Happy Birthday, Jane Austen

Jane Austen

Jane Austen, the more than great English novelist, was born 244 years ago today on December 16, 1775. 

I first encountered Jane Austen's writing when I was assigned to read Pride and Prejudice as a senior in high school. That simply whetted my appetite for more and turned me into a lifelong fan. 

A lot of folks consider her a romantic, but not me. If you want to read 19th-century romance, read a Bronte. I've always considered Jane Austen to be a down to earth storyteller who was somehow able to combine biting social commentary and moral theology, all the while developing some of literature's most interesting characters.

A few years ago, in September 2013, Dear Diane and I made a kind of Austen pilgrimage to England, visiting many Austen-related locations. We had an absolutely wonderful time. In fact we spent a week in a rented cottage in the Hampshire village of Chawton, where Jane spent most of her last years. The cottage is right next door to the Austen house, which is now a well-visited museum (Jane Austen House Museum). And most handily, the cottage was also directly across the street from a charming village pub, The Greyfriar. Unfortunately, since the cottage and its main house, a very old home called "Clinkers", were sold not long ago, the cottage is no longer available as a rental. 

The Austen House in Chawton (2013)

The Greyfriar, dogs and children welcome

Dear Diane and I in the garden of the Austen House

We also visited Jane's tomb in Winchester Cathedral and spent time in Steventon, another small Hampshire village where Jane spent the first decades of her life. Her father, Rev. George Austen, was the pastor of St. Nicholas Church, the Anglican church in Steventon.

Winchester Cathedral

St. Nicholas Church, Steventon

We then drove to Lyme Regis, a near perfect coastal town that reminded me of Cape Cod villages back in the 1950s. Austen also lived there briefly and used it for some key scenes in her novel, Persuasion. 

A Blustery Day in Lyme Regis

We also visited the old naval port of Portsmouth, a city that makes an appearance in Austen's novel, Mansfield Park. We even stayed several days in Kent and saw the very large house inherited by one of Jane Austen's brothers, a home she occasionally visited. 

Admiral Nelson's Cabin: HMS Victory

Finally, we spent a wonderful weekend (except for the rain) at a lovely Bed and Breakfast in Bath (The Bath House), another city where Austen lived for a time and which she used as a setting in several of her novels (Northanger Abbey and Persuasion). When in Bath the Jane Austen Centre, another well-managed Austen museum, is also worth a visit.

Diane and friend at Bath's Jane Austen Centre

The Unique Architecture of Bath

Our trip concluded with five days in London where we rented a flat about halfway between Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. One thing we discovered: rather than staying in hotels, it's far less expensive and much more enjoyable to rent cottages and flats. And because they usually come equipped with a washer and dryer, we were able to pack more lightly.

Leaving London, we returned to the USA via a 14-day transatlantic cruise aboard the Celebrity Infinity. It was a long, but truly delightful vacation...all thanks to Jane Austen.

Happy Birthday, Jane.

Arundel and Beachy Head...Not Quite

Thursday, 17 October
Before I describe today's activities, I thought I should mention a few items unintentionally omitted from some of my earlier posts. Less than a mile from our cottage here in Chawton is the Chawton House and St. Nicholas Church. The former is the large, manor home owned by Jane Austen's brother, Edward. Unfortunately, on the day we hoped to visit the home it wasn't open for visitors, but we were able to enter the nearby church. In the churchyard are the graves of Jane's mother and her beloved sister, both named Cassandra, and buried side by side. I've included several photos below, two of the church and one of the two graves -- Jane's mother on the left and her sister on the right.




Another omission was yesterday's visit to the Winchester Museum. A small museum, it displays artifacts of the city's changing populations from Roman times to the present day. The displays are spread over three floors and are presented quite well - definitely worth a visit if you ever get to Winchester, especially on a rainy day.

Traveling throughout the southern US, I've seen a lot of local pottery. Among the more interesting items made by some southern potters are face jugs. You can imagine my surprise to encounter one in the Winchester Museum and discover that it dates to medieval times. I had no idea they'd been around so long. It was really quite well done with several different glazes. See the photo below...

Oops...Dear Diane has just informed me that it was a long day today, it's getting late, and we have an early and full day tomorrow. Sadly, our week-long stay at Clinkers Barn comes to an end in the morning. Tomorrow we head west, first to make a quick stop, and perhaps lunch, at Lyme Regis. (If you've read Austen's Pesuasion, you'll recognize the name.) Then we drive north to Bath where we'll spend the weekend. But first we have to pack and also make an effort to leave the cottage in good condition.

I'll try to describe today's activities tomorrow evening. Just a little preview: we went first to Arundel Castle, a magnificent place owned by the Duke of Norfolk; then drove east to Beachy Head to view the dramatic cliffs. As I said...more tomorrow.

In the meantime, keep us in your prayers. Driving over here is no problem now that I've gotten the hang of it once again, but there's something very wrong with having stop lights on 70 mph highways. Tomorrow we'll spend a good four hours in the car.

God's peace...

Chawton Cottage and Winchester

Wednesday, 16 October.

Once again I'm up early, relaxing in our comfortable living room, and enjoying my morning coffee. Dear Diane likes to sleep in while on vacation and I can hardly blame her. Sadly, my internal clock simply won't let me do the same.

After a quick glance behind the window curtain, I can see we won't likely repeat yesterday's glorious weather. It's overcast and looks colder than it probably is. Indeed, I just checked the forecast online and we can expect light rain and drizzle for most of the day with a temperature in the mid-fifties. We've become quite accustomed to such weather, though, and so remain undeterred and will as the English say, "keep calm and carry on."

