Présentation en français

Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the Jane Austen Centre, where we celebrate Miss Austen's time in Bath, first as a visitor and later as a resident. My name is ________, a character from the book ______. I invite you to start your visit with a brief introduction to Jane’s life and family, lasting about 15 minutes. We will then head to the main exhibition. Should you have any questions, I will be at your disposal in the exhibition throughout your visit.

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775. She grew up on a working farm in Steventon, near Basingstoke, in the beautiful county of Hampshire, which profoundly influenced her work.

Jane’s father, the Reverend George Austen, was a country parson who farmed 80 hectares of land in his parish. He was also the headmaster of his own private boarding school for the sons of gentlemen, preparing them for entry to Oxford. Jane therefore grew up surrounded by boys.

Reverend Austen owned a library of over 500 books to which his children had unlimited access, and he actively encouraged them to read on a variety of subjects. When Jane turned 21, her father wrote to London publishers in an attempt to get her published. To Jane, her father was her greatest intellectual support. He encouraged her writing talent despite the prejudices women writers suffered at the time.

Jane’s mother, Cassandra Austen, was a robust, lively, and pragmatic woman, also renowned for her beauty. Intelligent and sociable, she was particularly proud of her aristocratic nose and her sharp wit. She was even nicknamed the family poetess. In addition to raising her eight children and looking after her husband’s pupils, she managed the dairy and poultry farming, on top of her daily household chores, including brewing the family beer.

James, the eldest, was somewhat the first professional writer in the family. After being educated at home by his father, he became a scholar and, at 14, entered St John’s College, Oxford, to prepare for a career in the church. During his studies, he published a weekly magazine called "The Loiterer," which ran for 60 issues. James did not pursue a writing career, but it seems that young Jane had a letter published in "The Loiterer" under the pseudonym "Sophia Sentiment."

As you can see, we have no portrait of George, as he suffered from an unknown mental or physical disability. It is strongly believed that he was deaf. Apparently, the Austen family had a tradition of learning to communicate in sign language (or manual language, as it was called then). George did not grow up with the rest of his family; he was cared for locally under the supervision of his parents, who funded the establishment.

Regarding gentlemen, Edward Austen (later Edward Knight) is depicted here in a portrait of great elegance. This suggests he was wealthy, even though his fortune did not come from the Austen family. At sixteen, Edward was adopted by Thomas Knight, a first cousin of Reverend Austen, and his wife Catherine, who wished to make him their son and future heir. They liked him so much that at twelve years old, they took him on their honeymoon! The Knights could not have children but needed an heir, as they possessed a significant fortune and estates in Hampshire and Kent. Interestingly, in "Emma" and "Mansfield Park," characters like Frank Churchill and Fanny Price are also taken in by wealthy relatives.

Henry is often considered Jane’s favorite brother, and he is also very important: it was he who enabled the publication of Jane’s novels. Henry was renowned for his eloquence and sharp wit; adaptations of his speeches or arguments may have been put into the mouths of characters like Henry Tilney in "Northanger Abbey."

At the beginning of the 19th century, Henry lived and worked in London, where he ran his own bank. It was he who wrote the first "Biographical Notice of the Author" and mentioned his sister as the writer of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Mansfield Park, as well as in the posthumous publication of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion in 1818. These two novels, set in Bath, were published together in four volumes after Austen’s death. During her lifetime, the name Austen never appeared in the press; in Sense and Sensibility, the first volume published, it was stated that it was written by a lady!

Let us now move on to Cassandra. She was Jane’s only sister, her closest friend and confidante. They shared the same room for most of their lives and were known for dressing very similarly! Like Jane, Cassandra never married, despite her parents’ many efforts to find them husbands (especially when they lived in Bath), but like Jane too, Cassandra was briefly engaged. However, Jane’s engagement lasted only one night. She received a marriage proposal one evening, thought about it, and the next day announced she had changed her mind. It seems she did not love the man enough to marry him. Cassandra’s engagement to Reverend Thomas Fowle, on the other hand, lasted five years. Before they could afford to marry, Thomas left for the West Indies to serve as a military chaplain, but upon his arrival in Saint-Domingue, he died of yellow fever. Cassandra remained single, having vowed at the age of 25 that she would never marry, for after 25, women were considered middle-aged; in a way, ready for the scrap heap.

