• Home
• /
• Entertainment

No plain jane

was not the solitary genius long imagined by historians but a free spirit whose imagination was fed by a passionate, ill-fated courtship.

The theory, presented by historian Jon Spence in his book 'Becoming Jane Austen', has been loosely adapted into a film starring Anne Hathaway and Maggie Smith.

Audiences remain entranced by Austen's tales of love and loss, desire and disappointment, despite their seemingly outdated focus on the intricate courtship rituals of early 19th century Britain.

But was Austen's ability to tap into these universal themes a product of her rich imagination or was she inspired by her own unfulfilled longing?

Spence, like many historians before him, has attempted to answer the question by examining letters Austen wrote during the winter of 1795-96 to her sister, Cassandra, who was staying with her fiancÈ's family in Berkshire.

The young writer confided of her attraction to Tom Lefroy, the nephew of a neighbour visiting Austen's hometown of Steventon, Hampshire.

Both were 20 years old and penniless, but the attraction was instantaneous.

"Imagine to yourself every thing most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together," Austen wrote of her behaviour with Lefroy at a series of parties and family gatherings.

In another letter, Austen writes with giddy anticipation about an impending ball thrown by Lefroy's aunt.

"I look forward with great impatience to the party," she wrote, "as I rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of the evening."

A marriage proposal? The prospect is never confirmed in the letters, but Spence believes Austen was anticipating it.

The couple separated soon afterward - Lefroy to Hampshire to begin his law studies in London, where he lived with his great uncle and benefactor, Benjamin Langlois, and Austen to Kent with her two brothers.

Conventional thinking has been that this was the end of their relationship.

But detective work by Spence convinced him there was more to it.

During a stop in London on her way to Kent, Austen wrote a terse, vaguely worded letter to her sister addressed from 'Cork Street', promising to reveal all about her relationship with Lefroy at their next meeting.

On a hunch, Spence checked the historical records and found that Lefroy's great-uncle lived in Cork Street.

Spence concedes there is no proof Austen lodged with Lefroy, but says it would have been a 'strange coincidence' for the pair to be staying on the same street at the same time.

Love story

Audiences remain entranced by Austen's tales of love and loss, desire and disappointment, despite their seemingly outdated focus on the intricate courtship rituals of early 19th century Britain