May 15, 2009

Surprise! I just returned from ten days in England!

We visited homes of famous authors, Chepstow and Goodrich castles, the Tintern Abbey ruins, Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, and Oxford. We hiked in Wales along the Wye River, rode trains, navigated the Underground in London, and learned to drive on the left side of the road. My absolute favorite times were visiting Jane Austen’s homes in Bath and Chawton Village, plus a 90-minute private tour of C.S. Lewis’ home by the wonderful warden of The Kilns. (More about the Lewis home later.)

Our super-generous children gave us plane tickets to the U.K. last year for our annivesary, and I planned and saved for this trip all year. I didn’t mention it before we left because I’d heard that burglars were high tech now and read blogs to find out when people would be leaving their homes unattended. I left my computer behind, and a friend posted my pre-written blog entries. (Thank you, Joanna!) I didn’t even check email when gone. I wanted to immerse myself in the worlds of Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis–and it was pure heaven on earth.

Kinship of Writers

Jane’s home in Chawton was where she revised Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice for publication. Here she also wrote Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park and part of another novel before becoming ill. After visiting Jane’s house in Chawton, I felt a kinship with her. She lived in the kind of home I would have loved (see below): several hundred years old, two stories, cozy fireplaces in every room, big flower and vegetable gardens, set on a cobblestone street lined with tiny shops and thatched-roof cottages.

Her writing desk (above–seen behind glass) was tiny. I was struck by the contrast between her small desk, just big enough for her paper and ink well, and my two desks back home covered with computers, printers, books, notebooks, and assorted junk. Jane had no shelves of how-to writing books, no writing room of her own, no Internet or cell phone.

She wrote in the mornings, after breakfast, before helping her mother and sister with household tasks or visiting or entertaining numerous nieces and nephews. She put her writing first in her day, before it got taken over by friends or family or other obligations. There was a lesson for me!

She also wrote about what she knew and experienced–and what interested her–despite pressure from her publisher to write what would make more money. They wanted gothic and historical romances, not her “simple little stories” about her everyday village life and how several families affected each other. (Remember: although her books are historical to her present-day fans, she was writing contemporary fiction.) Her heroes and heroines who learned about their character flaws and overcame them–like Darcy’s pride and Lizzie’s tendency toward hasty judgments–were considered too tame for the reading public.

Write Your Passion

I loved reading Jane’s responses to the publisher’s pressure. Her replies (there were photocopies of her letters) basically said that she could only write what they wanted if she were literally starving, and even though historical romances might be more popular or profitable than her “domestic stories of country villages…I would be hung before I could finish the first chapter…No, I must keep to my own style and go on in my own way, though I may never succeed again.” Wouldn’t that same publisher be astounded today to see the thousands of fans who still flock to the Jane Austen walking tours in Bath, the Jane Austen Centre, and her home in Chawton, who buy her books and watch movies made of them? Isn’t there a lesson for all writers here?

Perhaps this is what Jane was thinking when she wrote (in Mansfield Park): “We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”

(I hope this blog makes sense. I’ve been up since 2 a.m. My body still thinks it’s in England–or wishes it was!)

11 Comments »

1. 

   I am so happy for you to have taken such a trip! Jane Austen is my favorite author, and she shows a great depth of thought and understanding (along with plenty of humor) in her writing. I think her characters live in our minds so well because she thought them out and knew them intimately as she wrote their stories. Aren’t we all grateful that she was to her own writing-self true.

   Comment by Beth Mac — May 15, 2009 @ 3:27 pm

2. 

   Yes, Beth, I’m really grateful that Jane was true to her own writing self too. Her writing circumstances might have been very different than mine or yours, but it sounds as if the pressure to conform for the sake of sales and popularity were just the same! I think you hit the nail on the head about her characters–and why they stick in our minds so long.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 16, 2009 @ 9:07 am

3. [...] Author Kristi Holl recently returned from a fabulous ten-day trip to England, where she visited the home of Jane Austen in Chawton. I’m always in awe of the places where authors pen their great works, so I loved Kristi’s picture and description of Austen’s writing desk. [...]

   Pingback by Anonymous — May 21, 2009 @ 8:10 am

4. 

   Hi Kristi; I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Bath in 2007. We went as a celebration of our 25th anniversary, and our son’s graduation from HS. We all adored Bath. I saw Jane’s museum but not her home. We stayed in Europe for nearly one month, and had the chance to visit Paris, England, Wales, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands where we met my hubby’s relatives. I love Europe! I began my blog as a traveling journal; my family back home loved to read about what I was up to. I never worried about burglars! (I never thought of it…) I’ve kept the journal on my blog; I wonder how much space Blogger will allowe me to keep…I’m glad I found your link!

   Comment by Loretta Houben — May 21, 2009 @ 9:43 am

5. 

   Loretta, your anniversary trip sounded like HEAVEN!!! So many beautiful countries to see, and so much rich history there! If there were a way for me to do it, I’d pack up my entire extended family and move there–or at least have a summer cottage–thatched, of course!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 21, 2009 @ 10:06 am

6. 

   Kristi:

   Thanks for sharing your wonderful experiences while visiting England. Hmm..Jane Austen stayed true to herself and bore success. Inspiring!

   Warmly,
   Donna
   http://www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com

   Comment by Donna McDine — May 21, 2009 @ 10:07 am

7. 

   Donna, that’s what I found so inspiring too. It still amazes me that her publisher couldn’t see what a gem she was. How fitting that her books have outlasted all those gothic horrors!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 21, 2009 @ 1:28 pm

8. 

   I also got to take the Bath walking tour (found on a postcard at the Chawton house), and visit Jane Austen’s home in Chawton. My sister lives in Steventon, down the road from Jane Austen’s house where she lived as a girl. Just a pump is left there now. Did the Chawton tour tell you about the squeaky door to the room where Jane wrote, so she could hear and hide her writing from visitors who looked down on such an activity?

   Comment by Judith L. Roth — May 21, 2009 @ 2:18 pm

9. 

   Judith, thanks for sharing your experiences with Jane! Yes, there’s a plaque by the squeaky door in the Chawton house explaining why it was left to squeak. I still think it’s sad that she never saw her name on the cover of her books and that they didn’t bear her name till after she died. Her letter about her devastated feelings over leaving Steventon was in the house too.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 21, 2009 @ 4:31 pm

10. 

    How fun!! This is a great post and so encouraging. I love Jane Austen; this is definitely a place I would like to visit. You know, when next I get to Europe. Someday …

    Comment by Tanya — June 18, 2009 @ 5:22 am

11. 

    Tanya, I think you’d love the place. And if you “do” England the way we did, it’s very affordable. (Hiking, rent a car, smaller villages, hostels-that-look-like-castles-but-are-cheap, etc.)

    Comment by Kristi Holl — June 18, 2009 @ 4:19 pm

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