Everyone agrees that a provocative letter from a well-known author must be looking for an audience.
The letter that a young Jane Austen wrote lamenting that she would “flirt her last” with an Irish barrister who was rumoured to be the model for Mr. Darcy is about to be put on public display for the first time.
The letter, which is the author’s earliest known letter still in existence, was written by the author when she was 20 years old and addressed to her sister Cassandra.
It was written just when her relationship with Irishman Tom Lefroy was ending and before she began working on the draught of Pride and Prejudice.
Some have suggested that Mr. Lefroy, or at least elements of his demeanour, served as some sort of inspiration for the famed novel’s brooding hero who initially turned the heroine Lizzy Bennet off before winning her over.
The letter will be seen for the first time as part of a new exhibition that launches today at Austen’s former residence in the village of Chawton, Hampshire, alongside a painting of the lawyer.
The letter, which was written over the course of two days in January 1796, discusses Austen’s plans for an upcoming ball and some of the gentlemen she would encounter there.
I look forward to it with great impatience because I somewhat anticipate hearing from my friend with an offer later in the evening, she writes.
But unless he commits to part up his white coat, I’ll decline.
“Tell Mary that I give over Mr. Heartley and all of his estate to her for her exclusive use and benefit in the future, and not only him, but all my other admirers into the bargain wherever she can find them, even the kiss that C. Powlett wanted to give me, as I intend to limit myself in the future to Mr. Tom Lefroy, for whom I care not sixpence,” I wrote.
The next day, she continues, saying, “At last, 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 mournful concept.”
Her connection with her possible suitor has been the subject of intense discussion in response to the letter, particularly this portion.
The idea that it was an important event in the author’s life served as the basis for the 2007 film Becoming Jane, starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy.
Sophie Reynolds, the curator of Jane Austen’s House, said: “Jane Austen enthusiasts will be quite enthusiastic about the letter describing the end of Austen’s affair with Mr. Lefroy.
It is the first letter by Austen that has survived. It’s a pretty entertaining letter; she’s a bright young thing, young, and out partying.
Ms. Reynolds disagreed, stating that she didn’t think the author was inconsolable.
She remarked, “This was a very tongue-in-cheek letter.” She is most likely not overly upset about not seeing him again.
“And yet the concept that it was a crucial relationship for her is where the movie Becoming Jane comes from,”
She isn’t also convinced that the relationships between the couple are reflected in Pride and Prejudice’s characters.
It’s very difficult to determine whether Lizzy Bennet is modelled after Jane Austen, she said. ‘That’s the million dollar question.
There are traces of her personality in the letter, and there is proof that she began working on Pride and Prejudice not long after.
I believe that all writers’ life may be found in their works.
The letter will be on display next to a George Engleheart portrait of Mr. Lefroy that Judy and Brian Harden, two art collectors, are lending.
We are extremely delighted to have the letter and the portrait side by side, Ms. Reynolds continued. We get the chance to view the people she knew and the individuals who inhabited her universe.
It paints a very compelling picture of the young man at or close to the age at which Jane Austen would have known him. He looks deeply into your eyes. His looks are really remarkable.
The second letter to be put on display describes the particulars of daily life in London, including shopping excursions, theatre visits, hair appointments, and a gruelling trip to the dentist.
The novelist spent the majority of her life in Hampshire but loved travelling to London to indulge in all the amenities that a big metropolis had to offer.
The letters are a part of the Blavatnik-Honresfield Library, which is jointly owned by The Bodleian Libraries and contains manuscripts, letters, and printed volumes that were gathered by industrialists William and Alfred Law in the late 19th century.
Following a successful effort by the Friends of the National Libraries (FNL), which raised £15 million and gave every manuscript and printed book to authors’ residences and libraries all around the UK, the Library was rescued for the country in December of last year.
Ms Reynolds said: ‘I think these letters are incredibly interesting for Jane Austen aficionados and all visitors.
You learn something from handwriting that you wouldn’t learn from a transcript, the author claims.
From now through March 5, 2023, two exhibitions titled Jane Austen in Love and Jane Austen in London will be on display.
The show will also feature the costumes that Hathaway and McAvoy wore in the movie.