Jane Austen For Dummies (73 page)

In February, Austen and Cassandra revisit Manydown Park, their first visit since Austen's proposal fiasco. On July 2, the Austen ladies leave Bath for good and visit Clifton and Adlestrop, where Mrs. Austen's cousin lives. On August 5, they join him to visit the magnificent Stoneleigh Abbey estate in Warwickshire, which he has inherited, and they remain there until August 14. Meanwhile, Frank marries Mary Gibson in July. In October, the Austen ladies, along with Martha Lloyd, cease their nomadic lifestyle and rent lodgings with Frank and Mary Austen in Southampton.

In March, the Southampton Austen/Lloyd group moves into a house in Castle Square, Southampton. Charles, still on duty in the West Indies, marries 17-year-old Fanny Palmer, daughter of the ex-attorney general of Bermuda. In September, Edward Austen gets the family together at his Hampshire Estate in Chawton; they all stay at the Chawton Great House for ten days.

Between January and March, Austen again visits the Bigg sisters at Manydown. While there, she joins the Bigg (Bigg-Wither) family in one of their theatricals, playing the role of Mrs. Candour in Sheridan's great comedy of manners,
The School for Scandal.
Austen spends June 14 through July 8 at Godmersham, where Elizabeth Austen is expecting her 11th child in September. Cassandra goes to Godmersham to help with the other children. On October 10, Elizabeth Austen dies suddenly, just days after the birth of her son. Two of Edward's sons stay with their Aunt Jane and grandmother in Southampton, taking time from school in Winchester for comfort and care. In Austen's letter to Cassandra (still at Godmersham) of October 24–25, she first mentions cryptically their plans to move to Chawton, where Edward provides them with a six-bedroom cottage.

In April, Austen writes to Crosby & Company Publishers under the pseudonym Mrs. Ashley Dennis (M.A.D.!) to inquire about
Susan,
which Crosby had advertised but never published. Crosby offers to sell it back to her for the ten pounds they paid her in 1803. Meanwhile, Edward sees to it that the Chawton cottage is remodeled to suit the needs of his mother, sisters, and Martha Lloyd. In May, the female Austen group visits Edward at Godmersham. On July 7, the four ladies arrive at Chawton cottage in Jane's native county of Hampshire. By August, Austen takes out
Sense and Sensibility,
and she continues to rework it. She's back to a regular writing schedule.

For July and August, the two Austen sisters again visit the Bigg sisters at Manydown. In September, Frank resigns his command of the St. Albans in order to spend more time with his wife. That same month, Charles is in command of the
Cleopatra,
which Austen mentions in the scene at Portsmouth Harbor in
Mansfield Park
(MP 3:7). In the winter season of 1810–1811, Austen learns that the London publisher Thomas Egerton accepted
Sense and Sensibility
for publication.

In February, Austen works on
Mansfield Park.
But she's happily interrupted with a March visit to London, where she stays with Henry and Eliza, in order to correct the proofs of
Sense and Sensibility,
which is published on October 30. Meanwhile, in August, Charles and Fanny Austen, along with their two children, return to England after Charles has spent over six years across the Atlantic. Toward the end of 1811, Austen begins extensive revisions of
First Impressions
to make it
Pride and Prejudice.

Austen spends much of this year continuing her revision of
First Impressions,
the copyright to which she sells to the publisher Egerton in November for £110. During this period, Edward and his eldest child, Fanny, visit Chawton in April. On October 14, Edward's adoptive mother, Mrs. Knight, dies. He assumes the surname Knight, becoming Edward Austen Knight. His children also took the surname Knight.

