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Jane Austen's Letters
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
109 posts | 15 read | 2 reading | 31 to read
The fourth edition of Jane Austen's Letters incorporates the findings of new scholarship to enrich our understanding of Austen and give us the fullest view yet of her life and family. The biographical and topographical indexes have been updated, a new subject index has been created, and the contents of the notes added to the general index.
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bookishbitch
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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An ebay find. It looks like a long book but that is because half of it is notes and references.

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jenniferw88
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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PuddleJumper 💜💜💜 9mo
43 likes1 comment
review
nanuska_153
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Pickpick

Reading this feels a bit too much like a scholar's job, it has too many notes (over 300 pages of notes and indexes) and they are not well enough integrated to not feel lost on the many names. There's a lot of dress talk on the letters and the most interesting parts were likely destroyed by the family,but the letters still reflect the brilliance of the author. ⬇️⬇️

nanuska_153 The ones written after she achieved fame, helping Anna Austen with her novel and Fanny with her love life, and the ones at the end of her life are definitely worth the read. 12mo
40 likes1 comment
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IndoorDame
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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“Next week I shall begin operations on my hat, on which you know my principal hopes of happiness depend.” #NationalHatDay #JanuaryJazz @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Soubhiville That seems like a lot to depend on from a hat 🤣 👒 2y
IndoorDame @Soubhiville possibly my favorite quote from the collected letters! She was even wittier and snarkier in her personal life than in her novels. 2y
Eggs Well played! 2y
Eggs @Soubhiville 🤣🤭😅 2y
53 likes4 comments
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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#12Booksof2022 - day 12

I almost forgot to post my favorite read from December. I loved reading Austen‘s letters, especially those to her sister Cassandra. This is a treat for every Austen fan.

I would also mention “Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron”, a graphic novel that surprised me in a positive way.

Andrew65 A brilliant choice. Thanks for playing along, its been a great way to review our Reading year.
2y
JenniferP Added that to my wish list! Thanks for bringing it to my attention! 2y
59 likes2 comments
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IndoorDame
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Week 4 wrap up for my December readathons. This has actually been a good reading week overall, but The Sittaford Mystery was a great unexpected highlight! #WinterReadathon #WinterCozyReadathon @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES @PuddleJumper

Andrew65 Doing fabulously 🎄🎄🎄 2y
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 2y
53 likes2 comments
review
sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Pickpick

I knew from her published work that Austen was sarcastic, witty, talented, and smart, and reading her personal correspondence with friends and family did nothing to disabuse me of those notions. Making my way through a few letters each day was such a delight, even when things got sad. As much as I love her work (and that‘s a lot), I really do think all of us were robbed when she died so young.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to everyone who read along! ❤️

Ruthiella Thank you for hosting! I really enjoyed this. 👏👏👏 2y
IndoorDame Thank you for hosting! I loved this! And probably wouldn‘t have read it on my own. 2y
AnnR Thanks for leading the discussion and I enjoyed all your posts. This was an enlightening read but also a sad one. 2y
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MaureenMc Thank you for hosting! 2y
Daisey I couldn‘t make this readalong fit in my already busy reading schedule, but the posts I‘ve seen definitely make me want to read her letters sometime. 2y
batsy ❤️ 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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#AdventRecommends December 23rd

The ultimate read for every Austen fan.

51 likes1 stack add
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IndoorDame
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Pickpick

Reading these letters with the #Pemberlittens the last two months has been a whirlwind. On the whole it reinforced how witty she was, and the impressions I had vaguely formed of Jane and her life from reading her writing and some snippets of biographical info. It also made me feel closer to her and will probably be a voice in my mind as I reread her novels going forward. And it got me back into letter writing myself.

