Enough of that, however, as all we can do is speculate. That is, why didn’t she take this one up again as she did with other early works such as First impressions which became Pride and prejudice. Whether this is true or not, it is a fact that she didn’t take up serious writing again until she settled in Chawton in 1809 – which gives rise to the more interesting challenge. A common belief is that she abandoned it after her father’s death due to sadness and the resultant uncertainty in her living conditions. This unfinished novel was written in Bath probably around 1803-1805, though there is not consensus about this. Next time I’m in England I know where I’ll be going!Īnyhow, onto The Watsons. Thank goodness it was bought by an institution – the Bodleian at Oxford. A coincidence because, if you are an Austen fan, you’ll know that just this week the manuscript was sold at auction for nearly £1 million. In one of those coincidences that we often bother about in fiction, my local Jane Austen group scheduled Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, The Watsons, for our July discussion. Book covers for Jane Austen's The Watsons
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