My Dear Cassandra: The Illustrated Letters of Jane Austen

The late Penelope Hughes-Hallett (she died in 2010) had the great fortune to be brought up in Steventon in Hampshire, Jane Austen's birthplace and where the future novelist herself lived between 1775 and 1801, so it's not a surprise that she maintained a lifelong interest in the Regency author. In 'My Dear Cassandra' she makes a selection from the letters Jane wrote to her older sister, introducing key periods in Jane's life (changing residences in Steventon, Bath, Southampton, Chawton and Winchester) and supplying a linking commentary. Hughes-Hallett clearly knew her stuff, highlighted by the way she elucidates obscure references in the letters and cross-references the numerous personages with whom Jane was acquainted.

A special feature show more of this selection, and one that I particularly appreciated, is the generous inclusion of contemporary illustrations on every page. Here are silhouettes of Jane and Cassandra, portraits of family members, facsimiles of her writing, watercolours of country and town scenes she would have known, maps and plans of the towns and villages she lived in, and prints showing aspects of social life such as travel, dancing and entertaining. We observe genteel individuals tiptoeing through muddy lanes or choosing items in a bookshop, we note working people such as butchers or postmen going about their work and we see likenesses of famous individuals like the actor Edmund Kean or the Prince Regent, to whom Jane reluctantly dedicated Emma. Philippa Lewis' picture research makes this selection a joy to peruse.

The letters themselves cover the whole gamut of Jane's emotions, as she felt able to share with her sister. She comments mischievously on her mother's secret plans to engage two maids in their new Bath household ("my father is the only one not in the secret") along with "a steady cook, and a young giddy house-maid, with a sedate, middle-aged man, who is to undertake the double office of husband to the former and sweetheart to the latter." She delights in the opportunities to enjoy prolonged visits from her brothers and her nieces, especially Fanny Knight (whom she calls "the delight of my life"). Most touching of all is the mention -- in one of her last letters, to an unnamed correspondent -- of Cassandra herself, whom she characterises as "my tender, watchful, indefatigable nurse" and whom she worries may become ill from her constant solicitations. Two months later the distraught Cassandra is writing to Fanny that she has

"lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed. She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow; I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself."

As we approach the bicentenary of Jane's death in 2017, when Austen-fever will no doubt reach new heights, I wonder if the publishers will see fit to re-issue this in a new edition so that more of us can come to appreciate Jane's written legacy, in her correspondence as well as in her fiction. These letters really open the door on the essence of the woman, written as they were with no thought of publication. They may help us to rejoice in the published works that survive, even if her life was too cruelly cut short. show less

The Illustrated Letters of Jane Austen includes some of Jane's letters along with illustrations from books, newspapers, and magazines etc. of the Regency period. You'll read a letter from Jane when she was staying in a certain village, and a drawing or painting of the village by somebody, maybe even someone known by Jane, will be included. A letter where Jane mentions what she's wearing to a ball is accompanied by a fashion illustration of the style of dress, etc. The letters are split up according to seasons in her life, with an essay at the beginning of each section that talks about what was going on in her life then. After each letter, a short explanation of who Jane is talking about is given. This was fun to read, but still a bit of show more work due to all the essays. Jane was hilarious. I recommend this book for Jane Austen fans.
Trigger warnings: stillbirth mention, Jane makes a mean joke at the bereaved parents' expense; corpse mentions, death, illness. show less

These are letters written by Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra. If you are an Austen fan, you’ll enjoy the small niceties of Ms Austen’s life.

The true highlight of this book is the illustration. Each location, each subject broached, has wonderful drawings, paintings and etchings, done by artists contemporaneous with the text. If Jane describes a view, there is likely a full color painting of it. If she describes a ball, there are drawings of the fashion and correct methods (German and French) of waltzing.

This is one that I will keep in my library - it has really made the Regency period come alive for me!

It was interesting to see that the voice of Jane Austen the novelist comes across in her everyday writing. A useful insight into the life of Jane Austen.

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"Mi querida Casandra", presenta las cartas de Jane Austen a su hermana. El libro, profusamente ilustrado con imágenes de los lugares y las gentes que conoció y describió en sus obras, es tan apasionante como los clásicos de Jane Austen.