I haven't written very much about Clinkers Barn, our delightful little cottage here in Chawton, an oversight that must be attended to. I can't imagine a better choice (slight pat on the back). The location couldn't be better, especially for a Jane Austen fan, but the cottage itself is just about perfect for anyone visiting the south of England for a week or more. It was also amazingly affordable, far less than a simple hotel room in the same area.

On the ground floor we have a fully equipped kitchen, including a washer and dryer, two indispensable appliances for travelers. There's also a half-bath downstairs, a dining area, and a comfortable and quite roomy living area. We have a TV with limited satellite access, a nice selection of books, and a DVD player and CD/Radio audio system. There's also free WiFi that works very well, once I found the password posted on a small bulletin board.

Upstairs consists of a long, narrow bedroom and a 3/4 bath that even includes a bathroom scale calibrated in kilograms. This is a true advantage for us periodic weight-watches since the numbers are much lower than on a scale calibrated in pounds. The cottage has a wonderful heating system which we use only when we're here during the day. At night there's no need since we're bundled up under a stack of warm comforters.

My only complaints are truly minor.  The shower's one of those tiny, European stalls that encourage you not to drop the soap. The shower itself, though, is quite good and puts out a strong spray of water. And the bed might be an inch or two short for me, but will be fine for most folks.

We also have our own off-the-street parking area, a real advantage in this nation of limited parking spaces. And for those planning a visit during the warmer months, behind the cottage and accessible from the living room is a lovely little enclosed private garden with a table and chairs, perfect for an al fresco breakfast or afternoon tea or a glass of wine under the stars. What could be better? Honestly, I'd rather stay here than in the most luxurious of hotels.

So...if you're considering a similar trip, our little cottage receives my personal five star rating: ***** Dear Diane is up and about, so we're getting ready to set out on today's adventure: a visit to the nearby city of Winchester. I'll tell you all about it this evening.

A Day of Rest and Recovery

Sunday, October 13.

I'm not feeling well. I won't offer any specifics, except to label it Cornwallis's Revenge. I'm certainly not well enough to attend Mass this morning, something we were looking forward to. We had planned to attend the 11:00 a.m. Mass at the nearest Catholic Church, St. Mary's in Alton, no more than three miles from our cottage. But given my present condition, I don't believe it would be wise. I suspect I am simply experiencing the effects of a change of diet and times and sleep, etc.  At least I hope so. And poor Diane must remain here too, since she will not drive over here.

And so, Dear Diane and I have decided to remain here today, relaxing and recovering. She's upstairs listening to Jane Austen's Persuasion on the new iPod I gave her as an advance birthday gift. And I'm stretched out on the sofa sipping hot tea, munching on a piece of toast, and tapping away on the iPad. Perhaps, if I'm feeling well enough later, we may go for a drive and check out a few of the local attractions. We'll see.

You can see our cottage in the photo below. Not a very impressive facade, but it was once a small barn. Its name is "Clinker's Barn" and is located immediately behind the 16th-century home called "Clinkers." Apparently, the home was once a blacksmith's shop, hence the odd name. [Note: minor correction...I just discovered that "Clinkers" was the name of the blacksmith family that once lived here. A fitting name for a smith.] Jane Austen actually mentions the smithy next door in one of her letters.

Last evening I made the mistake of looking up the local weather forecast. It seems we can expect heavy rain for most of today (Sunday). Even worse, the entire week promises more of the same with only occasional breaks in the soggy weather. We remain undiscouraged, though, and intend to enjoy ourselves despite Nature's attempts to keep us inside...well, after today anyway.

Yesterday (Saturday) was actually a lovely day, brisk but sunny and pleasant. After a breakfast here in the cottage, we drove to nearby Alton, stopped by a local supermarket to buy essentials and a few treats, and then spent an hour or so at a farmer's market and craft fair. See the photos below...


Dear Diane bought some mango chutney and a few pieces of inexpensive but very nice jewelry made by locals; I bought a small framed print of the Austen cottage in Chawton; and we both bought some fudge. A well-spent morning. Here's Diane checking out the jewelry, followed by the artist wrapping my print...


We then returned to Chawton and walked next door to visit the Jane Austen Cottage and Museum. It's really quite wonderful, staffed by competent, knowledgable volunteers who seem to enjoy what they do. Admission is a reasonable £6 (for us senior citizens) and includes a video on the author's life and a self-tour of the cottage and grounds. There is also a very nice gift shop filled with all-things-Austen for the fanatical Janeites who make the pilgrimage from every corner of the globe. Here's a photo (below) of the rear of the cottage taken from the garden, followed by one of Dear Diane and me sitting on a garden bench.


For the Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle fans who enjoyed the excellent 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, many of the period clothes worn by the actors are on display throughout the museum. In the photo below you can see the wedding garb worn by Colin Firth in the final scene of the mini-series.

After an hour so at the museum we decided once again to have lunch at The Greyfriar pub across the street. Dear Diane sampled the soup of the day and I had the ham and eggs. (Hampshire, we have learned, is quite famous for its ham..lots of pigs.) And again we were served by the lovely Jessie who continues to reap the benefit of my over-tipping. Here's a photo of the pub...

Refreshed and refueled, we made the drive to Steventon, the village where Jane Austen was born and spent her childhood. It took us longer than expected to find the village because of a wrong turn, but we eventually regained our bearings. Actually the extra time driving about the countryside was rather pleasant, except for a few scary moments when encountering opposing traffic on a one-lane country road. I have also never encountered so many pheasant in and along the roads. The birds seemed oblivious to our presence as we almost ran them over. We counted well over a hundred.
The rectory in which the Austen family lived (Jane's father, Rev. George Austen, was the pastor of the local church) was torn down not long after Jane's death, but the medieval church, St. Nicholas, is sill in use today. See the photos below...


We then made our way back "home" and settled in for the night.
Blessings and God's peace...