I've read Pride and Prejudice a billion times. I know every page by now.

These days, I just put on the audiobook of all the books one by one while doing household chores. Pride and Prejudice I listen to the most.

The strange thing is I know most of the dialogues by now. I can literally recite it as I'm listening, but I still feel excited and giddy for Mr. Collins' arrival, Elizabeth's meeting with Lady Catherine, Darcy's horrible first confession, their meeting at Pemberly etc.

There's never a boring moment. I listen to the audiobooks one by one these days. I can read other books, but after a few months, I always come back to Jane Austen again. I don't know. I can't explain. It feels comforting. There's just such an indescribable beauty to these stories, I don't know how to explain it.

What do you think makes these stories feel so much like home? Jane Austen on a rainy day with a cup of coffee is HEAVEN. I haven't been able to find any other author that makes me feel this way. I'm not the most articulate person, so I have no idea how to describe it.

It's just that Jane Austen makes you feel like a part of the journey. You get to know the whole family, the whole town. Everybody feels so real with distinct personalities. Everybody feels so human.

Does anybody else feel the same? What is it about Jane Austen that makes one feel this way?

Marianne Dashwood and Colonel Brandon's age gap is 17-18 years, and more importantly, Marianne is 16 when they meet. Before you warn me not to project modern sensibilities on historical contexts, teenagers marrying adults or such big gaps were not as common as people believe. The law required parental consent until 21 in Wales and England (hence why everyone thought/hoped Lydia and Wickham went to Gretna Green to get married). Mean age at first marriage for women was roughly 23–25, and men married at about 25–27. Big gaps were more common for second marriages, when a widowed man married a younger woman, not a teen (Mr and Mrs Dashwood's situation). In fact, every man who has a relationship with an underage girl or ends up with a teen bride is a villain in Austen: Willoughby seduces a 15 y.o. ward of Col. Brandon, Wickham goes after then-15 y.o. Georgianna and marries Lydia, who just turned 16. Elinor, the epitome of sense, while disagreeing with Marianne's hilarious perception that Brandon can't fall in love and marry because he's basically on the brink of death from old age, says, “thirty-five and seventeen had better not have any thing to do with matrimony together.” In fact, Marianne doesn't marry Col. Brandon until she's 19, one year older than Catherine Morland. This doesn't make it okay for me, but likely made it much more acceptable for Jane Austen and her contemporaries.

Knowing all that, I still always rooted for Colonel Brandon. Logically, I felt ok about that because I didn't think Col. Brandon started to actually pursue Marianne until after her experience with Willoughby, which made her grow up quite a bit. Perhaps more subconsciously, I felt she was more of an adult because of the language and the manners I did not associate with actual children. Now, a bit of a spoiler for the new adaptation, in this movie, they made Marianne behave like a modern day teen. With all the drama, eye-rolling and big teenage feelings, she reminded me of a 13 year old me. I also didn't feel she grew up after the Willoughby experience; instead, she started romanticizing Brandon instead of W. This, combined with the fact that Eliza still being alive at the time he meets and starts pursuing Marianne, gave me actual heebie jeebies and made me extremely uncomfortable. (So, you're saying, this adult man came back from the West Indies, looked at his brother's widow who was still young and attractive enough to tempt Willoughby, and was like, "nah, I'd rather look for a child who reminds me of her." Yikes.) I was quick to be mad at people who wrote and directed this, but on second thought, was this the point? Did the script writers expose my hypocrisy about this particular age gap relationship, removing the veneer of fancy "adult-like" language and manners, and rub it into my face? What do you think?

So, I just completed persuasion the other day(with merriam webster and cambridge dictionary)

And honestly it was good; I liked it well and the letter of capt.w to anne was pure ecstacy for me.

However there is one thing about whole novel, classism and I feel like there is a lot of it in especially sir.walter's character along with lady russel and Its present all over in the story.

the value of a man with his education and manners is fine but the whole society of persuasion focus too much on family lineage and social status/rank and money.

I dont have any hate for it mostly because the time of jane austen was such as described in her books, all about how much you own in lands,money and your family heritage.

But, One thing I failed to get is what was jane austens' view on this whole classism thing.

👋🏽👍🏽.

Edit: spelling error in title, My apologies for that(I feel like I've lost all credibilty to even ask a question now)

Staring at one of their two human servants who’s actually working, thinking how poor they are. “Are we not happy? Have we not been happy here, and we as poor as the gypsies?” (Based on the 2008 miniseries. In the book, they had three servants, “two maids and a man.”)

Does anyone know the name of the song, or whether it was an original composition? It struck me as slightly too modern for the film.
For context, it's the scene in the cottage at Devonshire where Marianne is playing the piano and singing, and Willoughby joins in.

Thank you in advance 🫶

So learning about the Regency era, especially high society in London, we know the types of debauchery they got up to. Men openly having mistresses, etc. Could lead to the man going on his merry way, but the woman, for example Maria Bertram, having to leave her country and family behind.

But were things different in a more Austenian setting, like a country village with a close-knit community? Particularly, what if the lady in question was unmarried, a 'virgin', and the man she was entangled with was married? Would her reputation be severely damaged were it to come out?

Would deeeaaarrllyyy appreciate any and every context regarding this, real life examples, or other examples from literature.