Jane Austen's portrait will replace Charles Darwin's on the Bank of England's 10-pound bank note. The bank note concept, as shown in the photo is nicely done, but I and others want to know why a quote from "the insipid Miss Bingley," a character in Pride and Prejudice, is featured: "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" In truth, Miss Bingley is bored by books, and she only pretends to read to impress Mr Darcy.
Does Jane approve? I'm always pleased when she is honored, though Jane, her sister Cassandra, and her mother were dependent upon the generosity of family members after the death of her father. How sad that she earned very little from her books during her short life, when today she is considered by a good many admirers to be one of the finest writers of English fiction ever. Although I'm pleased that Jane receives the attention now that she never attracted in her lifetime, her portrait on a bank note seem highly ironic to me. Perhaps Jane, a master of irony, is having a laugh. I hope so.
The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, admired Jane's novels, and he let it be known that he wouldn't mind a dedication in her next book. Jane did not admire the Prince of Wales, but when royalty sent out the word, she thought it best to comply, which she did, reluctantly, when her next novel, Emma, was published.
In October, I hope to visit England again, so I will be spending Jane.
It's not Jesus on toast, but it's something.
"In October, I hope to visit England again"
ReplyDeleteYay! (May there be no, um, "difficult" connections this time. ;-/)
JCF, I plan to stay in the south of England this time. Cathy and I are thinking about a driving trip through Cornwall and maybe several days in Copenhagen, but nothing is definite yet.
DeleteCornwall is definitely lovely though different. You might like Glendurgan Garden with the maze the owner built for his twelve children in the 1830s. Or the old churches on the Meneage such as Manaccan with the fig tree on the church (and some doubt on who exactly the patron saint was).
ReplyDeleteErp, thanks. I will start a list of recommendations for what to see in Cornwall. The Tate West and Truro Cathedral will be on my list, and I will add your suggestions.
DeleteWe'll be there in September for my Mum's birthday. Sorry we'll miss you!
ReplyDeleteTim, I'm sorry our paths won't cross. This trip will very likely be my last across the Atlantic. I'll travel closer to home in the future. Do you see the Northern Lights in Edmonton? A long-time wish of mine is to see the NL.
DeleteI should point I have a certain bias, the Meneage is an area where my mother and grandmother spent many a summer holiday going back to the 1920s (even I got a couple as a kid). I would recommend seeing Exmoor and Dartmoor and Lynmouth (note some of the roads are steep and watch out for fords).
ReplyDeleteNoted, Erp. Cathy, who is a good driver, will be doing all the driving. I'd never trust myself driving on the left.
DeleteWriters aren't always in the money, but now Jane is on the money, that's a nice thought. Knowing how much you love her, perhaps a nice crisp ten-spot would look good framed and hanging on your wall when you get back home? Might make nice Xmas gifts too, for literary-minded friends.
ReplyDeleteRuss, that's an excellent idea. I once belonged to a Jane Austen group in New Orleans, but they went off in a direction I did not care for. I hear they're back on track now, but I have not rejoined, and I don't know anyone around here who would be interested enough to have a JA bank note.
DeletePS - just by sheer coincidence, I left WB and stumbled upon this lovely engraving of Austen, which I've seen before but not a colored version - thought you might like to see it too:
ReplyDeletehttp://british-history.tumblr.com/post/55798442427/it-was-on-this-day-in-british-history-18-july
Russ, the portrait at your link is an enhancement of the only portrait of JA painted from life by her sister Cassandra. I've seen the original unfinished watercolor at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
DeleteOne sad sidebar to this - you would not believe the amount of flak that the lady who led the campaign to put JA on the money has had. So much so, that a campaign is now up to get Twitter to introduce a "report abuse" button.
ReplyDeleteJames, I heard the woman is getting rape threats. How awful. I don't use Twitter, but surely there should be a way to report abusive tweets and for Twitter to disallow access to people who make such threats.
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