When they were apart, the sisters wrote to each other daily, and what remains of these letters constitutes the main source of information about Jane Austen – although, unfortunately, Cassandra destroyed most of the letters in her possession after Jane’s death. The relationship between the Austen sisters is very likely reflected in the sisterly relationships of Elizabeth and Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, and of Elinor and Marianne in Sense and Sensibility.

Francis and Charles both received an education and training in the navy. They both had brilliant careers, serving as officers during the Napoleonic Wars. Francis was one of Lord Nelson’s captains, and both brothers attained the rank of admiral. It is clear that they inspired the sailor characters in Jane’s novels. In Mansfield Park, for Fanny Price’s birthday, she receives an amber cross necklace from her brother-in-arms William. This gesture is taken from Jane’s life, as Jane and Cassandra both received topaz crosses from their brother Charles, who had bought them with money earned in naval service.

At the age of 15, Jane wrote "The History of England by a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant historian." It was an early example of her talent for parody, with her own satirical versions of the history of the kings and queens of England. The interior illustrations were also done in watercolor by Cassandra. This work is available in our shop if you would like to admire it more closely.

At 20, Jane began writing her novels, and by 23, she already had drafts of "Sense and Sensibility" (initially titled "Elinor and Marianne") and "Pride and Prejudice" (initially titled "First Impressions"). London publishers were not interested. Gothic literature was much more in vogue then, so Jane wrote "Northanger Abbey" (under the title Susan) as a satire of popular Gothic novels.

Jane began most of her writing during her time in Hampshire, but she also worked in Bath, a city that was a true hub of social life. Jane was a keen observer and found a great source of inspiration here for her social satire. However, the city also offered many distractions, and she could not concentrate on her writing as much as in the countryside. Jane’s father passed away in Bath in 1805 and is buried at St. Swithin’s Church, less than a kilometer from here. His death left his wife and daughters in a precarious financial situation, and for four years, they were forced to live in very modest apartments, lacking the means to afford a house; at least, that is how it seemed. In 1809, Edward offered them the cottage at Chawton. This house was part of his inherited estate in Hampshire; yet, he could have gifted it to them much earlier. Apparently, some members of his wife’s family opposed his providing too much aid to his mother and sisters; a situation strangely reminiscent of that of Mr. and Mrs. Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility.


Jane’s death

Unfortunately, Jane never saw her two novels set in Bath published, for in 1816, she fell seriously ill. The exact nature of her illness remains a mystery. Several hypotheses have been put forward, including Addison’s disease and cancer.

In the spring of 1817, Henry and Cassandra took Jane to Winchester so she could benefit from better medical care. She had started a new novel, Sanditon, before falling ill, but unfortunately had to abandon it. Jane was at home in Chawton, Hampshire, when she wrote her will on April 27, 1817. A copy of this document is available at the National Archives. Upon her death, her estate was valued at less than £800. In her will, she bequeathed almost all her belongings to her "dearest sister," Cassandra, who had nursed her during her illness. On July 18, 1817, Jane passed away peacefully in her sister’s arms, at the age of 41. She rests in the Winchester Cathedral cemetery. Henry published the obituary in the local newspaper – this was the first time Jane was identified as the author of her novels. After her death, Cassandra wrote in a letter: "She was the sun of my life. The source of all my pleasures, the comfort of all my sorrows. I hid nothing from her and it is as if I have lost a part of myself."


Portraits

Over the years, there has been much debate as to the authenticity of the portraits of Jane. Her appearance is still the subject of speculation today.



The original of this portrait is at the National Portrait Gallery in London and measures about half the size of a small postcard. It is a watercolor depicting Jane around the age of 35, created by her sister Cassandra. To this day, it is the only authentic portrait we have. Unfortunately, it is unfinished. The Austen family felt this portrait did not flatter Jane. She was always described as a beautiful woman: tall and slender, with natural curls framing her face. Even her neighbors in Bath thought the Austen girls were beautiful. One of her nieces claimed that this portrait was so hideously different from her aunt that Cassandra was strictly forbidden from finishing it.

