In Search of Jane Austen

by Ken Methold

  ‘And what is your opinion? Do you think it likely that Miss Austen kept a journal?’

  ‘I consider it most unlikely that she did not. Most educated young women keep one. For a woman who is determined to be a successful writer, not to do so would be extraordinary, and if she kept one, it will be in Cassandra Austen’s keeping. But it would not be at all surprising if she destroys it along with any correspondence that might offend or hurt the people to whom the writing refers. I fear that Miss Cassandra Austen will see it as her Christian duty not only to safeguard their feelings but also her sister’s integrity and reputation.’

  Lady Hertford replied, ‘Then unless we hire a burglar with a very large sack to visit Miss Cassandra Austen’s residence in Chawton, we must wait patiently for developments. Perhaps with an encouraging request from the Prince Regent, Miss Cassandra might allow an expurgated version of the journal to be published.’

  ‘I think that unlikely, Your Ladyship,’ Sarah said. ‘And I honestly doubt whether such a version would tell us anymore than we already know.’

  ‘Very true. But let us now talk of other things.’ Lady Hertford smiled, and Sarah thought that she was such a pleasant woman it was difficult to imagine her associating intimately with the Prince Regent. ‘When would it be convenient for you to visit Ragley Hall?’ Lady Hertford asked enthusiastically. ‘I would appreciate it so much if you could give the actors advice.’ Her face brightened as she had an idea. ‘We could put on one of your plays! Now that would be a splendid thing to do. The cast would be so appreciative. When can you come?’

  ‘I’d love to be involved,’ Sarah replied, ‘but may I let you know when I shall be free to leave London? My new play will go into rehearsal soon, and I should be available at rehearsals until after the first night. That will probably be towards the middle of next month.’

  ‘That’s settled then. Just let me have a week’s notice. And don’t worry about transport. I’ll send a carriage for you. It’s been such a pleasure meeting you, Miss Kedron. Thank you again for doing so much to satisfy my curiosity.’

  Lady Hertford rang a small bell. Within the blink of an eye, a footman appeared to escort Sarah to her carriage.

  While returning to Portman Place, Sarah pondered the consequences of having agreed to the Reverend John Stainer Clarke’s request and how close she had been to refusing his invitation! But new doors were being opened to her. She wondered what she would find behind them. Experience had taught her that one development in her life inevitably led to another. The more she welcomed new experiences, the richer her life became.

  Author's Note

  This is a work of fiction, of the imagination. It is an attempt to get into the mind and heart of Jane Austen, recognised as one of, if not the greatest English novelists. Four of her novels were published in her lifetime, Pride and Prejudice and Emma being the two most popular today but not when they were published. Two more novels were published shortly after her death, and one, Lady Susan was not published until more than fifty years after her death. Two of her unfinished novels, Sanditon and The Watsons, were also published long after her death, as were the three volumes of her juvenilia.

  She was born in 1775, the daughter of a country parson, in the village of Steventon, Hampshire. She lived in the place of her birth for almost thirty years. Then, after a few years in Bath and Southampton, she settled in another village, Chawton, not twenty miles from where she was born. Very little is known about her life, except that not very much seems to have happened in it. She did not keep a journal, or if she did, we can be sure that her elder sister, Cassandra, with whom she lived all her life, destroyed it when, ten years after Jane’s death, she destroyed most of the many thousands of letters in her possession. Presumably this was because they contained statements which reflected badly on Jane herself or on people about whom she was writing.

  Several family members wrote memoirs about her. The first of these, published in 1817, the year of her death, is so misleading as to be deliberately dishonest. Written by her brother, Henry, a curate living nearby, it attempts to portray her as a saintly woman, full of kindness and humility, uninterested in fame and fortune, and concerned solely with leading a good Christian life according to the doctrine of the Church of England.

  This is nonsense. Fortunately, there is some documentary evidence to support this contention. However, one can only speculate using whatever anecdotal evidence is available.

