First published in 2017 by
Wooster Publishing
Limerick
Ireland
All rights © 2017 Rose Servitova
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In memory of my granny, Nell.
I still feel you at my side.
People find meaning and redemption in the most unusual
human connections.
KHALED HOSSEINI
Contents
Preface
Prologue
1791 –The year in which an old quarrel between the Bennet and Collins families was resolved and the future Mrs Collins secured.
1792 –The year in which a scandalous elopement occurs and a number of weddings take place. Mr Bennet undertakes the leisurely pursuit of gardening and Lady Catherine de Bourgh becomes enraged.
1793 –The year in which the Collins lineage is assured, the Bennet family visit Rosings and Miss Catherine Bennet catches the eye of a gentleman friend.
1794 –The year in which an unfortunate breach of friendship transpires between Mr Collins and Mr Bennet.
1795 –The year in which an olive branch is accepted, a visitor comes to Rosings, a scandalous situation arises and a most auspicious wedding takes place.
1796 –The year in which a soldier becomes a sailor, a bachelor becomes a widower and we lose a loved one.
1797 –The year in which a sailor disappears, the deadly smallpox arrives and a great thief is compromised.
1798 –The year in which we lose a loved one
Afterword
Acknowledgements
Preface
In 1990, at the tender age of fifteen and while stretched out on my grandmother’s chaise longue, I fell in love with Mr Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice and waited patiently for him to appear and wrestle with his conscience. Having since gathered some experience and knowledge of life and men, I realised that my true loves from the novel are, in fact, Mr Collins and Mr Bennet and I would now barely give Darcy a second glance.
Mr Collins, a comical, pompous anti-hero with as much self-awareness as a chamber pot, stands in total contrast to his detached, witty and socially-scoffing cousin, Mr Bennet. To me, they are two of Austen’s greatest creations and their relationship, though rarely a visible one in Pride & Prejudice, was one that always made me laugh when I thought of it. A simple sentence from the book, in particular, triggered my telling of their tale – it is when Mr Bennet, greatly amused after reading one of Mr Collins’s letters, says to Elizabeth, “I would not give up Mr Collins’s correspondence for any consideration”. It made me wonder what other experiences, observations and scrapes might these two men be sharing with each other through their letters.
In addition to that, I had wished to know what became of the Bennet and Collins families after the happy ending of Pride & Prejudice. Tired of waiting for someone to channel Jane Austen in order to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to give these two eccentrics the opportunity to tell us all. When I started to write, however, I soon realised the game was up! These gentlemen had so much to say about their lives, while introducing me to a few new ridiculous characters (in addition to revealing more about Lady Catherine, Anne de Bourgh and Mary Bennet) that I simply handed them two quills and let them get on with it. My surprise on reading over their correspondence, when they finally finished, was that they not only brought out the hilarious, obscure and occasionally unlikeable in each other but that they had formed a closeness, which deepened and evolved over the seven years. It appeared at times to be kind, supportive and loving – emotions that men do not often admit in their friendships.
While the storyline of Pride & Prejudice ends in the second chapter of The Longbourn Letters, I have included a summary below, for those who may be only vaguely familiar with the great Jane Austen classic, as I feel it may add to their enjoyment of this book:
Mrs Bennet is greatly excited when news arrives that a wealthy young gentleman, Charles Bingley, has rented Netherfield Park. The Bennets of Longbourn have five unmarried daughters – Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia – and Mrs Bennet wishes to see them married. Mr Bennet loves his daughters but is detached, cynical in his view of the world and content to let his wife fuss, once he is left to his library and books.
At a number of social occasions, Bingley’s friend, Mr Darcy, who originally snubs Elizabeth Bennet, begins to find himself taken with her. Bingley is likewise attracted to her sister Jane. Darcy, who sees the Bennets’ situation in life as much lower than his own, overcomes his attachment and convinces his friend to quit Netherfield by stating that Miss Bennet is not interested in him, and, with the help of Bingley’s sisters, who are likewise against the match, keeps him in London.
Meanwhile, Mr Bennet’s young cousin, Mr Collins, who stands to inherit Longbourn, visits the Bennet household. Mr Collins is pompous and wishes to wed one of the Bennet daughters. He soon makes a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth which she turns down, to the delight of her father and disapproval of her mother. Meanwhile, the Bennet girls have become friendly with militia officers stationed locally. Wickham, a handsome young soldier, confides in Elizabeth that Darcy cheated him out of an inheritance and reduced him to poverty.
