by Jane Dawkins
Copyright © 2007 by Jane Dawkins
Cover and internal design © 2007 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover photo © Bridgeman Art Library
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Originally published by iUniverse, Inc. (ISBN 0595283721) © 2003 by Jane Dawkins
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dawkins, Jane
More letters from Pemberley, 1814-1819 : a novel of sisters, husbands, heirs / Jane Dawkins.
p. cm.
ISBN-10: 1-4022-0907-X (trade pbk.)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-0907-9 (trade pbk.)
1. Bennet, Elizabeth (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Darcy, Fitzwilliam (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 3. England—Social life and customs—19th century—Fiction. I. Austen, Jane, 1775-1817. Pride and prejudice. II. Title.
PS3554.A9458M67 2007
813’.54—dc22
2007022865
Contents
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
Resources
Jane Austen Societies
About the Author
Back Cover
To the readers of
Letters from Pemberley
who asked for more ...
... and to my husband, Charles,
who made it possible
Letter writing is the only device for
combining solitude with good company.
—George Gordon, Lord Byron
Acknowledgements
First and always, to Jane Austen, whose prose never stales and continues to inspire.
Thanks to Charles Newton of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London for his help with painters of the period … and to Barry Fitzgerald for his help, expertise and friendship.
I am also indebted to Margaret Campilonga for her unstinting support and unwavering enthusiasm for this book and to Deb Werksman, Susie Benton and Rebecca Kilbreath at Sourcebooks for all their support, enthusiasm and hard work.
Lastly, my thanks, love and appreciation to my husband, Chuck, for continuing to save me from the perils of the dark computer abyss, and supporting me in every way.
Introduction
After writing Letters from Pemberley I thought I was done with the Bennets and Darcys and planned to move on to other things. It was something of a surprise to be asked so often for more, and initially I would respond that sorry, I had nothing more to say on the subject.
Re-reading Jane Austen’s last book, Persuasion, (like Northanger Abbey, published after her death in 1817) made me think again. In Anne Elliott, Miss Austen gives us a very different, more mature heroine than those in her earlier books. In her late twenties, Anne has had more experience of the world and of the disappointments life brings to each of us along the way. It is tantalising to wonder about the women Jane Austen might have written about in future books had not her life been cut so tragically short.
It was this conjecture that led me to think about the woman Elizabeth Bennet might have matured into as Mrs. Darcy. No longer a girl or a newly-wed, mindful of her duties as a wife and mistress of Pemberley (and, like every other woman of her station and time, imbued with the paramount duty to produce an heir) surely this mantle of responsibility would have added a little gravitas to the Lizzy we all love in Pride and Prejudice? This intriguing thought has finally resulted in More Letters from Pemberley.
The Regency period ends in 1820 after the death of George III, when the Prince Regent finally assumes the throne as George IV. After that time begins a period of great change and social unrest in England which affects all parts of society, among them Reform (of Parliament) and the Industrial Revolution, which is gathering momentum at an astonishing speed. In her first five novels Jane Austen barely mentions the great issue of her day, the Napoleonic Wars, even though with two brothers in the Royal Navy, it was a subject of great personal interest. Not until her final novel, Persuasion, does the Royal Navy take a more prominent role. Had she lived into the 1820s and 1830s, she could hardly have avoided having her characters feel the effects of the changes taking place around them, very close to home (especially in Derbyshire, a major centre of the Industrial Revolution!)
With the best will in the world I cannot imagine our Lizzy in the new crinoline fashions of the late 1820s and 1830s, any more than I wish to record Mr. Darcy dealing with the problems which would undoubtedly have arisen when his tenants began to leave the fields in search of wealth in the new northern factories. I will gladly leave those to other pens to describe, and unashamedly choose to leave the Darcys and Bennets at the close of 1819 still in the comfortable, familiar territory of the Regency where we first met them.
Nevertheless, I freely concede that this is not a book Jane Austen might have written. I have made a conscious decision to include the sometimes unpleasant realities of everyday life which would have affected even a family as privileged as the Darcys, and in so doing beg the reader’s indulgence.
Like Letters from Pemberley, this book is another patchwork, drawing on Jane Austen’s novels and letters for a delicious line here, a waspish phrase there, and the odd Austen dart delivered with astonishing accuracy to firmly skewer its target. I hope that my attempt to honour her succeeds in entertaining her devoted readers.
Jane Dawkins
Key West, Florida
1814
Pemberley
Wednesday, 12th January, 1814
My dear Aunt Gardiner,
My pen might prefer to tell you that the demands of the Christmas festivities here at Pemberley allowed me not a minute to write, not even to a much loved Aunt. Indeed, a clever paragraph or two might even persuade you to feel sorry for me—but my heart will have none of it. I have neglected you abominably these past weeks, and any sorrow you have should be for yourself alone in having such a selfish creature for a Niece.
