A new Jane Austen letter has been found
Big news in the Janeite world! A new letter from Jane Austen has been found.
As most Janeites know, Jane’s sister Cassandra burnt the larger part of the letters that Jane wrote to her, and many others that she wrote were not preserved, so every one is a treasure. This particular letter, as many did, passed from Cassandra to Fanny Knatchbull and on to her son Lord Brabourne, who sold many of the letters out of the family after publishing them. It is unclear why this particular letter was not included in Lord Brabourne’s collection.
In the letter, dated September 1816, Jane relates some news about nursing the wretched Melissa. Some of the most interesting news is that Jane Austen was an accomplished cook, and that she included hamster curry in her repertoire. We do not believe that particular dish was included in Martha Lloyd’s book of recipes, so it must have been a family recipe that Mrs. Austen, for whatever reason, did not care to pass on, or that Martha did not care to record. It also is possible that it was learned from Jane Austen’s sailor brothers, who would have learned how to cook up millers in onion sauce while midshipmen.
We’re sure Austen scholars will have much to discuss about this amazing discovery. Thanks to Very, Very Alert Janeite Sion for this incredible piece of news.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:22 am
OMGBBQ!
April 1st, 2008 at 9:28 am
What a fantastic find!!! And how fortuitous the news was released today, of all days. Hamsters and millers and cheese, oh my!
April 1st, 2008 at 9:57 am
You know, I was struggling with what to make for dinner tonight–hamsters it is.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:58 am
Does anyone have a recipe?
April 1st, 2008 at 9:59 am
Can’t get the image to show up. :p
April 1st, 2008 at 10:08 am
Laura Grace, I think the “cheerful” hamster is probably the key ingredient. Otherwise, I think any old curry recipe will probably do.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:22 am
Curreys were popular during the Regency-try a Hannah Glasse currey for your hamster. Fascinating what details pop up about Jane Austen-today
April 1st, 2008 at 10:23 am
Ummmm…..we have all noted that today is April Fool’s Day, yes? Is this for real?
April 1st, 2008 at 10:31 am
Curried hamster does sound good. If anyone protests, I can simply say that if it was good enough for Jane, it’d be good enough for me.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:38 am
Ben, it tastes a lot like chicken. If you prefer dark meat, feel free to substitute guinea pig.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:39 am
April Fools ?????
April 1st, 2008 at 10:41 am
Gah! Every year I try not to fall for silly April fools jokes, and every year I fail. This year is no exception, I actually believed it for a second. Until I saw the “Happy April Fools Day” header D:
April 1st, 2008 at 10:43 am
I didn’t believe this for a second - once I read “6th-generation descendant of Eliza de Feuillide” I knew it was rubbish. Ah well.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:51 am
Don’t do such a thing again! My nerves won’t resist! I thought this was for real!
April 1st, 2008 at 11:04 am
April fools right? I always say i wont fall for anything every year, but that never works… Oh well it was interesting enough to read
April 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
For a couple of seconds I thought this was real too! I feel a bit sad now that there’s no newly-discovered letter from Jane…
April 1st, 2008 at 11:31 am
Oh it had me going for a second! It was the hamster that did it but if it had been any other rodent I probably would have bought it …Happy April Fool’s Day!
April 1st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Well, I do love little domestic details about Jane & Hannah Glasse did write Currey Receipts in her cookbook… ‘First Catch Your Hare’.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Ben, it tastes a lot like chicken. If you prefer dark meat, feel free to substitute guinea pig.
Hamster itself does have some dark meat - the muscle on the back legs. You need several hamsters to get a mouthful, though.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Oddly enough, I heard about this same letter exactly one year ago, and from the same source, too.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I hope Jane kept the tail for hamster-tail soup.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Damn you, April Fools Day!
I’m with Kylie et al: sadly, I totally bought it. I least I remembered that it was April First before I finished reading it.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I totally believed it on this site, but then i saw the april fool’s header on the article…and the fact that it was a copy of the BBC site since none of the links actually worked so it was just a picture…aaaaaaw I really hoped that it was a newly discovered Jane letter
oh well…
April 1st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
mmmm, hamster … !
(I stopped being hopeful as soon as the site layout borked on my web browser … the real BBC site doesn’t do that.)
April 1st, 2008 at 6:03 pm
After the first initial racing heart beat, I stopped for a while to wonder - who would eat hamsters?
That didn’t seem true at all.
People don’t eat hamsters, do they ????
April 1st, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Only cheerful ones, apparently.
April 1st, 2008 at 7:52 pm
People may not eat hamsters, but they do eat guinea pigs.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:31 pm
People really eat guinea pigs??
April 1st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Sion invested a lot of time in that April Fool’s joke! I see that all the links go back to the BBC home page.
Well, she fooled me! Congrats!
I just could not imagine how many hamsters would be required to make currey for a family of five…
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:58 am
Wow, I’m gullible. Very good April Fool’s joke though. I think I scared my roommates when I yelled over the hamster curry.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:09 am
People really eat guinea pigs??
One of the Patrick O’Brian books talks a lot about eating guinea-pigs. I think it is Wine-Dark Sea. It is set in Chile & Peru, where they are native. I think they live high up in the Andes and are a staple of the diet there. I believe they were domesticated on ships to provide fresh meat, probably tastier and healthier than the ship’s rats.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:10 am
At least we didn’t get RickRolled - I was convinced one of the links would lead to “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
Must admit, I don’t like the idea of eating guinea pigs; they’re too friendly- oh, cheerful !
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I am glad the hamster picture was included. It helps to know exactly what to look for before going to the grocery.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
In Peru, they commonly eat a dish called “Picante de Cuy” which is basically a stew of fried guinea pig pieces, onion, hot peppers, garlic and potatoes.
(And no, I am NOT advocating having the family pet for dinner.)
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I smelt a rat (or perhaps a hampster) around the detailed description of the clothes, and the affecting picture. A touch of Bronte!
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Curried hamster! That sounds like something parents scare children with when the children are being bad.
Thanks for sharing news of the letter. It’s always great to discover another piece of history.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Thanks for the info about eating guinea pigs… I thought it was a joke too… guess not
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:51 pm
“That sounds like something parents scare children with when the children are being bad.”
When I was young, some kids down the street got baby chicks in their Easter baskets. The chicks were cute and fluffy little things, dyed pink, blue and green. Grew up to be mean destructive pink, blue and green chickens that terrorized the whole neighborhood. One day while we were at school, the chickens mysteriously “ran off” and were never seen again — until Sunday dinner. The kids didn’t figure it out for many years.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:37 pm
lol @ Rick rolled, Ruth. I don’t know what’s worse– getting Rick rolled, or worrying that one might get rolled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
OK Maisy, I watched the youtube video but still don’t get it. What does being rickrolled mean?
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Deb R.,
Go to:
http://www.yougotrickrolled.com/
scroll down to the Q&A and you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about getting Rick rolled.