All the Bennets are shocked to learn that Mr Collins has become engaged to Charlotte Lucas, of Lucas Lodge, Elizabeth’s best friend. Charlotte acknowledges to Elizabeth that she must marry for security and this will be the best option for her. Mr Collins is triumphant after the recent blow of Elizabeth’s refusal.
Some months after Charlotte’s marriage, Elizabeth visits her at Hunsford Parsonage. Accompanying Mr Collins, they frequently visit Rosings Park, the home of Mr Collins’s patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, her nephews, come to stay at Rosings where they meet Elizabeth regularly. One day, Darcy proposes to Elizabeth and in a rage, she refuses him. In her opinion he is arrogant and cruel and has ruined the lives of Wickham, Bingley and her sister, Jane. The following morning, Mr Darcy delivers a letter to Elizabeth justifying his reasons for interfering in Bingley’s relationship with Jane. He also claims that Elizabeth was mistaken in Wickham, that he was deceitful and had attempted to elope with his sister Georgiana.
This letter causes Elizabeth to re-evaluate her former beli
efs. When she returns home, she learns that the militia are leaving and will be stationed at Brighton. Her youngest sister, an attention-seeking flirt, is permitted to join them as a companion for the colonel’s wife. Mr Bennet, wanting a quiet life, refuses to listen to Elizabeth’s arguments against her going.
Lydia and Wickham run off together from Brighton. As they are unmarried, this brings disgrace on the Bennet family. The couple are eventually discovered and forced to marry, reinstating respectability for the Bennets. All are led to believe that it is their Uncle Gardiner who, through bribing Wickham, made this happen but Elizabeth later learns that her family’s reputation was saved by Darcy.
Bingley returns to Netherfield and eventually proposes to Jane. While the family celebrates, Lady Catherine de Bourgh pays a visit to Longbourn. She confronts Elizabeth, stating that she has heard that her nephew is planning to marry her and wants her to promise that no such engagement will take place. Elizabeth refuses to make any such promise. Darcy, on learning of the conversation between his aunt and Elizabeth, tells her that his feelings have not changed and asks her to marry him. She accepts his proposal and they are wed.
Enjoy!
Rose Servitova
February 2017
Prologue
This book contains the contents of a collection of letters found at ‘Longbourn’, a dwelling dating from 1712, built on what was considered a moderate-sized estate in the Hertfordshire countryside, in the south east of England. The letters are correspondence between Mr Henry Bennet and his cousin Reverend Mr William Collins who resided at Hunsford Parsonage until his inheritance of the Longbourn estate on the death of Mr Bennet.
The letters, which were discovered on January 28th 2013 by its current owner while removing shelves from the library at Longbourn, were stored in a mahogany box measuring 30cm x 15.5cm x 15cm and wrapped in muslin cloth. The letters were divided into seven small packets, each representing a year of correspondence. Each pack had an outer wrapping of The London Gazette (it would appear, for the protection of the letters therein) and tied with string and an accompanying label, written in Mr William Collins’s handwriting, naming the year and commencing: “The year in which …” with key events for that year listed thereon.
Examined by historians from the University of Hertfordshire, The Longbourn Letters were found to be in good condition, legible and undamaged, and subsequently their assessment and recording was approved prior to archiving at the University of Hertfordshire library.
The original mahogany box bears a copper plate with the following inscription:
Herein lies the correspondence between cousins, whose
minds and souls forever dwelt on higher plains.
REV. MR WILLIAM COLLINS,
LONGBOURN, 1817
“According to all that He promised; not one word has
failed of all His good promise ...”
1 KINGS 8:56
While not as extensive as the recently discovered Dutch Letters held at The Hague Museum for Communication, they do represent a reflection of the day-to-day concerns of the lower and upper gentry in Georgian England and, therefore, will be of particular interest to social historians and researchers specialising in this area of study.
The Longbourn Letters, none of which appear to be missing (according to their chronology and content), are written in the English language, by hand, in ink and quill and stamped with wax and seal as was common practice in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Anthony E. Loft
Head Librarian
University of Hertfordshire
22nd February 2017
1791 – The year in which an old quarrel between the Bennet and Collins families was resolved and the future Mrs Collins secured.
Hunsford,
near Westerham,
Kent.
15th October, 1791
Dear Sir,
The disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late honoured father always gave me much uneasiness, and since I have had the misfortune to lose him, I have frequently wished to heal the breach; but for some time I was kept back by my own doubts, fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory for me to be on good terms with anyone with whom it had always pleased him to be at variance.
