] Just before the move to Steventon, JA tried to push Crosby(?) into publishing Susan i.e. NA, again. She did it herself, not through a male relative, and signed her letter "Mrs Ashton Dennis", which some writer shave assumed meant that she was "mad" about the whole affair. Then , shortly after the move she began polishing up her stories and being serious about publication again.

] Anyone want to speculate about the timing of this? Why now?

I believe Jane contacted the publisher during the period after her father's death, when she and her sister and mother were obliged to live by traveling around from one relative's house to another. Surely during this 'unsettled' period between Bath and Chawton Jane felt some anxiety or frustration about her financial situation. I don't believe, based on what I've read, that financial considerations were the most important driving force behind her publications. However, maybe finances played some role, and especially during this period in JA's life, when she suddenly found herself without the protection of a father or husband?