• Home
  • Audio/Podcasts
  • Austensites
  • AV/E-Texts
  • History
  • JA Novels & Bio
  • Links
  • Original Sources/19th C. Texts
  • Social Customs During the Regency
  • Teacher/Student
  • Writer/Literature Resources

Jane Austen's World

This Jane Austen blog brings Jane Austen, her novels, and the Regency Period alive through food, dress, social customs, and other 19th C. historical details related to this topic.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« The Cob at Lyme Regis: Persuasion
Two Worlds: Children During the Regency Period »

Jane Austen’s Father

June 16, 2007 by Vic

Rev. George Austen was by all accounts a handsome man. Anna LeFroy, Jane’s niece wrote, “I have always understood that he was considered extremely handsome, and it was a beauty which stood by him all his life. At the time when I have the most perfect recollection of him he must have been hard upon seventy, but his hair in its milk-whiteness might have belonged to a much older man. It was very beautiful, with short curls about the ears. His eyes were not large, but of a peculiar and bright hazel. My aunt Jane’s were something like them, but none of the children had precisely the same excepting my uncle Henry.”

George Austen was born in 1731. His mother died in childbirth and his father died a year after marrying a new wife, who did not want the responsibility of taking care of the young lad. George then lived with an aunt in Tonbridge and earned a Fellowship to study at St. John’s. He received a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts, and a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Oxford. Called “the handsome proctor”, he worked as an assistant chaplain, dean of arts, Greek lecturer while going to school.

He first met Cassandra Leigh in Oxford when she was visiting her uncle Theophilus. After they married, George became rector in several country parishes. The family grew by leaps and bounds, and eventually he and Cassandra Leigh had six sons and two daughters. Shortly after Jane was born, her father said: “She is to be Jenny, and seems to me as if she would be as like Henry, as Cassy is to Neddy.”

By all accounts George and Cassandra Austen had a happy marriage. His annual income from the combined tithes of Steventon and the neighboring village of Deane was around 210 pounds. The sales of his farm produce also supplemented his income. With so many mouths to feed, the family was not wealthy, to say the least. To augment his income even more, Rev. George Austen opened a boarding school at Steventon Rectory for the sons of local gentlemen.

Rev. Austen encouraged Cassandra and Jane to read from his extensive library. For entertainment, the family read to each other, played games, and produced plays. George Austen must have been proud of his daughter’s accomplishments. He tried to get Pride and Prejudice published. The “Memoir” by Edward Austen-Leigh contains a letter from George Austen to Mr. Cadell, the publisher, dated November 1797, in which he describes the work as a “manuscript novel comprising three volumes, about the length of Miss Burney’s ‘Evelina'” and asks Mr. Cadell if he would like to see the work with a view to entering into some arrangement for its publication, “either at the author’s risk or otherwise.” Unfortunately, nothing came of this query, but P&P became hugely popular among the friends and family who read it before it was published in a much shorter form. The original 3-part manuscript no longer exists. Regardless, countless readers have delighted in the much shorter version for 200 years.
The Rev. George Austen died January 21, 1805, where the Austen family had moved after living in Steventon for over 30 years. (The silhouettes above are of George and Cassandra). On the 2nd. January 1805, Jane Austen wrote sorrowfully to her brother, Frank: “We have lost an excellent Father. An illness of only eight and forty hours carried him off yesterday morning between ten and eleven. His tenderness as a father, who can do justice to?”

The inscription on Rev. George Austen’s grave reads:

“Under this stone rests the remains of
the Revd. George Austen
Rector of Steventon and Deane in Hampshire
who departed this life
the 1st. of January 1805
aged 75 years.”

Double click on this grave marker to read the words. (From: Find a Grave Memorial)


Read about Jane’s mother, Cassandra Austen nee Leigh on this site. Click here.

  • Jane Austen: A Picture Taken
  • Austen Family Genealogy
  • The Reverend George and Mrs. Austen
  • About Jane Austen: Her Life and Her Novels

Share with others:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Biography, jane austen, Jane Austen's life | Tagged George Austen, Jane Austen's Father, Reverend George Austen |

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 7,003 other followers

  • Items of Interest

    Black London by Gretchen Gerzina

    Free E-Book: Gerzina has written a fascinating account of London blacks, focusing on the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Because of a paucity of sources from blacks themselves, Gerzina had to rely primarily on glimpses through white eyes, especially those of antislavery advocate Granville Sharp. Gerzina is quite adept at culling evidence of a rich, complex black life, with significant interaction (and intermarriage) with the white community. Although subjected to much discrimination, London blacks never suffered as much as their American counterparts. The author rightly concludes that blacks have played an important role in the life of London for much of its history.

    Click on this link to Dartmouth.edu.

    Book cover of Black London

    And

    Perfect for Easter: Rachel Dodge's The Little Women Devotional, published March 2022. 

    This book has a devotional entry for every chapter of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. You can read a chapter of Little Women and then read the corresponding devotional entry, going through the book one chapter at a time.

    Book Cover Little women devotional Dodge 2022

    Order the book: Amazon link

    Note: Rachel Dodge is a monthly contributor to this blog.

  • Follow Jane Austen's World on WordPress.com
  • Blog Stats

    • 16,003,181 hits
  • Highly Recommended a New Book! Bath -An Adumbration in Rhyme

  • Edited by Ben Wiebracht. Read the review of the book at this link. Click to order the book on Amazon US or Amazon UK

  • Book cover of Bath: An Adumbration in Rhyme by John Matthews
  • In Sri Lanka lies the grave of Rear Admiral Charles Austen CB, Jane Austen’s Brother

    The neglected tombstone found in an overgrown burial ground.