My mind, however, is now made up on the subject, for having received ordination at Easter, I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish, where it shall be my earnest endeavour to demean myself with grateful respect towards her ladyship, and be ever ready to perform those rites and ceremonies which are instituted by the Church of England. As a clergyman, moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within the reach of my influence; and on these grounds I flatter myself that my present overtures of good-will are highly commendable, and that the circumstance of my being next in the entail of Longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your side, and not lead you to reject the offered olive branch. I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologise for it, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends, but of this hereafter.
If you should have no objection to receiving me into your house, I propose myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family, Monday, November 18th, by four o’clock, and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the Saturday se’nnight following, which I can do without any inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.
I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters, your well-wisher and friend,
William Collins
Longbourn,
near Meryton,
Hertfordshire.
30th October, 1791
Dear Sir,
Rest assured that the olive branch which you have graciously extended has been accepted by myself, Mrs Bennet and our five daughters. For addressing this most delicate of matters, I commend you most heartily.
You are very welcome to visit with us. Indeed, we will be waiting with impatience for the sound of your carriage as it approaches the house.
I fear, however, in comparison to the liveliness and grandeur of Rosings Park, you will find us quite dull. The ladies of the house are so often restless in the evening and I dare say will delight in any tales and intrigues you might relay of life beyond these walls and any passages and books which a learned man, such as yourself, would be kind enough to recite. My health requires that I retire to the quiet and solitude of the library but you shall find a ready and eager audience in my girls.
Indeed, I look forward to our meeting at last, that I may familiarise you with the nature of persons you will find hereabouts, that you will someday call ‘neighbour’. You must be cautious on the roads, for example, for you never know who may be speeding along. This morning, on my way from Meryton, I met with Baroness Herbert’s carriage, with her ladyship (all eighty years of her) up front, in cashmere shawl and bonnet, driving the horses on and her bloodhound sitting beside her, ears flapping in the wind. In the back of the carriage, propped up with cushions, was her idle driver, in full livery, whom she never permits to drive but insists accompanies her in the event that her horse should mount a ditch or a wheel come off.
Such will be the rich content of our conversations. Until November 18th, cousin, I bid you farewell.
Henry Bennet
Hunsford,
near Westerham,
Kent.
3rd December, 1791
Dear Sir,
I fear that I cannot adequately express my thankfulness to you and your family for the incomparable hospitality that was shown to me on my recent stay at Longbourn. I wish, therefore, to apologise in advance for any foolis
hness in my attempt at expressing my gratitude. My every need, from the repairing of my best woollen stockings to encouraging long walks for the benefit of my health, was tended to in a manner that astounded me and has been noted by myself and relayed to my patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She agrees that I was treated as would be fitting any clergyman with an association to Rosings.
I found my bed so comfortable and the furnishings of the sleeping compartment so above my expectations that I felt compelled to ask your housemaid whether I had been placed in the master’s bedroom by mistake. The fireplace in the drawing room, I must confess, surprised me at first as a luxury not befitting a country gentleman of moderate means. When I realised, however, the frequency and standing of your many neighbours and visitors (Miss Caroline Bingley, Mrs Hurst, Misters Bingley and Darcy and Sir William and Lady Lucas) I duly saw the wisdom of such an expense. Your dining arrangements and the food served were both generous and informal, in a manner which reminded me of a supper I once enjoyed at Rosings when a whist party had been gathered.
I greatly appreciate your exemplary attention in ensuring I was ever occupied; in particular, your insistence that I spend as much time outdoors and in your garden as weather permitted, was particularly demonstrative of your kindness, knowing as you do my love of all things green. That you could witness my progress from your library window was especially touching and hastened my efforts to make some shape of your garden, which I found sadly lacking in attention. It does, however, hold much potential and will flourish in the future, under the steady eye of one who is confident in this arena.
But, dear cousin, to the crux of my letter. I have no doubt that my happiness is now known to one and all at Longbourn and I ask you, if I may be so forward, when next sitting down to dine, to raise a toast in honour of my betrothed, Miss Lucas. That I should have been so fortunate to obtain the affection and win the heart and hand of your young neighbour, following the initial but brief disappointment of being refused by your daughter Elizabeth, merely proves, yet again, that the Lord moves in mysterious ways. I am convinced that it was He who shepherded me away from my cousin into the welcoming bosom of Miss Lucas. And if there are now any regrets, which would be understandable, on the part of my fair cousin, I believe that her unselfish nature will not weep over spilled milk and she will truly wish, from the depths of her heart, that happiness for her dear friend that had once been momentarily offered to her good self.
The Longbourn Letters Page 1
