Miss Austen

Last night, K and I started watching Miss Austen. It’s got Keeley Hawes and Rose Leslie in it, and so far it’s very good. It’s about Cassandra Austen, Jane’s sister, and the lingering mystery of the letters she burned.

The destruction of Jane Austen’s letters has angered both enthusiasts and historians alike, as very little is known about the great writer. Out of thousands of letters we’re left with about 160.

The BBC writes:

Jane Austen is one of the greatest writers in the English language, second only to Shakespeare in the view of many. Her six novels – witty, withering and psychologically perceptive, pioneering in form and content – are still hugely popular today, as are screen adaptations, of which there are many. Yet beyond basic biographical facts, information about Jane is relatively scant. Was she, as has been claimed, a secret radical? A lesbian? Poisoned? How much more would we know about her had Cassandra, her main champion in life and the keeper of her flame after her death, preserved her letters? What secrets must they have held that Cassandra thought it best to burn them?

Personally, I’m on Cassandra’s side. Not everything needs to be made public just because someone passes away.

In the show, Cassandra says something along the lines of, “Everything there is to know about Jane can be found within the pages of her books.”

I think the not-knowing makes Jane Austen all the more interesting and adds to her enduring mystique.