In , brother Henry visited a London publisher by the name of Benjamin Crosby to help push the Susan novel into publication. The copyright for the work is sold for 10 pounds to Crosby with the promise that the piece will be published. Unfortunately, Crosby never fulfilled his end of the bargain in any acceptable timeframe and a tug-of-war over control of the copyright will go on for some time. Nevertheless, Jane continued working, this time on a piece entitled The Watsons. Chawton Cottage January 21st of brought about startling changes to the landscape of the Austen world.
Beloved father George Austen - already falling quickly ill - died to the shock of the family. This period of time forced Jane to put off work on The Watsons indefinitely as the Austen family is thrown into a kind of crisis. The Austen brothers all agree to help support Mrs.
The Annotated Persuasion
Austen and her two daughters though the girls are forced to live an unsettled life of constant moving and renting out their living quarters. Eventually, the women move in with brother Edward who later offers a cottage on a nearby property to the girls. This cottage - known as Chawton cottage - would rejuvenate the 33 year-old Austen into a period which she would made great strides in her work, nearly as great as her younger years.
To begin with, Jane penned an angry letter to Benjamin Crosby, the publisher in London with a hold on the Susan copyright. Since the work had yet to be published by Mr. Crosby, Jane submits a new revised version of the novel to force Crosby's hand to either publish the work or return the copyright to her so she may find another, more willing, publisher. Crosby agrees to Jane's demand, though in a shrewd business move, allows Jane access to the copyright of Susan only if she can pay the equal 10 pounds back to him for it.
With the Austen family financial future severely in doubt at this point, Jane was forced to decline the offer for the time being, leaving Susan out of her control for still more time. Life in Chawton cottage proved to be a godsend for the women.
Even our most beloved storytellers have lives with stories of their own to tell.
Now fully settled in a quiet environment, Jane saw it fit to continue her work. Her sister and mother even acknowledged her talent and took away some of her required chores to allow her to work unfettered. This she did in a very private way, but still more productively than ever before. Egerton agreed to publish the piece and fulfilled his end of the deal.
The novel is published in October of and comes out to favorable reviews. The piece is a financial success for the family, the first edition selling out completely by This time around, Egerton put a fair amount of time and money into marketing Jane's work and the novel was an instant success with the public and critics alike.
Persuasion
The success is so great that a second edition of printing is quickly ordered by October. Mansfield Park Mansfield Park quickly followed, Egerton striking while the iron was hot. The piece was received in luke warm fashion by reviewers, but the public could not get enough of Jane Austen. Another modest monetary success greeted the Austen family. In fact, Mansfield Park , with all copies sold, became the best selling and most profitable of Ms. Austen's works at that time. In an effort to bring even more success to her novels, Jane left the services of Egerton in favor of a more well known London publisher, John Murray.
Murray would be the final publisher to work with Austen before her untimely death. Emma arrived with critical success, but the second edition printing of Mansfield Park is not so successful, basically negating the earnings Jane received from the former.
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At this time, the banking venture pursued by brother Henry failed, and along with it, the fortunes of brothers Edward, James and Frank. This left the Austen girls - and family for that matter - in a precarious financial position.
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This large edition hardback is a mouthwateringly scrumptious book that contains color illustrations some of which are included in this review , notes on the original text, a page introduction by Dr. Morrison, the text of Persuasion and annotations placed in the far margins, the original ending of Persuasion , which Jane Austen abandoned , biographical notice of the author by her brother Henry Austen written shortly after her death , and further recommended reading.
I found every part of this book worthy of reading. In his foreword, Dr. Dr Morrison explains in an interview for Harvard Press:. Editing her means developing a very clear sense of the difference between riding in a barouche and riding in a curricle, of what it means to command a frigate as opposed to a sloop. The star attractions of this book are the annotations, which are liberally sprinkled in the sidebars of each page. Morrison chose information that would appeal to seasoned readers of the novel as well as those who are reading it for the first time.
He explained in an interview for Harvard Press:. I have attempted to produce a commentary that is in immediate and active dialogue with her text, rather than in a relationship that is more distant and intermittent. I find it hard to read a novel smoothly while referring to the annotations, which I regard as interruptions, so I generally read the annotations alone. I then refer to the sections of the novel that are described.
After going through the annotations, I will sit down and read the novel again. That second reading is much enriched because of the additional information.
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I am curious to know how others tackle reading an annotated book! I give this book five out of five Regency teacups. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In some instances, I will remove links from comments as well. Click here to enter the page with the reviews. Click here to enter the page.
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Persuasion An Annotated Edition | Jane Austen's World
Vic Sanborn Create Your Badge. I work in program and professional development at Virginia Commonwealth University, and I have adored Jane Austen almost all of my life. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I do not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. If you would like to share a new site, or point out an error, please email me. Yes, I am fallible. I'll own up to my mistakes and will make the corrections with a polite smile on my face.