A stipple engraving of Jane, taken from A Memoir of Jane Austen, published by her eldest nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, in 1870. This portrait was not done from life but is an adaptation of a watercolor by Cassandra.

It was this portrait that was chosen by the Bank of England to feature on the £10 note in 2017, the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death. A very special edition, presented further on in the exhibition, is also available.



This portrait, painted from the back, does not allow for a faithful resemblance to be established. It is known, however, that the original belongs to a descendant of the family living in the UK. Painted by Cassandra in 1804, it depicts the Austens then residing in Bath. However, their many stays in the countryside and by the seaside make it difficult to locate this painting precisely.



The silhouette is a recurring image of the author. It was initially discovered pasted into a copy of Mansfield Park. It could very well be her, but some historians believe that, as Jane is described as slender, the silhouette might be too voluptuous. One can read in French, at the top, "l’aimable Jane," which suggests it could be the work of her cousin Eliza de Feuillide, French by marriage. The latter frequently stayed with the Austen family in Hampshire after the execution of her husband, the Comte de Feuillide, in Paris during the French Revolution.



The Jane Rice portrait. Rice is the name of the family that discovered the original. It is said to depict Jane at the age of 13, while she was staying with her great-uncle Francis, on her father’s side. The latter was a wealthy man, which explains the commission for this portrait. The artist is said to be Ozias Humphries, who also allegedly painted Edward’s portrait; art historians note that the cane he is holding is placed in the same position as Jane’s parasol. However, fashion historians state that the type of dress she is wearing was not common for children before 1805, the year Jane would have been 30 years old. There are family portraits, distinct from those of the Austens, dating from the 1780s, where young girls are seen wearing a similar dress.

This portrait was discovered and acquired at auction by Paula Byrne, Jane Austen biographer and author of "The Real Jane Austen." She collaborated with the BBC, which made a documentary about it in 2011. It is said to depict Jane during one of her visits to London with Henry, with a view of St. Margaret’s Church, near Westminster Abbey. It would likely have been painted between 1813 and 1815, when Jane was between 38 and 40 years old. In all her correspondence from the period with her family, there is no mention of any portrait. One can reasonably assume that, since she only stayed with Henry, she wrote a great deal, especially to Cassandra. Unfortunately, after Jane’s death, Cassandra burned most of the letters in her possession. It is possible that this is an imaginary work or a tribute to Jane, rather than a portrait from life.

Thank you very much for your attention. I hope you enjoyed this introduction. If you wish, I will now accompany you to the exhibition. After a brief presentation from my colleague in our portrait tunnel, you will be able to watch a film, enjoy Regency-era biscuits, smell perfumes, dress up, try your hand at handwriting in a calligraphy workshop, and admire our famous wax figure of Jane Austen. Don’t forget to take photos and do not hesitate to ask questions.


Some information about the Jane Austen wax figure

The Jane Austen wax figure is exclusive to the Jane Austen Centre and was unveiled in Bath for the first time in 2014.

No statue of this kind had ever been made before and Jane Austen has never featured in Madame Tussauds museums, as her true appearance is still the subject of speculation and debate.

We do not claim that this is an exact representation of her appearance, but we believe it is the closest thing to it. Forensic artist Melissa Dring, trained in Washington with the FBI, was consulted for the creation of the statue, as she had already created her own portrait of Jane back in 2002 (on the right). This was her vision of the author, in which she was able to capture a little more of her personality. Her sources were Cassandra’s unfinished portrait, the 1870 stipple engraving, descriptions written by Jane’s contemporaries, as well as observation of other members of her family to identify recurring facial features, such as the nose.

The statue represents Jane at the age when she lived in Bath (between 25 and 30 years old). The dress was made by costume designer Andrea Galer, who also created the costumes for the film adaptations of Mansfield Park and Persuasion. The hairstyle and coloring were done by Nell Clark, who had previously worked with Madame Tussauds and who also created the statue located outside the entrance of the Centre.