IndoorDame If you‘re looking for something scholarly I this edition is great. Half of it is well researched footnotes who‘s being referenced, the type of paper being written on, the provenance of each letter… I started ignoring the footnotes pretty early on deciding I‘d rather get to appreciate the flow of the writing and was willing to be a bit in the dark on some of the details. So I could have read a much more concise edition. 2y
batsy The edition I read was the Selected Letters and I felt it was just the right length. I would have loved more letters if Jane delved into her inner thoughts about writing & art, but it was interesting to me that she kept that part of herself largely to herself (in her correspondence, at least). 2y
IndoorDame @batsy I‘m always interested in that part of the inner life of artists too. While she only had a few comments directly about writing/art, I felt like I got to see that part of her in the letters where she critiqued others‘ writing. I don‘t know how many of those your edition had, but this had quite a few and they had a different tone than her everyday writing which was interesting. 2y
batsy @IndoorDame Oh, that's interesting! It's possible my edition didn't have the full selection though there were a few. Those were some of my favourites. 2y
IndoorDame @batsy mine too! 2y
55 likes5 comments
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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Not gonna lie… the last few days‘ letters are making me sad. Jane is still witty and gossipy, but as the dates get close to the end of her life and she talks more and more about her own health, I‘m just 😔.

I do know this happened 200+ years ago and that I am ridiculous, but she feels like a friend. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#Pemberlittens

vivastory It's incredible how young she was when she passed away considering how many of her novels are considered the greatest English stories 2y
sprainedbrain @vivastory yes… I think we were robbed of a lot of other great novels, too. 2y
vivastory Absolutely! I have read only 2, but I loved both. One is one of my favorites of all time and I definitely plan on reading more of her work next year. 2y
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sprainedbrain @vivastory now you have to tell me which two! 2y
vivastory I have read Emma and Northanger Abbey. NA was the first Austen that I read & it made me fall in love with her work. It contains passages containing the best defense of the novel as an art form that I have read. It's my favorite. However, I did love Emma and I do recognize that from an objective technical standpoint that it is a better book for several reasons. However, NA has my heart. 2y
sprainedbrain @vivastory They are both so good for different reasons. Emma has grown on me with rereads. You still have two of my favorites yet to read… even the ones that aren‘t my favorites are still really remarkable books, and I love them (as you might have guessed). 😉 2y
vivastory I'm going to guess that your two favorites are...Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion? 🤔 2y
IndoorDame I‘m feeling sad as I get to the end of the letters too. It‘s not like the ending was a secret or something so it‘s a little ridiculous, but I think you‘re right, after reading these she feels even more like a friend than before. 2y
sprainedbrain @vivastory my order has changed with rereads, but Persuasion is my favorite, with P&P tied with Northanger for second. 😃 2y
sprainedbrain @IndoorDame I don‘t know what I was expecting… of course she was going to write about the illness that was taking her life. 😢 2y
IndoorDame @sprainedbrain I think maybe what‘s taking me by surprise is the realization that we may be recognizing signs that she‘s dying before she herself knows she‘s terminal. 2y
sprainedbrain @IndoorDame I think you‘re right… 2y
vivastory Love to see the NA love! I read an essay recently about Austen & Shelley & it kinda kills me that she passed away before Frankenstein was published. I wonder what she would have made of it! I haven't really been sure where to go next on my Austen journey, but seeing you rank persuasion so high will definitely help me 👏 2y
batsy I felt the same towards the end. @IndoorDame That was quite heartbreaking to sort of learn as the letters progressed. 2y
batsy @vivastory Persuasion is brilliant. Different in tone from the rest, elegiac in a way but also hopeful and wise. Reading the unfinished Sanditon made me heartbroken that we won't have anything new to discover from her. It was so unexpected, strange and compelling. 2y
Readerann I have read (and loved) all Austen‘s books except the letters. I must look for a copy! P&P is my favorite book ever. I‘ve decided to start rereading these lovely novels. Nothing like some brilliant writing with plenty of wit and romance in the mix. ❤️ 2y
vivastory @batsy Thank you for your comments on Persuasion. I have def. decided to make it my next Austen. I also somehow forgot about her unfinished work. looking at the description it does sound very interesting. It appears that there have been a large number of versions completed by other authors, hmm... 2y
AnneCecilie Those last letters made me sad too. 2y
batsy @vivastory Yes, I think there have been members of our group who read some of the versions completed by other writers. I read the unfinished ones, even The Watsons, and sense there was still so much untapped/unpublished genius 💔 2y
58 likes19 comments
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IndoorDame
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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“He is getting very near our own age, for WE do not grow older of course…”

Love her! #PemberLittens

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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Pickpick

This is a must read for every Austen fan. I loved this.

