Jane Austen's World

Interviewed by Brenda S. Cox

“As soon as he can light upon a bishop, he will be ordained. I wonder what curacy he will get!”–Anne Steele, about Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility.

A few days ago, I told you about a fascinating new book on Henry Austen. The author is a retired Church of England bishop, living in Farnham, where Henry Austen served as perpetual curate of the parish church. (A perpetual curate was a curate, substituting for the rector or vicar holding the living of that church. “Perpetual” meant that he could not be fired; he could keep his job for life, just as a rector or vicar did. However, his salary was still only a portion of the tithes that supported the main, absentee clergyman.)

I asked the Right Reverend Dr. Christopher Herbert, who is now a Visiting Professor of Christian Ethics at Surrey University, about his journey in writing this book.

Jane Austen’s World: Rev. Herbert, what led you to write Jane Austen’s Favourite Brother, Henry?  How did you get interested in Henry Austen?

Rev. Herbert: In retirement I live in Farnham, Surrey, only a few miles from Chawton. I am the Patron of the Farnham Castle Trust; Farnham Castle was once one of the major homes/palaces of the Bishops of Winchester. At a Trustees’ meeting, discussing how to attract more visitors to the Castle and Farnham, I wondered if there might be some connection with Chawton and Jane Austen. The other Trustees did not know of any, but a friend pointed out an article in the Farnham Herald mentioning a man called Henry Austen christening a baby in the parish church of St Andrew’s. [JAW: This story opens Herbert’s book.]

I followed this up, checking the Parish Registers at the Surrey History Centre, and found many signatures in Henry’s hand—and of course, he was Jane’s brother. I was fascinated. Who was he? How did he become a Perpetual Curate in Farnham? What was his story?

At that point, all that I had were his dates of birth and death, and a few insights from Wikipedia. I had no intention of writing a book about him, but the more I researched his life, the more intriguing Henry became. By the way, my book’s publication in the 250th Anniversary Year was pure chance. I had no idea that was coming up when I raised my initial question!

JAW: How long did it take you to research and write the book?  What were some of the most interesting sources you found?

I took well over two years to research and write the book. That might seem a short period of time. However, in my earlier work as a diocesan bishop, with over 400 churches in my diocese, plus membership of the House of Lords and other national and international responsibilities, I was accustomed to working very rapidly to fulfil all my duties. I also read for [pursued/studied for] an MPhil [Master of Philosophy] and a PhD in Medieval Art History at the University of Leicester whilst I was a bishop, and again, had been able to read and digest and write rapidly. So, I had some of the requisite research skills, and I loved the research process—that joy of discovering new and unexpected jewels.

My most useful primary sources were obtained from the Hampshire County Record Office where I was able to trawl through a great deal of original material, plus similar material such as the Parish Registers of St Andrew’s, Farnham, at the Surrey History Centre.

For secondary sources, I read biographies of Jane Austen by people such as Claire Tomalin, and David Cecil, and accessed the huge online resources of JASNA, etc. I was helped greatly by the staff at Jane Austen’s House, Chawton, and, of course, re-read all of Jane’s novels, plus the utterly invaluable edited version of Jane’s letters by Deirdre Le Faye and invaluable and scholarly papers by people such as yourself [Brenda Cox], John Avery Jones, et al.

Of course, as is often and frustratingly the case, after my book had been published, I came across some more primary material at Winchester College. The researcher’s life, as you know, is littered with ‘if onlys’. [I encouraged him to find a place online to publish his further research.]

Amongst the most interesting material were the Parish Registers of Bentley and Farnham. Those gave me enlightening insights about the lives of Henry and his parishioners.

JAW: What did you learn about Henry that interested you the most?

Apart from my obvious personal affinity with Henry as a clergyman, it was his time as a dealer in Army Commissions, a Banker, and a Tax Collector which I loved researching. I am not an economic historian and so my research in this area was very challenging. I would need to re-train in economic history to begin to fully understand every detail. This was the most difficult part to write, trying to get my head around the economic and financial landscape within which Henry worked.

Beneath all the top-layer elements of his life, I enjoyed delving beneath the wealthy surface and speculating on Henry’s motivations and methods of work. Walking the streets of London and investigating where he lived during this phase of his life was hugely enjoyable.

