Yesterday was the anniversary of Jane’s birth during the cold winter of 1775 in the little village of Steventon. In honor of that, here’s one of my favorite Austen family quotes. This is George, Jane’s father, writing to his sister-in-law. Cassandra Austen had gone to help her sister in childbirth. George writes from his now-quiet rectory,
“I don’t much like this lonely kind of Life.”
And when he talked about the family possibly paying a visit, he said,
“I say we, for I certainly shall not let my Wife come alone, & I dare say she will not leave her children behind her.”
I love this. You can just see the country rector, who didn’t marry until he was almost thirty-three, in his rather plain small house, missing his dear wife.
This lovely image of Jane and her dad is from Jane Odiwe’s web site, Austen Effusions, and is available as a gift card.
Quote is from Deirdre Le Faye’s Jane Austen: A Family Record, p. 23.
The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman (May, 2012)