On January 28,
Pride and Prejudice
is published and goes through two editions in one year. Jane has a big hit! On April 21, Edward and his family come to Chawton to stay at the Great House for four months. But Austen leaves for London on April 22 to nurse Henry's wife, Eliza, who dies three days later. Austen remains with her brother until May 1. She again picks up
Mansfield Park,
finishing it around June or July. On August 17, the Austen and Lefroy families are united when Anna Austen, James's elder daughter, becomes engaged to Ben Lefroy, Madam Lefroy's youngest child. In September, Austen makes her final visit to Godmersham, staying there until November. In October, the 2nd edition of
Sense and Sensibility
comes out. Egerton accepts
Mansfield Park
for publication around this time.

On January 21, Austen begins
Emma.
In March, Henry escorts his sister to London, where she enjoys the theater, seeing the great actor Edmund Kean play Shylock in
The Merchant of Venice.
Napoleon abdicates on April 5 and is exiled to Elba. (This event plays a role in
Persuasion.
) Edward and his family spend two months at the Chawton estate, beginning in April. On May 9,
Mansfield Park
is published; the first edition sells out in six months. In August, Frank Austen and his family move into the Chawton Great House, where they live for two years and then move to nearby Alton, a market town within walking distance of the Chawton cottage. But on September 6, sadness strikes when Charles's wife, Fanny, dies in childbirth. Ben Lefroy and Anna Austen marry on November 8.

In March, Napoleon escapes from Elba, and the 100 Days (the period from March 20 to June 28, when Napoleon again reigns) begin, with fighting between England and France resuming. On March 29, Jane completes
Emma.
On June 18, Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Austen begins her final complete novel,
Persuasion,
on August 8. Henry escorts his sister to London, where he's negotiating with a new publisher, the famous John Murray (also Byron's publisher), about
Emma.
However, Henry becomes seriously ill, and his sister stays with him to nurse him. During this period, one of Henry's physicians learns that his sister is the author of the novels, which, says the physician, are enjoyed by his royal patient (the prince regent). This meeting results in Austen's November 13 visit to the prince's library at Carlton House, the prince's London residence, where she's shown about by the librarian, James Stanier Clarke, who later draws a female figure that is almost certainly Austen. Austen is then invited to dedicate a novel to the prince regent, whose immoral behavior disgusts her. But this royal invitation is equal to a royal command, and so
Emma
is dedicated to the prince regent. Austen returns to Chawton on her birthday (December 16), and
Emma
is published at the end of the month.

Henry goes to the publisher Crosby, who still has
Susan,
and buys it back for his sister for the ten pounds she was paid for it. She changes the title to
Catherine,
possibly because another novel called
Susan
is out. A second edition of
Mansfield Park
is published, this time by Murray. Henry goes bankrupt on March 16. Austen begins to feel sick, but continues to write
Persuasion.
In May, Cassandra takes Austen to Cheltenham, seeking medical care, and they stay there until June 15. On returning to Chawton cottage, Austen resumes writing
Persuasion,
finishing a first draft on July 18 and then revising the final chapters, which she completes on August 6. Her health is failing. Henry becomes ordained and the curate of Chawton in December.

In January, Austen begins writing
Sanditon,
a satirical novel about hypochondriacs and health spas. She works on this until March 18, when her failing strength doesn't permit her to hold a pen or a pencil. She writes her will of just a few lines on April 27, but has nobody witness it because she's concerned that her family will worry about her declining health.
Pride and Prejudice
is now in its third edition. On May 24, Cassandra escorts Austen to Winchester, seeking new medical care under the well-known Mr. Lyford. Catherine Bigg, who now lives in Winchester, arranges for the sisters to stay near her in rooms at No. 8 College Street, near the Winchester Cathedral. Early on July 18, Austen dies. She's buried on July 24 in Winchester Cathedral. Through Henry's work,
Northanger Abbey
(formerly
Susan
and
Catherine
) and
Persuasion
are published by Murray in December, though 1818 is printed as the publication year. This four-volume set is prefaced by Henry's “Biographical Notice” of his sister, identifying the author of these volumes, as well as
Sense and Sensibility,
Pride and Prejudice,
Mansfield Park,
and
Emma,
as Jane Austen.