Posted by kathleen (elder) on August 28, 1997 at 23:10:11:
I just finished a quick read of this book. It was written by J.H. and Edith C. Hubback, grandson and great granddaughter of Francis Austen (one of JA's brothers). It was originally published in 1906, and reprinted in 1986.
It is very short on details, but there are some interesting bits. It quotes from JA's letters as well as Francis' letters and his ship log entries. There's less information about Charles Austen (the other sailor brother) than about Francis, but Charles' family did live on board with him at times, and there's some discussion about that.
The book relates some of the letters with MP and Persuasion -- it's obvious that JA did hear details from her brothers about shipboard life. And, she clearly knew about their battles, etc., as well.
I wouldn't suggest that it's a must read (nor a must buy), but if you run into it, it's not difficult to read through. I was amused at the number of times the authors say that they won't bother with details of battles (with the French), since these are so well known. The intended audience was obviously not late 20th century Americans. ;-)
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