Stephanie Barron: Jane and the Barque of Frailty

Jane refers obliquely to Harriette Wilson in a letter to her sister, Cassandra, dated Friday, February 9, 1801. Speaking of Eliza Lloyd Fowle, sister of the Austens’ beloved friend Martha Lloyd and sister-in-law of Thomas Fowle, to whom Cassandra was engaged prior to his untimely death, Jane notes: “Eliza has seen Lord Craven at Barton, & probably by this time at Kintbury, where he was expected for one day this week. — She found his manners very pleasing indeed. — The little matter of his having a Mistress now living with him at Ashdown Park, seems to be the only unpleasing circumstance about him.” It was this Lord Craven who carried off Cassandra’s fiancé, Tom Fowle, to the West Indies as his military chaplain in 1795 — indirectly causing Fowle’s death of yellow fever in 1797.— Editor’s note .

“Prinny” was the nickname of the Prince of Wales, at this time the regent. In her memoirs, Harriette Wilson recounts her correspondence with the prince, in which he invited her to come to London so that he might look her over as a prospective mistress — at which she declined the trip as too expensive to waste on a mere possibility. — Editor’s note .

Grafton House sat on the corner of Grafton and New Bond streets, and was known to provide excellent millinery goods for bargain prices. As a result, hordes of respectable women thronged its counters, and the premises were so crowded that one might wait full half an hour to be served. Jane recounts one such expedition in company with Manon, during which she purchased bugle trimming, and silk stockings at twelve shillings the pair, in a letter to her sister, Cassandra, dated April 18, 1811. — Editor’s note .

The Prince Regent married his German cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, in 1796, but cordially hated her and maintained a separate household from his consort for all but three weeks of his married life. Princess Caroline was tried and acquitted of treason (the basis being adultery) in Parliament in 1820; she died abroad in 1821. — Editor’s note.

According to Austen historian Deirdre Le Faye, this may be Jane’s personal name for St. George’s, Five Fields, Chelsea. In Austen’s day this would have been on the edge of what is now Belgravia, and would have provided a pleasant walk. — Editor’s note .

Carte blanche was a euphemism for unlimited financial support a man might offer his mistress; it implied an exclusive sexual tie in return for the maintenance of a courtesan's lifestyle. — Editor's note .

Mary Brunton (1778–1818) published Self-Controul in 1810. Austen told Cassandra in a letter written from Sloane Street on Tuesday, April 30, 1811, that she was almost afraid to read the book and find it too clever — and consequently lose confidence in her own work. She finally read Brunton in 1813, and was relieved to be underwhelmed. — Editor’s note .

A panada was a dish made of bread or crackers, boiled to a pulp and flavored, and generally served to invalids. — Editor’s note.

This was a cant term for indebtedness, as the wellborn who lacked means tended to live “on tick” — or credit. — Editor’s note.

Foxed , well to live, shot the cat, and bosky are all cant terms for inebriation. — Editor’s note .

Cit was an abbreviation of citizen and designated a person engaged in trade in the City, or square mile of merchant London east of the genteel neighborhoods bordering Hyde Park. Mushroom designated a cit who aspired to the upper classes, either through conspicuous consumption or marriage with the gentry; like mushrooms, such people were viewed as unattractive social growths who sprang up overnight. — Editor’s note .

Free trader was a euphemism for a smuggler who brought cargoes from France under cover of darkness, thus avoiding importation duties. At this time, Napoleon’s Continental System — which forbade all trade with England on the part of France or its imperial satellites — still inhibited direct importation of a host of goods. — Editor’s note .

Gunter’s was the foremost confectioner of Regency London and was frequently hired to cater the refreshments at private debutante balls. — Editor’s note .