Let me assure you that we are all well. Jane and Mr. Bingley have left us and returned to The Great House on 27th last. (You have probably heard that my Sister is very well pleased with her new home and finds nothing to contradict our report to her last August. You and I may, I think, congratulate ourselves on our part in the business.) My Mother and Father, Kitty and Mary joined them yesterday. I flatter myself that their time at Pemberley passed not unpleasantly, and trust that they shared some of my own considerable pleasure at having our family together again.
But what of Mr. Darcy’s pleasure, I hear you ask? Indeed, he bore the burden of a houseful of Bennets exceedingly well. If there were some days when he and Mr. Bingley (and sometimes my Father) were absent from home longer than mig
ht be expected, I did not notice it; if there were other times when Mr. Darcy and my Father removed themselves to the library for lengthy periods, let it just be said that Mr. Darcy has a high regard for my Father’s opinion and would naturally wish to discuss with him continuing improvements and other matters of a bibliographical nature.
We have had some merry parties here and were joined at various times by Lady Ashton Dennis, the Mansfields, Norlands and dear Eleanor Steventon, who entertained us with stories—often at her own expense—about life in Bath (though I suspect the stories are more amusing in the telling than in the reality). The Daleys, sadly, were obliged to stay at home. Mrs. Daley’s father has been confined to bed with a severe cold for several weeks and she is loath to leave him. Anna and Fanny Norland stayed with us almost a week, insufficient time for Kitty and Fanny to run out of conversation, which was often accompanied by peals of laughter. Anna and Eleanor also engaged in long conversations, though striking quieter, more serious notes.
Mr. Repton’s alterations and improvements, within doors and without, advance very properly. In blessing us with a mild winter, Mother Nature has proved a fine accomplice to our work. My involvement in the building plans is very small, and I am not at all ashamed to confess that, notwithstanding Mr. Repton’s fine water-colour renderings, I am quite unable to speculate on the result of his proposal to extend a line on the Ground Plan by a half-inch here, or to add a second line there, necessitating the removal of a third. He is particularly opinionated about prospects and aspects. When the former conflicts with the latter, he exercises great ingenuity (he modestly assures his audience) in devising plans to satisfy their contradictory needs. He feels strongly that aspect (and you should know that a south-eastern aspect is preferred!) is far more important than prospect. Are you not diverted? He is often at odds with the sun itself when its daily journey does not take quite the direction to show Mr. Repton’s work to full advantage. Were it in his power, I have no doubt that he would wish to “improve” the sun also. Nevertheless, I have every confidence that Mr. Darcy and Mr. Repton know what they are about, and limit my own opinions to wall-coverings and curtains, plants and shrubs. A border in the enlarged kitchen garden is being cleared to receive currants and gooseberry bushes, and a spot has been found proper for raspberries. We shall not attempt to vie with Weldon Abbey and The Great House for the finest strawberries, much to the disappointment of Hopwith, the head gardener, who harbours a not-so-secret ambition to outdo them both.
Not without a little trepidation, I informed Mr. Repton that I could not do without a syringa, for the sake of Cowper’s line: “Laburnum rich in streaming gold; syringa, iv’ry pure.” We talk also of a laburnum. Fortified by his approbation, I further summoned my courage to object to the narrowness of the path which Mr. Repton’s plantation has left in one part of the rookery. He has since examined it himself, acknowledges it to be much too narrow, and promises to have it altered. Such are your Niece’s contributions to posterity!
It has struck ten; I must go to breakfast where I hope to have the pleasure of my Husband’s company if he is returned from shooting. Yesterday, accompanied by Mr. Daley, he went out very early and came home like a bad shot, for they had killed nothing at all.
Yrs very affectionately,
E. Darcy
Pemberley
Saturday day, 22d January, 1814
Dear Sir,
I am obliged to you for the samples for my sitting room, and for your valued advice. I am in agreement with your suggestion of the darker yellow silk brocade for the chairs, but my preference for the draperies is the lighter of the yellow, rather than the green. I understand your concern that the effect of too much yellow may not be entirely pleasing, but can assure you that I shall like it very well.
Mr. Darcy begs me to add that he leaves for Town on 4th April and will remain at Grosvenor Street for three weeks. He trusts it may be convenient for you to wait upon him there.
I remain, my dear Sir,
E. Darcy
Humphry Repton, Esq.
