part of the Chawton Estate which he had inherited from Thomas Knight II. They accepted and took possession of the property on 7 July.
In that month Jane sent a delightful poem, which she had written, to Francis on the birth of his and his wife Mary’s son, Francis William Austen junior:
My Dearest Frank I wish you Joy
Of Mary’s safety [i.e. safe delivery]
with a boy … 15
In the summer of 1810 Francis returned from China aboard the ship St Albans which was laden with gold and treasure – he being an agent of the East India Company. For transporting this precious cargo he received from the company the princely sum of £ 1,500.
The following spring Jane visited Eliza and Henry at Sloane Street in order that she might correct the proofs of her novel Sense and Sensibility , sent to her by her publisher ThomasEgerton. Other things which Jane looked forward to included attending a party with Eliza, going for a walk with her, and also meeting her friends Comte d’Antraigues and his wife Mme St Huberti, formerly an operatic prima donna, and their son Comte Julien). ‘It will be amusing to see the ways of a French circle’ she says. 16
Also around this time, on 14 October 1812, Thomas Knight II’s widow Catherine died, whereupon Edward changed his name to ‘Knight’.
Notes
1. Jane Austen, Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon , p. 16.
2. Brabourne, Letters of Jane Austen , p. 341.
3. Letter from Caroline Austen to James E. Austen-Leigh, National Portrait Gallery, RWC/HH, Folios 8–10.
4. Letter from Catherine Hubback to James E. Austen-Leigh, National Portrait Gallery, RWC/HH, Folios 11–12.
5. Letter from Jane Austen to Francis Austen, 21/22 January 1805.
6. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 8/11 April 1805.
7. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 24 August 1805.
8. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 8/9 February 1807.
9. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 20/22 February 1807.
10. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 30 June/1 July 1808.
11. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 26 June 1808 and 30 June/1 July 1808.
12. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 13 October 1808.
13. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 24/25 October 1808.
14. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 27 December 1808 and 10/11 January 1809.
15. Letter from Jane Austen to Francis Austen, 26 July 1809.
16. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 18/20 April 1811.
16
Mansfield Park
The novel was commenced in 1811, completed in the summer of 1813, when Jane was aged 38, and published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton.
Mansfield Park, in the county of Northamptonshire, is the country seat of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. Lady Bertram has a sister Frances, who is married to Lieutenant Price of the Marines: a man ‘without education, fortune, or connections’. Living near to Mansfield Park at the White House is another of Lady Bertram’s sisters, Mrs (‘Aunt’) Norris, wife of a clergyman who, subsequently, becomes a widow.
When the impecunious Mrs Frances Price is expecting her ninth child, she and her husband appeal to the wealthy Bertrams, who agree to assist them by inviting their eldest daughter Fanny to live with them at Mansfield Park. Fanny, the heroine of the novel, is then 9 years old and described as:
small of [for] her age, with no glow of complexion, nor any other striking beauty; exceedingly timid and shy, and shrinking from notice …
But with a sweet voice and a pretty countenance. At Mansfield Park Fanny finds a friend in Edmund, Sir Thomas Bertram’s youngest son who is destined to be a clergyman. Fanny describes Edmund as someone whose ‘friendship never failed her’.
Tom Bertram is Sir Thomas’s eldest son and his heir. However, he lives an extravagant lifestyle and is told by Sir Thomas that as a result he has robbed his brother Edmund ‘for ten, twenty, thirty years, perhaps for life, of
In that month Jane sent a delightful poem, which she had written, to Francis on the birth of his and his wife Mary’s son, Francis William Austen junior:
My Dearest Frank I wish you Joy
Of Mary’s safety [i.e. safe delivery]
with a boy … 15
In the summer of 1810 Francis returned from China aboard the ship St Albans which was laden with gold and treasure – he being an agent of the East India Company. For transporting this precious cargo he received from the company the princely sum of £ 1,500.
The following spring Jane visited Eliza and Henry at Sloane Street in order that she might correct the proofs of her novel Sense and Sensibility , sent to her by her publisher ThomasEgerton. Other things which Jane looked forward to included attending a party with Eliza, going for a walk with her, and also meeting her friends Comte d’Antraigues and his wife Mme St Huberti, formerly an operatic prima donna, and their son Comte Julien). ‘It will be amusing to see the ways of a French circle’ she says. 16
Also around this time, on 14 October 1812, Thomas Knight II’s widow Catherine died, whereupon Edward changed his name to ‘Knight’.
Notes
1. Jane Austen, Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon , p. 16.
2. Brabourne, Letters of Jane Austen , p. 341.
3. Letter from Caroline Austen to James E. Austen-Leigh, National Portrait Gallery, RWC/HH, Folios 8–10.
4. Letter from Catherine Hubback to James E. Austen-Leigh, National Portrait Gallery, RWC/HH, Folios 11–12.
5. Letter from Jane Austen to Francis Austen, 21/22 January 1805.
6. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 8/11 April 1805.
7. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 24 August 1805.
8. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 8/9 February 1807.
9. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 20/22 February 1807.
10. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 30 June/1 July 1808.
11. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 26 June 1808 and 30 June/1 July 1808.
12. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 13 October 1808.
13. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 24/25 October 1808.
14. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 27 December 1808 and 10/11 January 1809.
15. Letter from Jane Austen to Francis Austen, 26 July 1809.
16. Letter from Jane Austen to Cassandra Austen, 18/20 April 1811.
16
Mansfield Park
The novel was commenced in 1811, completed in the summer of 1813, when Jane was aged 38, and published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton.
Mansfield Park, in the county of Northamptonshire, is the country seat of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. Lady Bertram has a sister Frances, who is married to Lieutenant Price of the Marines: a man ‘without education, fortune, or connections’. Living near to Mansfield Park at the White House is another of Lady Bertram’s sisters, Mrs (‘Aunt’) Norris, wife of a clergyman who, subsequently, becomes a widow.
When the impecunious Mrs Frances Price is expecting her ninth child, she and her husband appeal to the wealthy Bertrams, who agree to assist them by inviting their eldest daughter Fanny to live with them at Mansfield Park. Fanny, the heroine of the novel, is then 9 years old and described as:
small of [for] her age, with no glow of complexion, nor any other striking beauty; exceedingly timid and shy, and shrinking from notice …
But with a sweet voice and a pretty countenance. At Mansfield Park Fanny finds a friend in Edmund, Sir Thomas Bertram’s youngest son who is destined to be a clergyman. Fanny describes Edmund as someone whose ‘friendship never failed her’.
Tom Bertram is Sir Thomas’s eldest son and his heir. However, he lives an extravagant lifestyle and is told by Sir Thomas that as a result he has robbed his brother Edmund ‘for ten, twenty, thirty years, perhaps for life, of
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