She looks pretty good for 231, doesn’t she?

Since we had out Caroline Austen’s memoir of her aunt for a posting and have not yet put it away, we think that Jane Austen would appreciate, on her birthday, a remembrance of one who knew and loved her. Caroline was the daughter of Jane’s eldest brother, James, and Mary Lloyd Austen, sister of Jane’s friend and housemate, Martha Lloyd. James Austen was, like his father, the rector of Steventon parish, near enough for Caroline to make frequent visits to her grandmother and aunts at Chawton.

My visits to Chawton were frequent–I cannot tell when they began–they were very pleasant to me–and Aunt Jane was the great charm–As a very little girl, I was always creeping up to her, and following her whenever I could, in the house and out of it–I might not have remembered this, but for the recollection of my mother’s telling me privately, I must not be troublesome to my aunt–

Her charm to children was great sweetness of manner–she seemed to love you, and you loved her naturally in return–This as well as I can now recollect and analyse, was what I felt in my earliest days, before I was old enough to be amused by her cleverness–But soon came the delight of her playful talk–Everything she could make amusing to a child–Then, as I got older, and when cousins came to share the entertainment, she would tell us the most delightful stories chiefly of Fairyland, and her Fairies had all characters of their own–The tale was invented, I am sure, at the moment, and was sometimes continued for 2 or 3 days, if occasion served–

As to my Aunt’s personal appearance, her’s was the first face that I can remember thinking pretty, not that I used that word to myself, but I know I looked at her with admiration–Her face was rather round than long–she had a bright, but not a pink colour–a clear brown complexion and very good hazle eyes–She was not, I beleive, an absolute beauty, but before she left Steventon she was established as a very pretty girl, in the opinion of most of her neighbours–as I learned afterwards from some of those who still remained–Her hair, a darkish brown, curled naturally–it was in short curls round her face (for then ringlets were not.) She always wore a cap–Such was the custom with ladies who were not quite young–at least of a morning but I never saw her without one, to the best of my remembrance, either morning or evening.*

We lift our glass in a virtual toast to our favorite author. To Jane!

Tell us in comments what you are doing to commemorate Jane’s birthday today!

*Excerpt from My Aunt Jane Austen: A Memoir by Caroline Austen, published by the Jane Austen Society in 1952, new edition 1991.