A letter from a young Jane Austen in which she confides she is to “flirt her last” with a dashing Irish lawyer believed by some romantics to have inspired one of her most famous characters, Mr Darcy, is to be shown in public for the first time.
The missive, the oldest known surviving letter by Austen, was sent to her sister Cassandra when the author was a fun-loving 20-year-old about to write the story that became Pride and Prejudice.
In the letter, written over two days in January 1796, Austen describes her excitement over an upcoming ball and some of the people she was to meet there, including the Irish lawyer Tom Lefroy.
At one point she mentions Lefroy and says, clearly light-heartedly, that she does not “care sixpence” for him. She takes up her pen next day and adds: “At length the Day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy & when you receive this it will be over – My tears flow as I write, at the melancholy idea.” Again, she sounds playful rather than genuinely heartbroken.
There has long been speculation that Lefroy – at least in part – provided inspiration for Mr Darcy, and the romance (if that is what it was) between the pair was the subject of the 2007 film Becoming Jane, starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy.
The letter is being displayed at Austen’s former home in the village of Chawton, Hants, alongside a portrait of Lefroy as part of an exhibition opening on Thursday called Jane Austen in Love. Costumes worn by Hathaway and McAvoy in the film will also be on display.
Sophie Reynolds, the curator of Jane Austen’s House, said: “The letter about the end of Austen’s flirtation with Mr Lefroy is one that Jane Austen fans will be very excited about. She’s young, she’s out partying, she’s a bright young thing. Her handwriting is big, enthusiastic, she is pouring her heart out. It’s a bright, sparkling letter that could have been written by Lizzy Bennet herself.”
Reynolds said that unlike Darcy, Lefroy was poor, though he went on to marry a rich young woman. But she said she understood why people made the link between Lefroy and Darcy.
“Everyone wants to know who inspired each character, but it’s more complicated than that. She would have drawn on many inspirations and created characters from scratch.
“We’re very excited about having the letter and the portrait side by side. It gives us the opportunity to see the people she knew and the people that filled her world.
“It’s a very striking portrait of the young man at around the age he would have been when Jane Austen knew him. He really stares into your eyes. He has very striking features.”
A letter written by Austen in 1813 is also on display in a twin exhibition called Jane Austen in London. It reveals details of everyday life in the capital, from shopping trips and visits to the theatre, to a hair appointment and a painful trip to the dentist. The writing is smaller, the words more composed.
The letters have been jointly acquired by Jane Austen’s House, where the writer lived for the last eight years of her life, and the Bodleian Libraries. The two exhibitions run until 5 March 2023.