Sloane Street
London
Great House
Saturday, 12th March, 1814
My dear Aunt Gardiner,
My beloved Sister begs me to inform you immediately of the arrival of Frederick Charles yesterday evening at eleven o’clock. Your Great-Nephew has a fine set of lungs, which he used to full effect as he announced himself to the world. We have so much cause for thankfulness: Mother and Child both safe, and Jane’s bodily suffering only slight. Mr. Bingley is as overjoyed as a new Papa ought to be, and the proud Grandmamma has declared young Frederick the handsomest, healthiest, lustiest Newborn there ever was. She insists that Charlotte’s Robert is nothing compared to Jane’s Frederick, and she will surely waste no time telling Lady Lucas as much upon her return to Longbourn.
I return to Pemberley in a week. I wish I could accompany Mr. Darcy to Town next month, but it cannot be helped. As penance for abandoning an adoring Wife, I am preparing a long list of commissions for him to undertake on my behalf.
You will perhaps be surprised to hear that my Mother received a letter last week from Lydia (addressed to her here at The Great House) in which she longs to see her Mamma, her Sisters and her expected Nephew or Niece. She entreats Mamma to intercede with her Sisters and begs an invitation for herself and her dear Wickham to visit us all. You will certainly not be surprised to learn that since they have recently moved into new lodgings, naturally incurring various, unspecified expenses, would Mamma kindly ask Lizzy to send money for their travel expenses? (Indeed, sending a carriage for them is strongly hinted at, a hint immediately ignored by the Bingleys and Darcys.)
Moreover, Lydia’s travel dress is so out of style that she has taken the liberty of ordering a new one, and feeling certain that her Sisters would not wish to be shamed by her appearance, she suggests that Jane and I share the cost. Sly, clever Lydia! In approaching our Mother, rather than addressing herself to Jane and me directly, she well knows that she is unlikely to be denied, though they will have to content themselves with travelling post.
All may yet work out well. They arrive at The Great House seven days hence, then she is to come to Pemberley (to which my Husband agrees) after Mr. Darcy has left for Town. Even Lydia accepts that it is impossible for Mr. Wickham to be received at Pemberley under any circumstances, but she gives us to understand that he will be continuing to Bath alone, returning to The Great House after two or three weeks. They will then return to Newcastle together to rejoin his regiment.
My Mother was only prevented from immediately sending for Kitty and Mary “for the very great pleasure of having my Girls together again” by the reminder that her eldest Daughter is in childbed, that her second Daughter’s confinement is imminent, and that her Husband would thus be left entirely alone at Longbourn. A tearful moment followed wherein Mamma related how lonely and unhappy she is at Longbourn with three Daughters gone. The remaining two give her no pleasure at all. I was tempted to recall that just two years ago she was unhappy at having five unmarried Daughters at home, but since such a recollection would have distressed her even more, I for once followed Jane’s example and said nothing.
Be assured of the love and regard of your affectionate Niece,
Lizzy
Pemberley
Friday, 8th April, 1814
My dear Husband,
How glad I am to know that you are safely arrived at Grosvenor Street and that your journey was without incident. It was my fervent hope that this fine spring weather would accompany you to Town and I am thankful that the roads were dry and sound.
Thank you, I can think of no further commissions to add to my list. I shall, however, expect you to lay in a stock of intelligence sufficient to amuse me for a twelvemonth. Of course, gleaning such gossip for your dear Wife will entail attending dinner parties, theatre parties and all other manner of diversions and entertainments, but I trust th
at sacrificing your own inclination to dine at home and spend a quiet evening with a book before a good fire will not cost you too dearly. Should such a price be too high, however, even for a much-loved Spouse, pray content yourself with your books and the occasional company of my Uncle and Aunt Gardiner and know that your Lizzy will love you not one jot less!
Jane writes that she continues to make a good recovery, that our Nephew and Godson gets on well, that Mr. Bingley beams with fatherly pride. My Mother returns to Longbourn tomorrow; Lydia comes here following breakfast at The Great House. Mr. Bingley has graciously offered his carriage for the journey despite my assurance that you had ordered a carriage to be sent from here, but he insists.
A short letter announcing Georgiana’s safe arrival at Rosings came on Tuesday last. I have been in hopes of a longer letter arriving each day since, but it is probably too much to expect and yet another indication of how much I miss her. Indeed, Pemberley is far too quiet (notwithstanding Mr. Repton’s labourers) and in truth, I am heartily sick of being so long separated from my Dearest Life—today being the sixth day that you are gone from home!
These three weeks will be the longest separation we ever yet endured, but I am resolved to meet this trial with cheerful resignation. All my happiness and satisfaction in life date from the day of our betrothal, but since joy and affliction are dispensed by the same divine providence, let us trust that good sense will direct me to submit to the one as well as the other. (I fear I lack the courage to express these sentiments aloud, only in a letter am I able to open my heart without embarrassment. Is this perhaps the meaning of the saying that true intimacy thrives on separation?)
Please accept the affectionate love of a heart not so tired as the right hand belonging to it, and know that you are always in the thoughts of your loving and devoted Wife,
