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Book review
Fanny Knight's Diaries:
Jane Austen through her Niece’s Eyes
by Deirdre Le Faye
Jane Austen Society, 2000
Reviewed by Sheila Edwards
Fanny Knight (1793-1882) was the eldest child of Jane Austen’s brother Edward. Her
diaries were a source of information about Jane Austen for Fanny’s son, Lord
Brabourne and have been further studied by Deirdre Le Faye. In recent times they have been
a source for a ‘biographical sketch’ of Fanny herself.
The second part of the title is, however, quite misleading as we learn little about
Jane Austen, mainly because Fanny’s diary entries compare poorly with her aunt’s
manner of expressing herself. Fanny lists events and social comings and goings in a fairly
prosaic and certainly less than vivid way. We enjoy none of Jane Austen’s perceptive
descriptions and delicious comments.
We are, of course, aware that life did revolve around family visits and small social
gatherings, but, whereas Jane Austen imbues the life of her time with colour and
fascinating detail, Fanny leaves us only with a feeling of colourless and repetitious
routine.
Fanny only occasionally showed emotion, as for example, when her sister, Cassandra, was
born and more fully when her mother died in childbirth.
She wrote on the 10th October, 1808 – ‘Oh! The miserable events of this day!
My mother, my beloved mother torn from us! After eating a hearty dinner, she was taken violently
ill and expired (may God have mercy upon us) in half an hour!!!!’ This is
the most emotional and detailed entry that she writes. I should like to have heard so much
more of her feelings towards her relations and friends, and especially of her
conversations with her aunt. She spoke of her with affection but only briefly. Finally, at
the end of her life, when asked to give more information about her aunt in order to flesh
out a biography, she produced ‘a pettish out burst’ and spoke really unkindly
about ‘lack of refinement’ This seems a poor return for all the affection shown
to her during Jane Austen’s life. I believe that the study of the diaries as they are
illustrated in the book must have been a most interesting task, but I did not find the
material sympathetic or of real interest in furthering our knowledge of Jane Austen
herself.
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