“I have received a letter from Frank . . . he is in a great hurry to be married, & I have encouraged him in it.”
letter to Cassandra
August 24, 1805 [45]
Jane’s brother Frank was in the navy-a regular Horatio Hornblower-he married Mary Gibson of Ramsgate the following July. They had been engaged since 1804, but waited until he won a little more prize money to marry. They had eleven children before Mary died.
Image from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath. See their Austen family info.
The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman (May, 2012)