in the wider world. Unlike many of the people here, I have not read much about Jane Austen other than one biography and a book or two of literary criticism over the past 20 years or so. If I thought about it at all, I assumed she had no interest in the events or politics of the day, but after re-reading the sections in question, and the opinions of the posters, I have to agree that even if Ms Hawkin's family did not engage in the slave trade, they could be seen as having been tainted by association.