Jane Austen and the State of the Nation

Transcription

1 Jane Austen and the State of the Nation

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3 Jane Austen and the State of the Nation Sheryl Craig

4 Sheryl Craig 2015 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Craig, Sheryl, 1954 Jane Austen and the state of the nation / Sheryl Craig, English and Philosophy Department, University of Central Missouri, USA. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Austen, Jane, Criticism and interpretation. 2. Literature and society England History 18th century. 3. Literature and society England History 19th century. I. Title. PR4036.C '.7 dc Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.

5 To my family

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7 Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Chronology viii ix x Introduction: Jane Austen s Legacy 1 1 Juvenilia: A Liberal Conservative 20 2 Sense and Sensibility: Poor Law Reform 30 3 Pride and Prejudice: The Speenhamland System 48 4 Northanger Abbey and The Watsons: The Restriction Act 72 5 Mansfield Park: The Condition of England 88 6 Emma: William Pitt s Utopia Persuasion: The Post-Waterloo Crash Sanditon: A Political Novel 156 Bibliography 168 Index 178 vii

8 List of Figures I.1 Cancelled royalties check from publisher John Murray to author Jane Austen (1816) John Bull Humbugg d Alias Both Ear d (1794) attributed to Isaac Cruikshank, artist; S.W. Fores, publisher A Visitor to John Bull for the Year 1799 or The Assess d Taxes taking their leave (1798) attributed to Richard Newton, artist; W. Holland, publisher The Night Mare (1795) attributed to West, artist; S.W. Fores, publisher Bank-Notes. Paper-Money French-Alarmists, - o, the Devil, the Devil! ah! Poor John-Bull!!! (1797) James Gillray, artist; Hannah Humphrey, publisher A Peep behind the CURTAIN or Preparation for the meeting of Parliament (1807) G.M. Woodward, artist; Thomas Teeg, publisher Beggar: Costume of the lower orders of the metropolis (1800) T.L. Busby, artist; Cries of London author, M. Laroon Banknote from Austen, Maunde & Austen bank (undated) John Bull in Clover John Bull Done Over (1819) Charles Williams, artist; S.W. Fores, publisher 157 viii

9 Acknowledgments My many thanks to everyone who contributed their time, talents, and support in order to make this book possible, including Dorice Williams Elliott, Anna Neill, and Philip Barnard at the University of Kansas, who nurtured this project in its infancy; The Jane Austen Society of North America s International Visitor Program, who generously financed my research in England; Ilene Kalish; Benjamin Doyle, Devoney Looser, Tomas René, R.K. Vinodhini and everyone at Palgrave Macmillan; Susan Walker at the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University; and my many friends in the Jane Austen Society, on both sides of the pond; Louise West, Tom Carpenter, and Mary Guyatt at Jane Austen s House Museum; Sarah Parry at Chawton House Library; and Tom and Maureen Kelly and Hilary Aiken of the Scottish Branch of the Jane Austen Society. Special thanks are due to my friend and fellow Anglophile, Ellen Long, and to my friend and mentor, Mary Hallab. ix

10 Chronology 1694 Bank of England formed 1759 Bank of England issues paper money 1775 Jane Austen born December Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith 1783 Liberal Tory William Pitt becomes Prime Minister, age Austen begins Volume the First, age 11 and Finishes Volume the Third, age Harvest failure & food prices double Speenhamland System (minimum wage) devised in Berkshire Details on Scarcity by Edmund Burke Austen writes Elinor and Marianne (Sense and Sensibility) 1796 Begins First Impressions (Pride and Prejudice) in October 1797 The Restriction Act bank bailout The State of the Poor by Frederic Eden Copper coins minted Cartwheel Penny Austen finishes First Impressions (Pride and Prejudice) in August 1798 Austen begins Susan (Northanger Abbey) An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus 1799 First Income tax Finishes Susan (Northanger Abbey) Harvest failures & grain prices more than double 1st wave of recession & food riots 1807 Ministry of All the Talents coalition government of Whig Lord Grenville The Popham Poem 2nd recession 1805 Begins The Watsons x

11 Chronology xi 1806 Prime Minister William Pitt dies in office, age 46 Debasement of government issued coins 1807 Ministry of All the Talents coalition government of Whig Lord Grenville The Popham poem nd Recession 1810 Austen revises Sense and Sensibility for publication 1811 Austen begins Mansfield Park in February On the Weald of Kent Canal Bill poem 3rd recession & Luddite (unemployment) riots 1812 Reactionary Tory Prime Minister Spencer Perceval assassinated 1813 Austen finishes Mansfield Park in July 1814 Begins Emma in January 1815 Corn Law protests and riots Post-Waterloo economic crash & depression Repeal of income tax Austen begins Persuasion in August rural banks fail & Henry Austen s bankruptcy Bread of Blood riots Bank of England issues new silver coins Austen finishes Persuasion in August Spa Fields riots 1817 Austen begins Sanditon in January & stops in March 4th recession March of the Blanketeers & Pentridge Uprising Jane Austen dies July 18 Bank of England issues new gold coins 1819 Peterloo Massacre