Austen writes about her everyday life; about going to balls, visits and dinners. After reading this I know where she got her inspiration from, and I wouldn‘t be surprised if characters in her novels are based on people in her social circle. After reading her letters, I wonder where she found the time to write her novels.

I‘m so thankful to her family that has kept the letters in full and

AnneCecilie not divided them up like some of her letters was. Austen‘s wit and humor really comes across when the letters are read in full. Thank you to @sprainedbrain for hosting the buddy read of this, and in one way it seems quite fitting that this is the last book where the #PemberLittens is run by you. The ultimate Austen read. (edited) 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
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sprainedbrain I agree with everything you said! Thank you for reading with me. ❤️ 2y
SamAnne Such a great read! 2y
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 2y
58 likes1 stack add7 comments
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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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I occasionally see Austen‘s work labeled as romance… I wonder what Jane would think to hear that? 😂

#Pemberlittens

TheBookHippie Hopefully she‘d be mad as hell 😅🤣🤣🤣🤣. Ha. 2y
Ruthiella I wonder though if she‘s using the old-fashioned definition of a Romance and means the kind of novel Sir Walter Scott wrote? 2y
sprainedbrain @Ruthiella yes, I‘m sure she was. 😃 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 150 (C) to Aletha Bigg.

No chance of a request being too early, when it‘s the last thing written in a letter 😊

#PemberLittens

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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 146 to James Edward Austen:

“By the bye, my dear Edward, I am quite concerned for the loss your Mother mentions in her Letter; two Chapters & a half to be missing is monstrous! It is well that I have not been at Steventon lately, & therefore cannot be suspected of purloining them”

#PemberLittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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In the words of Cher Horowitz (our 1990s version of Emma herself)…

As if! 😉

#Pemberlittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Jane on the importance of Aunts, to her new sister-aunt, Caroline. 😅

#Pemberlittens

Sparklemn As a proud “auntie“, I like to think this is true!! 2y
Librariana I like being a person of some consequence! 2y
AnneCecilie I loved this quote too, as an aunt 2y
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SamAnne
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
Pickpick

So glad the #pemberlittens prompted me to read Austen's letters. I finished it a few weeks ago. She was smart, witty and snarky, a full of excellent advice for writers. A must read for lovers of all things Austen!

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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 134 to the Countess of Morley

“& to beleive that I have not yet - as almost every Writer of Fancy does sooner or later - overwritten myself.”

#PemberLittens

Ruthiella Far from it! If only she‘d lived longer. 😢 2y
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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Miss Austen was talking about a fictional character, but still. 😂

#Pemberlittens

TheBookHippie Seriously I wrote this down to use in future......what does that say about me?!?!?!?! HAHAHAHA. 2y
sprainedbrain @TheBookHippie that you‘re awesome, obviously. 😂 2y
TheBookHippie @sprainedbrain CLEARLY. 😂 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 123 to Caroline Austen:

“Now that you are become an Aunt, you are a person of some consequence & must excite great Interest whatever You do. I have always maintained the importance of Aunts as much as possible, & I am sure of your doing the same now.”

#PemberLittens

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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 121 to Cassandra:

“Mr. Murray‘s Letter is come; he is a Rogue of course, but a civil one. He offers 728- but wants to have the Copyright of MP. & S&S included. It will end in my publishing for myself I dare say. - He sends more praise however than I expected. It is an amusing Letter. You shall see it.”

(Picture of John Murray found online belonging to National Portrait Gallery in London)

#PemberLittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Jane giving lots of advice to Fanny in the last couple of days‘ letters. ❤️

#Pemberlittens

50 likes1 stack add
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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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#Pemberlittens

Lots of letters to Anna Austen while Jane was reading/editing Anna‘s manuscript… Jane was definitely a tough critic with lots to say, but she loved it!

