The Jane Austen Society of Australia
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Book review
Advice to a Young Lady in the Colonies
being a letter sent from Mrs E. of England to Maria
Macarthur in the Colony of N.S.Wales in 1812.
Edited by Margaret Barca
Greenhouse Publications 1979
Reviewed by Meghan Hayward, secretary JASA.
The Young Lady who received this remarkable letter was (Anna) Maria King. Born on
Norfolk Island in 1793 but educated in England, she returned to Australia only after her
marriage. She had been well educated, having received instruction from Dr Charles Burney
(father of Fanny Burney). This is an interesting social pedigree for us.
In 1812, in England, Maria, daughter of Philip Gidley King, former Governor of the
Colony of New South Wales, married Hannibal Macarthur, nephew of John and Elizabeth
Macarthur. The young couple sailed for New South Wales where they were to establish their
home, The Vineyard at Parramatta. One of Maria’s most treasured possessions was a
letter written by a friend of the family, referred to only as ‘Mrs E.’ She
advised the young bride on how to create and run her colonial household. The advice ranges
from cookery to managing the servants and preparing medicinal remedies. Visions of an
older Mrs Elton immediately roared into my mind; casting Maria as Jane Fairfax.
Her advice must have proved useful, for The Vineyard was to become a centre of an
active and fashionable society. To create this gracious family home, Maria relied heavily
on the detailed and delightful advice.
The advice was necessary, judging by a letter from John Macarthur’s son-in-law,
Patrick Leslie, who writing home in 1835 commented:
‘I wish the good people at home knew a little better about the state of society
here, at which I have been more surprised than at any other thing – it is excellent
and the first people here are so very particular that you cannot get into their circle
without first rate introductions and can only keep in it by first rate conduct...the
smallest error in a man’s conduct here, (which would scarcely be noticed at home)
would send him out of the first immediately which is most proper in a country where there
are so many different grades.’
The heavy emphasis on our convict past often leads Australians to believe that colonial
society was barbaric in every way. This revelation about the very formal, very rigid
manners of the upper echelons, might change our perception of our earliest days.
This book gives glimpses into Jane Austen’s daily life. The Austen ladies must
have sat down to family dinners like those described: ‘fried fish, potatoes, Turnips
and Greens with caper sauce, Boiled Leg of Mutton (Melted Butter on Side Table)’ or
maybe ‘Salt Fish (boiled), egg sauce, Pea Soup, Potatoes and Greens, Butter, Roast
Beef (the note says; ‘Have hard boiled eggs cut in quarters round the fish, 1 boat of
egg sauce will not do.’)’
Mrs E. includes menus for Christmas parties with 6 or 7, 10 or 12 and even 12 or 14
friends, begging one to imagine how either of the Mrs E.s would have judged the dinner at
Randalls.
Her advice extends to a Dinner After An Excursion: ‘I will now give you a
cold dinner, in case you go upon an excursion, & feel it convenient to give your
friends a cold collation upon your return.’ Sadly, she makes no mention of donkeys or
baskets to be included in the party.
The author reveals herself to be in the Mrs Elton mould with her instructions for the
strict supervision of meat carving for the Washerwomen’s suppers, ‘or more will
vanish than you suspect.’
This charming little book will make most of us feel inadequate as housekeepers, but
very pleased to have microwave ovens and dishwashers. Oh, and none of the dinners would be
approved by the National Heart Foundation.
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