Nowadays, texts and emails and tweets comprise much of our written communication in 2019. However, Jane Austen and her friends would not have had the speed and ease of immediate communication. The Jane Austen Centre in Bath does an absolutely fantastic job at showing you Austen’s reality, and letter writing was a big part of her life. Jane Austen and letter writing go together hand in hand, and we see it in her novels and in the surviving documents. (Not to mention, a newly rediscovered letter going on show earlier this year…) So, to look deeper at Austen’s letters at the Jane Austen Centre, let’s jump in.
Writing Your Regency Letter
Nowadays, should you wish to write a letter, you would most likely use stationery. (There is more than enough options for whatever you want in your writing paper.) However, it wasn’t quite as neat for Austen and her family. “Letters were written on large pieces of paper, which would be folded into four and sealed with wax for posting, one portion being left blank for the address. Neither envelope nor stamp has been invented. The recipient, not the sender, paid for the letter on the basis of the number of sheets, not weight and distance.” (Exhibition information)
Why Write Your Letters?
Letters would be the only way to stay in contact with your friends and family that aren’t within a few miles of you! And Austen and her family moved several times throughout her life, including a stay in Bath from 1801 to 1806. Austen’s letters would have been her only lifeline to the friends and family that she had to leave behind. She was quite close with them, and the distance would have been difficult. Her older sister, Cassandra, was her best friend and the recipient of many of her letters. Much of their correspondence was destroyed by the family after Austen’s death, but a few do still survive.
Letter writing played a substantial role in Jane Austen’s life, and you can see it in her novels. What do you know of Austen’s letters?
And if you are interested in more of Austen’s life in Bath, check out my history bite on one of her snacks!
Cheers,
The Historian
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