The Letters of Jane Austen

The Letters of Jane Austen

Jane Austen

5.0
Comment(s)
126
View
78
Chapters

The Letters of Jane Austen by Jane Austen

Chapter 1 No.1

Steventon, Thursday (January 16, 1796).

HAVE just received yours and Mary's letter, and I thank you both, though their contents might have been more agreeable. I do not at all expect to see you on Tuesday, since matters have fallen out so unpleasantly; and if you are not able to return till after that day, it will hardly be possible for us to send for you before Saturday, though for my own part I care so little about the ball that it would be no sacrifice to me to give it up for the sake of seeing you two days earlier. We are extremely sorry for poor Eliza's illness. I trust, however, that she has continued to recover since you wrote, and that you will none of you be the worse for your attendance on her. What a good-for-nothing fellow Charles is to bespeak the stockings! I hope he will be too hot all the rest of his life for it!

I sent you a letter yesterday to Ibthorp, which I suppose you will not receive at Kintbury. It was not very long or very witty, and therefore if you never receive it, it does not much signify. I wrote principally to tell you that the Coopers were arrived and in good health. The little boy is very like Dr. Cooper, and the little girl is to resemble Jane, they say.

Our party to Ashe to-morrow night will consist of Edward Cooper, James (for a ball is nothing without him), Buller, who is now staying with us, and I. I look forward with great impatience to it, as I rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of the evening. I shall refuse him, however, unless he promises to give away his white coat.

I am very much flattered by your commendation of my last letter, for I write only for fame, and without any view to pecuniary emolument.

Edward is gone to spend the day with his friend, John Lyford, and does not return till to-morrow. Anna is now here; she came up in her chaise to spend the day with her young cousins, but she does not much take to them or to anything about them, except Caroline's spinning-wheel. I am very glad to find from Mary that Mr. and Mrs. Fowle are pleased with you. I hope you will continue to give satisfaction.

How impertinent you are to write to me about Tom, as if I had not opportunities of hearing from him myself! The last letter that I received from him was dated on Friday, 8th, and he told me that if the wind should be favorable on Sunday, which it proved to be, they were to sail from Falmouth on that day. By this time, therefore, they are at Barbadoes, I suppose. The Rivers are still at Manydown, and are to be at Ashe to-morrow. I intended to call on the Miss Biggs yesterday had the weather been tolerable. Caroline, Anna, and I have just been devouring some cold souse, and it would be difficult to say which enjoyed it most.

Tell Mary that I make over Mr. Heartley and all his estate to her for her sole use and benefit in future, and not only him, but all my other admirers into the bargain wherever she can find them, even the kiss which C. Powlett wanted to give me, as I mean to confine myself in future to Mr. Tom Lefroy, for whom I don't care sixpence. Assure her also, as a last and indubitable proof of Warren's indifference to me, that he actually drew that gentleman's picture for me, and delivered it to me without a sigh.

Friday.-At length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive this it will be over. My tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea. Wm. Chute called here yesterday. I wonder what he means by being so civil. There is a report that Tom is going to be married to a Lichfield lass. John Lyford and his sister bring Edward home to-day, dine with us, and we shall all go together to Ashe. I understand that we are to draw for partners. I shall be extremely impatient to hear from you again, that I may know how Eliza is, and when you are to return.

With best love, etc., I am affectionately yours,

J. Austen.

Miss Austen,

The Rev. Mr. Fowle's, Kintbury, Newbury

Continue Reading

Other books by Jane Austen

More
Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey

Literature

5.0

This special edition of Northanger Abbey includes the famous illustrations by Henry Matthew Brock, originally created in 1898. Brock and his brothers were all successful illustrators of the day and often posed for each other using costumes, props and furniture in their Cambridge studio. Brock's older brother Charles joined him in illustrating other Jane Austen releases for this set of 1898 editions. Northanger Abbey was Austen's first completed novel but was published posthumously in 1817. Austen sold the novel to a bookseller in 1803 - for £10 - who decided not to publish it. Her brother bought it back for the same amount after her death. Catherine Morland is the daughter of a country clergyman, one of ten children. She devours Gothic novels and has an active imagination. After a lively season in Bath, she is invited to Northanger Abbey, where she finds the house is not the dark, moody Gothic mansion of her imaginings. Catherine's exciting season in Bath leads her to become acquainted with the dashing John Thorpe, who encourages her flights of fancy and attempts to divert her from his rival Henry Tilney. But Henry extends an invitation she can't resist and she finds herself visiting Northanger Abbey. There, as a "heroine in training," she is determined to bring one of her favorite Gothic novels to life, but the charming and very down to earth Mr. Tilney eventually brings her to see that real life can be even more interesting than the most spine-chilling Gothic fantasy.

You'll also like

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book