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Book review
A Century of Wills from Jane Austen’s Family 1705-1806

By Jon Spence

Jane Austen Society of Australia Inc. 2001

• Reviewed by Anthony Monta (JASNA - Jane Austen Society of North America)
• Reviewed by Dennis Nutt

Reviewed by Anthony Monta (JASNA - Jane Austen Society of North America)

This review of JASA's own Wills publication was printed in the Spring 2002 issue of JASNA News

Readers interested in historical details will be delighted with A Century of Wills from Jane Austen’s Family. With it, the Jane Austen Society of Australia can justly be said to have taken the most illegible genre of English prose and made it readable and absorbing. They have gathered wills from both sides of Austen’s family, transcribed them from copies of originals in London’s Public Record Office, and presented them clearly with accompanying introductions and occasional extracts in facsimile. Jane Austen’s will is photographically reproduced in color. As a bonus, the book contains a pull-out genealogical chart which makes it easy to pencil in ‘where the money goes’ over time and make biographical notes such as are supplied by Jon Spence’s pithy introductions. What this book makes possible is the construction of a very clear and detailed understanding of how money and family were meant to intertwine across these generations. Accordingly, it seems likely, as Maggie Lane claims in the Foreword, that ‘no serious future Austen biography will be able to be written without consulting this book.’

Of the many absorbing things about A Century of Wills, one of the most compelling is the relationship between siblings and primogeniture. As Jon Spence observes, strict primogeniture was not always the rule, and even when it was, the death of an eldest son who was childless meant that wealth passed over to siblings. In the three most lucrative situations in the book, those siblings were women. Mary Leigh inherited the immense Stoneleigh estate, the negotiated settlement of which resulted in Jane Austen’s uncle James Leigh-Perrot receiving £1.2 million in today’s money plus £100,000 a year; Cassandra and Martha Perrot renounced their claim to the Northleigh estate, so their uncle left it to his sister, Ann, who asked instead that it be left to ... lucky James Leigh-Perrot again. In other cases as well, siblings emerge as something of wild cards in an otherwise predictable, patriarchal deck.

The book is full of biographical curiosities and even mysterious figures with names like ‘Tryphena’ to savor and fathom. The only complaint that can be made of it is that it is too short. Frequently there is a good deal of white space between introductions and transcriptions; in them, perhaps, Mr. Spence could have been prevailed upon to tease out more connections between the wills and the fiction.

But no doubt Austen’s most devoted readers will have a great deal of fun doing just that. 

JASA was delighted with the positive nature of this review.

Jon Spence’s own JA biography is expected to be out later this year.

Reviewed by Dennis Nutt

This is the first venture by the Jane Austen Society of Australia into book-length publication. Entitled A Century of Wills from Jane Austen’s family, 1705-1806, this volume of 120 pages contains a collection of fifteen Wills drawn from the period, as well as Jane Austen’s own Will. Each Will has been carefully transcribed so that its integrity is maintained and is preceded by an introduction written by the editor, Jon Spence. These introductions are succinct, insightful and very helpful for an understanding of each document, without trying to cover everything in the Wills. They also demonstrate the editor’s extensive knowledge of Jane Austen’s family connections. Because of this understanding he is able to write clearly and precisely. Where he has used sources outside the Wills they are footnoted. The arrangement of the Wills into three divisions, the paternal line, maternal line and Jane Austen’s own Will makes dealing with the work a pleasure.

Wills are fascinating because they reveal many things about the testator. We gain insight into the person’s mind, learn something of his or her physical circumstances and often also of the person’s social status. The Wills in this volume are no exception. As Maggie Lane points out in the foreword, they are ‘a unique primary source for Austen scholars and biographers – and indeed for social and economic historians of the eighteenth century generally’.

As an historian I find Wills intensely interesting: in both history and literature they have had significant roles to play. In 133 BC Attalus III of Pergamum, to take one example, bequeathed his empire to the Romans and so set in motion the Roman push to capture the east. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar a Will is used by Mark Antony to turn the crowd against Brutus and his fellow conspirators. Jane Austen also made use of Wills and their consequences as a device in three of her novels. In Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion the effect of a Will on a family is clearly portrayed. A look at A Century of Wills reveals that the types of testamentary bequest seen in these novels occurred in Austen’s family.

Spence’s careful scholarship is seen in his treatment of the Wills. He deftly integrates the Wills with the Letters where that is possible and, for example, makes a comparison between the Wills of John Austen and Theophilus Leigh with regard to the sense of duty that these men had to their descendants. Indeed, the Wills highlight a number of social issues. There are frequent occurrences of the West Indies, which may indicate that Austen knew more about that area than she reveals in her novels; the powers, responsibilities and situation of executors and trustees is revealed and some of the statements on burial are interesting. The Will of John Walker, great grandfather of Jane Austen, is delightful in this regard. He wills that he be ‘buried at 10 or 11 at night without pall, pallbearers, toll of any bell.’ Another interesting social aspect found in the Wills is the attitude of the wealthier testators to their retainers and the poor.

The documents do, of course, highlight the significance of land as the basis of wealth and power. They also highlight the prevalence of the concept of primogeniture. Spence comments on this and highlights the cases where it is not found in the Wills. He also notes the lengths to which the testators go to ensure that their wishes will be carried out. There are even attempts to control from the grave.

The book is printed in good, clear, readable type. The frontispiece is two colour facsimiles of Jane Austen’s Will, while the last page contains the location in the Public Records Office of each Will published here. It is truly a useful tool. Also helpful are the family tree and excellent index. One indication of the integrity of this book is the publication of the actual script of the Wills where the documents themselves are illegible.

This is a valuable work, accessible to those interested in Austen biography and one which ought to be on the shelf of every serious Austen scholar.

 

29 January 2004

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