Ruthiella This made me immediately google Maria Edgeworth! I want to read Belinda now. 😅 2y
sprainedbrain @Ruthiella I need to read something of hers too… if she‘s good enough for Jane Austen. 😂 2y
SamAnne This was one of my favorite parts of h the book! 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Letter 107 to Anna Austen:

“You are now collecting your People delightfully, getting them exactly into such a spot as is the delight of my life; - 3 or 4 Families in a Country Village is the very thing to work on”

#PemberLittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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I snorted.😆

In other news, Mansfield Park has entered the chat!

#Pemberlittens

TheBookHippie 😂😂♥️♥️ 2y
janeycanuck I‘m so behind on this but the quotes you‘re posting are making me want to call in sick tomorrow and just plow through!! 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Letter 104 to Anna Austen:

“And we think you better not leave England. Let the Portmans go to Ireland, but as you know nothing of the Manners there, you had better not go with them. You will be in danger of giving false representations. Stick to Bath & the Foresters. There you will be quite at Home.”

Jane Austen giving writing advice to Anne Austen who is writing a novel.

#PemberLittens

Soubhiville Cool artwork! 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 96 to Cassandra:

“Lady Eliz. Hatton & Annamaria called here this morning; - Yes, they called, - but I do not think I can say anything more about them. They came & they sat & they went.”

#PemberLittens

sprainedbrain Perfect picture! 😂 2y
47 likes1 comment
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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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#Pemberlittens

Some of the perks of spinsterhood. 😅

AnnR That paragraph gave me a good chuckle while reading. It seems JA was enjoying some of her fame and even the 'spinsterhood' part. 2y
sprainedbrain @Ann_Reads I really love that she seemed to be happy with things. ❤️ 2y
AnneCecilie I loved that too when I read it. The perks of being a spinster 😊 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 91 to Cassandra:

“Edward Bridge‘s friend is a Mr Hawker I find, not Harpur. I would not have you sleep in such an Error for the World”

#PemberLittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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#Pemberlittens

Jane is starting to make some money from her books, and she seems to love commenting on how rich she is. 😅 She also seems to like to spend her money on her darling Cassandra. ❤️

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Forgot to post this yesterday… Jane Austen talking about Elizabeth Bennet makes my heart happy. ❤️

#Pemberlittens

Aimeesue Not like Lizzie? The very thought! That would be very suspect indeed. 2y
TheBookHippie Very very sweet. 2y
Ruthiella From reading her letters, Lizzie Bennett is maybe the Austen heroine closest to Jane Austen in personality. 2y
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sprainedbrain @Aimeesue right? Inconceivable! 2y
AnneCecilie I loved this quote too. I feel that Lizzie is the character that means the most to Austen. 2y
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BarkingMadRead
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Put together my #bookspinbingo books for December! My #roll100december books are in there as well. The tagged book isn‘t pictured but it‘s in both lists. @TheAromaofBooks @PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper Ooo enjoy! 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 79 to Cassandra:

“but she really does seem to admire Elisabeth. I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.

#PemberLittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Idk what Mr. Digweed did, so in absence of any factual information, I will just assume some very Willoughby-level f*ckboy stuff because that‘s more fun. 😉

#Pemberlittens

SamAnne 😂😂😂 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 77 to Martha Lloyd:

“P. & P. is sold. - Egerton gives 648 for it. - I would rather have had 668, but we could not both be pleased”

#PemberLittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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😂

Letter 71 also has this mention of Sense & Sensibility:

‘No indeed, I am never too busy to think of S&S. I can no more forget it, than a mother can forget her sucking child; & I am much obliged to you for your enquiries.‘

#Pemberlittens

BiblioLitten 😁😁 2y
Ruthiella I remember that bit about the novel being as important to her as a child to its mother from the Lucy Worsley bio. 2y
batsy I meant to keep track but it felt like there was more than one instance that she referred to her books as her children. Plus that line about their nephew 😂 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 74 to Cassandra:

“I will not say that your Mulberry trees are dead, but I am afraid they are not alive.”

🤣🤣🤣

Jane Austen really knows how to put. I also think this is one of the very few quotes from her letters I knew before I started reading them.

