⚰Jane Austen and the Brontes Issue 🪽#16: On the 207th Anniversary of Jane's Death
Jane Austen died on July 18, 1817 at the age of 41
Jane died young, aged 41, in Winchester tended by her sister, Cassandra. What Jane died from remains a historical and medical mystery with speculation ranging from Addison’s disease and others say cancer or a typhus relapse. We may never know.
Jane was confined to her bed in April of 1817. She writes a short will and makes Cassandra her executor on April 27. We infamously know in that will she asks Cassandra to destroy all of Jane’s letters.
In May, Jane and Cassandra move from Chawton to Winchester for medical treatment. She dies on July 18, 1817 and interred at Winchester Cathedral on July 24, 1817.
Jane stopped writing Sanditon (originally titled The Two Brothers) in March 1817 when her illness became too much. Records show she still corresponded with her family up until her death. Her last two completed novels, Persuasion (originally titled The Eilliots) and Northanger Abbey (originally titled Susan), would be published posthumously in December 1817. Both novels would bear her name as championed by her brother Henry. In 1872, a brass plaque is added to her grave to give her recognition as an author.
I often marvel that over 200 years since Jane’s death how she continues to proliferate 21st C culture. I started Excessively Diverting oh so many years ago on the hopes of bringing Jane news near and far. I looked at JASNA and various Jane Austen societies across the world to provide news. Turns out I was wrong about the interest in Austen. It was not for a few stuffy academics who present papers at weary conferences; she is everywhere. It’s not only in the thousands of retelling and pastiches but also in the merchandise such as lip balm (which I own and is very good), socks, toothpaste and bandages, and gosh, the list goes on and on. I once read somewhere the Jane Austen industrial complex brings in over $1B a year and as Jane’s work is out of copyright, it’s pure profit.
Would Jane approve of the merchandise surrounding her name? Honestly, I don’t know. Wild guess is yes if it’s a woman owned business and probably no for anyone else. I think she would find joy in the derivatives of her work. Jane’s critique of society, love, and marriage still resonates today. We find joy and inspiration in her work from her novels to her juvenilia. She was a woman, and a writer, ahead of her time.
On this solemnest of days, raise a glass of beer (yes, she brewed beer) or a cup of black tea to commemorate one of the most beloved writers in Western culture.
References
—. “Jane Austen Biography.” https://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-biography.php.
Digial Austen. “Austen Dies.” https://digitalausten.org/node/29.
Jane Austen House. “A Timeline of Jane Austen’s Life and Works.” https://janeaustens.house/jane-austen/timeline/.
Jane Austen Society of North America. “Jane Austen: A Brief Biography.” https://www.jasna.org/austen/.
VinePair. “Jane Austen Brewed Beer. Yes, Really.” https://vinepair.com/articles/jane-austen-beer/.