  I have used the most recent biographies as my sources, and to their authors, I am deeply grateful for their scholarship and the readability of their books. Of these, Claire Tomalin’s Jane Austen is by far the most comprehensive. John Halperin’s The Life of Jane Austen is probably the most controversial, and Paula Byrne’s The Real Jane Austen, the most recent, is probably the most insightful. I have also consulted Deirdre Le Faye’s Jane Austen’s Letters, (4th edition) which contains all the letters that are believed to be extant.

  I have done my best not to misinterpret statements in these works, and I apologise sincerely if I have unwittingly done so. Any nonsenses in this book are entirely of my own making.

  The format is that of the ‘Golden Age’ detective story. The amateur detective, in my case. Sarah Kedron, a Georgian playwright and theatre critic, decides to write a series of articles about women novelists of the time. She sets about her task, beginning with Jane Austen, by questioning as many of Jane’s family, friends and publishers, and so on as are prepared to talk to her. They can tell her, of course, and the book is concerned only with, what they would have known about Jane at the time they were questioned, that is the late spring of 1818, almost a year after her death. Although the people Sarah questions were all alive at that time and living where she visits them, Sarah is, of course, wholly fictitious which means that the content of the conversations is also fictitious. This does not necessarily mean that it is nonsense.

  The novel ends with Sarah Kedron drawing her conclusions about Jane based on the information she has been able to obtain. How near this information and the conclusions that are drawn from it may be to the truth is anyone’s guess. I am, naturally, inclined to the view that Sarah is on the right lines. One thing is for sure: Jane Austen was a complex and enigmatic woman whose relationships with members of her family were far more fraught than they would have us believe.

  I gratefully acknowledge Philip Catshill who read this work at various stages and made many valuable comments and suggestions, Rose Newland for her charming cover design, and Tahlia Newland for her never-failing encouragement and editorial and production expertise.

  All errors and omissions in this book are, of course, entirely my responsibility.

  Ken Methold.

  Kiama, Australia.

  Publisher's Note

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  Other Books by Ken Methold

  The Missing Baronet

  If you liked the character of Sarah Kedron, you’ll enjoy The Missing Baronet in which the wife of Sir Charles Browning asks Sarah to find out what has happened to her husband who has disappeared without trace. Sarah Kedron and James Brewster, the editor of her father’s weekly periodical, investigate the disappearance. Their search for the truth takes them from the high society of Regency England to its shady underbelly. Firmly established in the social, political and economic conditions of the time, The Missing Baronet is an enthralling read.

  What readers are saying about The Missing Baronet:

  ‘A meticulo
usly researched period piece, bringing together colourful characters, conflicting aspirations and a tricky mystery so solve.’.

  B.J.Haydon

  ‘This is an absorbing thriller with a complex plot and well-drawn characters. There are just a few tantalising leads to reveal the surprise ending. Overall this is an extremely good read.’ R. Ross

  The Missing Baronet is available as an e-book and paperback from Amazon, and as a paperback from The Book Depository and by order through all good bookshops.

  About the Author

  Ken Methold has been writing professionally since he left school, and full-time for the past forty-five years. Most of his more than one hundred published books have been educational texts for schools and colleges, especially in the field of English as a Second Language. However, he has also had six novels published by major commercial publishers, written extensively for radio and television, and contributed to many magazines and newspapers. He now concentrates on researching and writing about all aspects of life in Regency Britain, and reviews new books, both fiction and non-fiction, for The Historical Fiction Review and other specialist publications.

  Ken was born and educated in the UK but lived in Asia for many years before migrating to Australia where he now lives with his ceramic-artist wife, Sheila.

  Ken’s first historical mystery was his critically acclaimed pastiche, Sherlock Holmes in Australia—the case of the kidnapped kanaka. That story was set in late nineteenth century colonial, pre-federation Australia and the Islands of the South Pacific, but now Ken sets his mysteries in Regency England.