Following Henry through his banking downfall and his approach to his bishop to discuss the possibility of ordination required a great deal of ‘inner work’ on my part  to comprehend how and why that happened. I have interviewed hundreds of ordinands in my life. It was fascinating trying to get into the mindset of Henry’s bishop, Bishop Brownlow North, who lived in very different times to my own. Like Henry, Bishop North worked with different cultural assumptions than ours. It is such a challenge to try to stretch one’s sympathetic imagination into another era.

By contrast, and bathetically*, it was the fact of Henry having almost 1,000 bottles of wine in his cellars which sticks in my mind!

JAW: What was something interesting you learned about Jane Austen herself in writing the book?

Oddly, it was spending time exploring Steventon and realising how isolated the Rectory and the village were in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I had, of course, been to Jane Austen’s House in Chawton a number of times, but in my mind’s eye I had imagined Steventon as a quintessential English Village: village green, church, a few farmsteads, a pub, and even, perhaps, a game of cricket. That idea was completely shattered when I visited Steventon. The cultural life inside the Rectory must have been a great contrast to the isolated, scattered cottages of the poor inhabitants of the village. 

My understanding of the life of Cassandra Austen (Leigh) [Jane’s mother] grew as I thought of her coping with her own children plus the students boarding with them—all that food, oversight of the washing of bedding and getting it dry, all that hullabaloo inside the house during term-time. When did she have a moment to herself?  I began to wonder, as Jane watched her mother, how much Jane recognised the sheer logistical task her mother undertook to keep the ship happy, afloat and moving in the right direction.

This was the most fun part of the book to write, showing the inside of Steventon Rectory with all the liveliness and learning of Jane, Henry, and their siblings.

And, of course, Jane’s letters are an absolute delight. If only there were more…if only…

JAW: If you were able to meet Henry Austen personally, what do you think you would like about him? What would you want to ask him? What parts of his character might you find difficult or less pleasant?

I would enjoy his sense of humour, his generosity towards, and affection for, Jane, and his affection for Liza [his wife Eliza] and her son, Hastings. Not being a risk taker myself, I would love to hear about his own understanding of the nature of financial risk and entrepreneurship. When did he see the storm clouds brewing? Was ordination always at the back of his mind? Was it a kind of attempt to ‘give back’ to society, having enjoyed and then lost the fruits of worldly success?

I would find his undoubted attraction to the aristocratic level of society difficult, but I fully recognise that it was the 18th/early 19th century way. And when he was Perpetual Curate, I suspect I would have found his lack of awareness of the Farnham Workhouse very difficult. However, in fairness, I must add that it might simply be lack of evidence which leads me to suppose that he was not at his best with the poor and impoverished. So much information has been lost. I could be entirely wrong. 

JAW: Why do you think he was Jane’s favourite Brother?

I will say the idea for the title of the book was not mine, it was my publisher’s, but I am entirely happy with it. Why was Henry Jane’s favourite? He was obviously very close to her and looked to her for help whenever he hit a difficult or tragic patch in his life. They shared the same sense of humour, the same love of the quirks of society, the same interest in humanity. And it was Henry who went out of his way to ensure that her books were published. Besides, who but a favourite brother would actually volunteer to read Proofs!?

JAW: What would you like to tell potential readers about your book?

I hope that if they love Jane Austen, my book will reveal some lesser-known aspects of Regency society which might enhance their understanding of Jane and her novels. In brief, context really matters. But, most importantly of all, if my book leads to people reading or re-reading Jane, my hopes will have been more than fulfilled.

JAW: Thanks very much, Christopher! I loved Jane Austen’s Favourite Brother, Henry, and I think our readers will also.

Jane Austen’s Favourite Brother, Henry, by Christopher Herbert, is now available from the publisher, Pen & Sword, and from Amazon in the US and in the UK in hardcover. The Kindle version will be released September 30, 2025.

You can find out more about Dr. Herbert at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Herbert and https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/authors/christopher-herbert Since those lists of accomplishments, he has also been involved in the Royal Hospital for Neurodisability in London and the Lyme Resource Centre, a charity based in Scotland raising awareness of the growing incidence of Lyme disease and co-infections in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.

*I looked up bathetic. It means “producing an unintentional effect of anticlimax.” Nice word!

Brenda S. Cox is the author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. She also blogs at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen.