April Fool's Day 1816

MY DEAR SIR, — I am honoured by the Prince’s thanks and very much obliged to yourself for the kind manner in which you mention the work. I have also to acknowledge a former letter forwarded to me from Hans Place. I assure you I felt very grateful for the friendly tenor of it, and hope my silence will have been considered, as it was truly meant, to proceed only from an unwillingness to tax your time with idle thanks. Under every interesting circumstance which your own talents and literary labours have placed you in, or the favour of the Regent bestowed, you have my best wishes. Your recent appointments I hope are a step to something still better. In my opinion, the service of a court can hardly be too well paid, for immense must be the sacrifice of time and feeling required by it.

You are very kind in your hints as to the sort of composition which might recommend me at present, and I am fully sensible that an historical romance, founded on the House of Saxe-Cobourg, might be much more to the purpose of profit or popularity than such pictures of domestic life in country villages as I deal in. But I could no more write a romance than an epic poem. I could not sit seriously down to write a serious romance under any other motive than to save my life; and if it were indispensable for me to keep it up and never relax into laughing at myself or at other people, I am sure I should be hung before I had finished the first chapter. No, I must keep to my own style and go on in my own way; and though I may never succeed again in that, I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other.

I remain, my dear Sir,
Your very much obliged, and sincere friend,
J. AUSTEN.

Chawton, near Alton, April 1, 1816.

Wordy Wednesday #8

Source: source unknown via CNJ JASNA on Pinterest

Quote is from the Jane's letter to Cassandra on November 20, 1800

Monday Post - A Letter from J. S. Clarke, Librarian.

I was at a lost for what to post today when I saw a tweet from The Republic of Pemberley's twitter account.

Nov 16 1815 - James Stanier Clarke writes to JA to suggest she write a novel with a clergyman as a hero. https://t.co/Y8hgMiKyAP

— Jane Austen - RoP (@pemberleydotcom) November 16, 2015

This made me think of a meme that some book blogs due where they share what books they have recently received in the mail on Monday mornings.

Once a month, on a Monday I'll share a letter Jane either received or sent on (or near) that date.

So today's letter is the one mentioned in the above tweet:

DEAR MADAM, -- It is certainly not incumbent on you to dedicate your work now in the press to His Royal Highness; but if you wish to do the Regent that honour either now or at any future period I am happy to send you that permission, which need not require any more trouble or solicitation on your part.

Your late works, Madam, and in particular "Mansfield Park," reflect the highest honour on your genius and your principles. In every new work your mind seems to increase its energy and power of discrimination. The Regent has read and admired all your publications.

Accept my best thanks for the pleasure your volumes have given me. In the perusal of them I felt a great inclination to write and say so. And I also, dear Madam, wished to be allowed to ask you to delineate in some future work the habits of life, and character, and enthusiasm of a clergyman, who should pass his time between the metropolis and the country, who should be something like Beattie's Minstrel --

Silent when glad, affectionate tho' shy,
And in his looks was most demurely sad;
And now he laughed aloud, yet none knew why.

Neither Goldsmith, nor La Fontaine in his "Tableau de Famille," have in my mind quite delineated an English clergyman, at least of the present day, fond of and entirely engaged in literature, no man's enemy but his own. Pray, dear Madam, think of these things.

Believe me at all times with sincerity and
respect, your faithful and obliged servant,
J. S. Clarke, Librarian.

Friday Fun - Folding a Regency Letter

I bookmarked this post back in May and then promptly forgot about it. The blog Her Reputation for Accomplishment is full of things that Jane Austen would have learned during her life time and shows the modern person how to accomplish these skills.

Over the years I've had pen pals. We've always started off strong, letters back and forth frequently but as time passes there is more and more gaps in between letters until finally it just stops. Recently I started using Postcrossing, which is a site that allows people to send and receive postcards from around the world. I enjoy writing letters and mailing them off so a blog post called Anatomy of a Regency Letter certainly caught my attention.

This post discusses things like the paper used

and the format of writing the letter.

It also shows you how to properly fold a letter for mailing.

Her Reputation for Accomplishment also has a lot of other posts on Handwriting and Letter Writing if you are interested. 

SAVE THE DATE: June 12

On June 12, 2010, we will have a meeting focused on selected Austen letters at Mildred Younger’s home in Tinton Falls. Our plan is to have members choose selections of their favorite letters to focus on and read aloud to hear the “voice” of Jane Austen.

More details to come....

“I am sorry I have affronted you on the subject of Mr Moore, but I do not mean ever to like him; and as to pitying a young woman merely because she cannot live in two places at the same time, and at once enjoy the comforts of being married and single, I shall not attempt it, even for Harriot. - You see I have a spirit, as well as yourself” Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, February 1807