dmiral Charles Austen,
and Miss Margaret Bellas, great-granddaughter of James Austen, are so
good as to allow us to make a fuller use of their family documents than
was found possible by the author of the _Memoir_; while Mr. J. H.
Hubback permits us to draw freely upon the _Sailor Brothers_, and
Captain E. L. Austen, R.N., upon his MSS. Finally, we owe to Admiral
Ernest Rice kind permission to have the photograph taken, from which the
reproduction of his Zoffany portrait is made into a frontispiece for
this volume. We hope that any other friends who have helped us will
accept this general expression of our gratitude.

W. A. L.
R. A. A. L.

_April 1913._

In the notes to the text, the following works are referred to under the
shortened forms here given:--

_Memoir of Jane Austen_, by her nephew, J. E.
Austen Leigh: quoted from second edition, 1871. As
_Memoir_.

_Letters of Jane Austen_, edited by Edward Lord
Brabourne, 1884. As _Brabourne_.

_Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers_, by J. H. Hubback
and Edith C. Hubback, 1906. As _Sailor Brothers_.

_Jane Austen: Her Homes and her Friends_ Constance
Hill, 1902. As _Miss Hill_.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Father of one of the present writers, and grandfather of the other.

[2] Daughter of the author of the _Memoir_.

[3] It has not, however, been possible to consult the originals except
in the instance of the letters from Jane to Anna Lefroy.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

PREFACE v

CHRONOLOGY xiii

I. AUSTENS AND LEIGHS, 1600-1764 1

II. STEVENTON, 1764-1785 11

III. WARREN HASTINGS AND THE HANCOCKS, 1752-1794 31

IV. FAMILY LIFE, 1779-1792 46

V. GROWTH AND CHANGE, 1792-1796 67

VI. ROMANCE, 1795-1802 84

VII. AUTHORSHIP AND CORRESPONDENCE, 1796-1798 95

VIII. GODMERSHAM AND STEVENTON, 1798-1799 109

IX. THE LEIGH PERROTS AND BATH, 1799-1800 126

X. CHANGE OF HOME, 1800-1801 141

XI. BATH AGAIN, 1801-1805