Miss Jane Austen... In Real Life

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Letter #3, To Cassandra, From Cork Street, London

"Edward & Frank are both gone out to seek their fortunes; the latter is to return soon & help us seek ours. The former we shall never see again." - Jane Austen, Tuesday morning 23 August 1796

Edward must have been going on without them, perhaps on to Rowling.

It sound as though there is someone there with her, but I do not know who that would be. There is a letter or letters missing in between this one and the next. The fourth letter is written from Rowling, so there is no clue.

Edward Austen Knight (7 December 1767 to 19 November 1852), third in line. He was adopted by Thomas Knight II in 1783. Thomas Knight was a distant cousin to the Austens. Mr. Knight and his wife did not have children. At the time of this writing Edward would have been twenty-eight years old. He was married to Elizabeth Bridges on 27 December 1791. They had eleven children; but at the time of this writing only Fanny-Catherine (1793), Edward (1794), and George-Thomas (1795) were born. They lived at Rowling, Kent which was this groups destination.

Francis-William 'Frank' Austen (23 April 1774 to 10 August 1865), the sixth child. He would have been twenty-two at the writing of this letter. He was not yet married, but he was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. I believe he was serving on the HMS Lark in 1796.

This story makes me happy! Click on this link:
http://www.janeaustensoci.freeuk.com/pages/portrait.htm

Edward Austen Knight's life size portrait, thought to be done in Rome in 1788

It seems appropriate that Edward is back at Chawton.