    Rear Admiral Charles Austen CB

    Died off Prome, the 7th October 1852, while in command of the Naval Expedition on the river Irrawady against the Burmese Forces, aged 73 years.”

    The grave after restoration

    Read the full article in The Sunday Times. June 27, 2021.

  • The Obituary of Charlotte Collins by Andrew Capes

    Click on image to read the story.

  • Comments

    “My idea of good company…is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation.” – Jane Austen, Persuasion

     

    Gentle readers: Please feel free to post your comments and continue the conversation! Due to SPAM, we will no longer accept comments on posts after 30 days of publication. In some instances, links will be removed from comments as well.

  • Administrators and Contributors

    Vic Sanborn, founder of this blog, is supported by a team of talented and knowledgeable writers about Jane Austen and the Regency era. They are:

    • Brenda Cox
    • Rachel Dodge and
    • Tony Grant, who now contributes his photos from London and England

    Click on their names to enter their own blogs.

    In addition, we thank the many experts and authors who frequently contribute their posts and opinions, and who continue to do so freely or at our request.

  • Pin It!

    Follow Me on Pinterest
  • Top Posts

    • Highclere Castle Floor Plan: The Real Downton Abbey
      Highclere Castle Floor Plan: The Real Downton Abbey
    • Regency Fashion: Men's Breeches, Pantaloons, and Trousers
      Regency Fashion: Men's Breeches, Pantaloons, and Trousers
    • Social Customs During the Regency
      Social Customs During the Regency
    • Regency Hygiene: The Bourdaloue
      Regency Hygiene: The Bourdaloue
    • Men's hair styles at the turn of the 19th century
      Men's hair styles at the turn of the 19th century
    • The Servant's Quarters in 19th Century Country Houses Like Downton Abbey
      The Servant's Quarters in 19th Century Country Houses Like Downton Abbey
    • Downstairs in Downton Abbey: The Servants
      Downstairs in Downton Abbey: The Servants
    • You can watch Persuasion 2007 online
      You can watch Persuasion 2007 online
    • Pride and Prejudice Economics: Or Why a Single Man with a Fortune of £4,000 Per Year is a Desirable Husband
      Pride and Prejudice Economics: Or Why a Single Man with a Fortune of £4,000 Per Year is a Desirable Husband
    • Regency Hairstyles and their Accessories
      Regency Hairstyles and their Accessories
  • Recent Posts

    • Edward Cooper: Jane Austen’s Evangelical Cousin, Part 2
    • Sanditon, Season 2, Episode 1: A Belated Review
    • Sense & Sensibility: Review of a play by Kate Hamill
    • ‘You Sink Your Voice’: The Subtle Art of Listening in Persuasion
    • Happy 1st Day of May (and its traditions)
  • Links to Jane Austen Blogs

    Click here to enter the page. Topics include Regency fashion, historic foods, Jane Austen societies, British sites, related topics. Click on image.

  • Find Jane Austen on Google

  • May we suggest?

    Regent’s Canal Walk (Little Venice to Kings Cross): Tony Grant

    Canal opposite Masefield House-TonyGrant

    Take a walk along a portion of Regent’s Canal with Tony Grant and friend. His superb photos and commentary make you feel as if you’ve tagged along.

    John Masefield House

    Click on this link to stroll along with Tony & Guy. (Images: Barges along Regent’s Canal; John Masefield’s House. Copyright: Tony Grant)

    Also recommended:

    The following Audible book/Kindle book:

    A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England by Sue Wilkes. Read a preview of the book on Amazon. I’ve enjoyed listening to this informative and entertaining book on long rides and reading it while waiting at the doctor’s, or dentist’s, or when dining alone at restaurants.

  • Hello, my name is Vic and I live in Maryland, USA. I have adored Jane Austen almost all of my life. I am a proud lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me and my team. We do not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we do accept and keep books and CDs to review.

    If you would like to share a new site, or point out an error, please email us. (Yes, we are fallible. We'll own up to our mistakes and will make the corrections with a polite smile on our faces.) Write us at

    gmailbw

    Thank you for visiting this blog. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

  • Coming March 1, 2022

    Katherine Cowley’s second mystery in her Mary Bennet mystery series, The True Confessions of a London Spy, will be available in stores everywhere on March 1, 2022.

    Available March 1, 2022.

    Digital:

    • Amazon Kindle
    • Amazon Kindle UK

     

  • Top Posts & Pages

    • Highclere Castle Floor Plan: The Real Downton Abbey
    • Regency Fashion: Men's Breeches, Pantaloons, and Trousers
    • Social Customs During the Regency
    • Regency Hygiene: The Bourdaloue
    • Men's hair styles at the turn of the 19th century
    • The Servant's Quarters in 19th Century Country Houses Like Downton Abbey
    • Downstairs in Downton Abbey: The Servants
    • You can watch Persuasion 2007 online
    • Pride and Prejudice Economics: Or Why a Single Man with a Fortune of £4,000 Per Year is a Desirable Husband
    • Regency Hairstyles and their Accessories
  • Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape
  • Disclaimer: Our team makes no profit from this blog. We may receive books (physical or digitized) and DVDs for review purposes.

  • Copyright Statement: © Jane Austen's World blog, 2009-2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jane Austen's World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Jane Austen's World
    • Join 7,003 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Jane Austen's World
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: