Letter 38:Facsimiles and Topaze Crosses.

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Letter 38:Facsimiles and Topaze Crosses. Written by JulieW (9/21/2007 5:41 a.m.)

I think it's really useful to look at a facsimile of JAs lettes once in a while during these GRs.

Here is the first page of today's letter from Jo Modart's book, Jane Austen's Lettters in Manuscript:

You can see that, in this instance , JA has written between the lines of the first page.

The writing is terribly difficult to decpher,IMHO, but this is the passage where she "scolds" Charles for having bought both JA and Cassandra topaze crosses and gold chains out of his Ł30 prize money( he expected to receive Ł10 more) for his share of a privateer

Here is a picture of the crosses: JA's is on the right.

They are now on show at Jane Austen's House at Chawton.

And of course this incident from life was used to great effect by JA in Mansfield Park, when Wiliam gave Fanny a cross,but without a chain. The process by which two chians were donated to Fanny was a great plot device, for it allowed JA to demonstate the essential charcteristics of three of the main characters: the amoral Crawfords( both brother and sister) versus the kind and generous Edmund Bertram.

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Letter 38:Facsimiles and Topaze Crosses. JulieW (9/21/2007 5:41 a.m.)

You have given us a treasure Robbin (9/21/2007 1:56 p.m.)
Jane's personal treasure... Mandy N (9/21/2007 6:51 a.m.)
- Yes, Mandy, James did not stop... Moni (9/21/2007 9:36 a.m.)
I like that idea... Moni (9/21/2007 6:24 a.m.)
- Oh! Moni Robbin (9/21/2007 12:17 p.m.)
  - Great, Robbin... Moni (9/21/2007 7:54 p.m.)

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