#PemberLittens

(Picture is found online from the Geranium Blog)

Ruthiella I love that quote. It‘s almost Monty Pythonesque! 😂 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 71 to Cassandra:

“No indeed, I am never too busy to think of S&S. I can no more forget it, than a mother can forget her sucking child; & I am much obliged to you for your enquiries. I have had two sheets to correct, but the last only brings us to W.s first appearance.”

I think this is Jane‘s first mention of her books in a letter to her sister

#PemberLittens

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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#Pemberlittens

I can‘t help it… Jane‘s mention of cravats in letter 65 immediately made me think of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Darcy in their cravats, and more importantly, WITHOUT their cravats, because this is just the way my mind works with regards to cravats. 😍

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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#Pemberlittens

A lot happening in yesterday‘s and today‘s letters… Jane‘s sister-in-law Elizabeth Knight died shortly after delivering her 11th child, Edward Bridges married Harriot Foote and Jane seems to have some thoughts on that, and the Austen women are gearing up to move to Chawton.

This mention of a ball made me a little sad but also made me smile. Jane is definitely a spinster by this point but still dancing and having a good time!

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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 55 to Cassandra:

“I assure you I am as tired of writing long letters as you can be. What a pity that one should still be so fond of receiving them! - Fanny Austen‘s Match is quite news, & I am sorry she has behaved so I‘ll. There is some comfort to us in her misconduct, that we have not a congratulatory Letter to write.”

#PemberLittens

(Painting by Michelle Miller titled “Writing a Letter”)

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sprainedbrain
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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That ⬆️ is why I‘ve always been a terrible penpal. 😂

Did Edward Bridges propose to Jane, as the notes in my book suggest, or what was this invitation of his she couldn‘t accept?

#Pemberlittens

AnnR I had to look up the Edward Bridges connection & came across this well written article on the official Jane Austen blog. Since letters were burned, I guess we will never know what type of invitation JA declined. It sounds like there would have been ample opportunities for a romantic relationship to develop though.
Link:
https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/jane-austen-life/reverend-brook-edward-bridges-an...
2y
AnnR I used to love writing long letters and even emails (probably helped by the enthusiasm that sometimes goes along with youthful plans) but not so much anymore. I get where JA is coming from now. 2y
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AnneCecilie
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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From letter 50 to Cassandra:

“We are reading Clarentine, & are surprised to find how foolish it is. I remember liking it much less on a 2nd reading than at the 1st & it does not bear a 3rd at all. It is full of unnatural conduct & forced difficulties, without striking merit of any kind.”

So not a recommendation there

#PemberLittens

BarkingMadRead 🤣🤣🤣 2y
Aimeesue 😂😂😂 2y
Sparklemn 😁 2y
47 likes3 comments
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IndoorDame
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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Reading this has inspired me to rejoin #LitsyLove and send out my first piece of proper correspondence in 3 years! (I‘m afraid none of my recipients can expect anything this pretty, but I adore looking at vintage envelope art!)

LiseWorks Oh how lovely 2y
ImperfectCJ Welcome back to #LitsyLove! I just rejoined, too. I overdid it last time and am hoping to find a more sustainable way to correspond because I like the connections (and the mail!). 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Welcome back!! ❤️❤️ 2y
IndoorDame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thank you ♥️♥️ 2y
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suvata
Jane Austen's Letters | Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye
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I wondered why JA always used an ‘&‘ instead of spelling out the word AND. I just read an article that explained it. “Ampersand believe it or not was considered part of the English alphabet. It first appeared in an alphabet listing in 209, and faded out some time in the mid 19th Century. It was at the end of the alphabet, and when the alphabet was recited by children, it would end with x, y, z and per se ‘and‘ which got slurred into ‘ampersand‘.”

thegreensofa That‘s amazing! Thank you for that, so interesting. 2y
suvata @thegreensofa You‘re welcome. I had never heard of that before myself. 2y
mabell How cool! I love that! 2y
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IndoorDame Neat! I had no idea. Thank you 2y
kspenmoll great to know. I had no idea I was in the ampersand club along with jane! 2y
Tamra What a fun tidbit to know! I wish it were still part of the alphabet. 2y
Ruthiella Neat trivia! I still use & when writing with a pen! 2y
46 likes7 comments