Letters, Diaries and Memoirs--the best sort of history

If only Jane Austen had kept a diary, what a wonder it would be. At least we have her letters, or such of her letters as Cassandra allowed us to inherit. Those letters bring Jane Austen and her world to life as no other sort of writing can. That's why I love to read the letters, the memoirs and the diaries of people of the past--both people of note, and the very most ordinary sort of people.

There are Regency people whose memoirs are very well known to those who love the period--Captain Gronow, Parson Woodforde, and the delightful village accounts of Mary Russell Mitford. (right)

Then there is the familiar but less widely read Richard Rush and his "Residence at the Court of London". His writings are full of political commentary and remarkable details of the people and places he encountered. For example, "Prince Lieven expressed to me his hope, that the late appointment by the emperor of Mr. Poletticca as Minister Plenipotentiary to the U. S. would improve the friendship between our two countries."

The "Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay" [Fanny Burney] are full of the most enchanting minutiae of life from 1789 to 1840. Like this snippet from a Tuesday in 1781: "I passed the whole day at Sir Josua Reynolds's with Miss Palmer, who, in the morning, took me to see some most beautiful fans, painted by Poggi, from designs of Sir Joshua, Angelica, West and Cipriani, on leather; they are, indeed, more delightful than can well be imagined;..."

And then one can seek out the lesser, and indeed un-known, writers of memoirs. Captain Sir William Hoste, a naval protege of Lord Nelson, wrote of his history of service along with multifarious details of his life. Sir N. William Wraxall wrote "Historical Memoirs of My Own Time" with extensive details of his European travels and political experiences.

The "Autobiography of Miss Cornelia Knight, Lady Companion to the Princess Charlotte of Wales" is packed with historical, political and social details. It is a dense research read full of information. "In the beginning of July the Bishop of Salisbury had a conference with Princess Charlotte...she said it was to induce her to write a submissive letter to the Regent expressing her concern for having offended him..." Volume II is currently available at Google Books; one can only hope that Volume I will eventually turn up.

Contrastingly, the "Letters of Anna Seward" which encompass six volumes and the years between 1784 and 1807, speak of little besides her ills and cloying sentiments. Nevertheless they illustrate how some women of the era spoke and thought. "I am indebted to dear Mrs. Hayley's obliging punctuality for a kind letter--a charming trio, and a tender air, which, first heard through the sweet notes of her voice, will always present me with her image."

The journals of two Regency governesses, Agnes Porter and Ellen Weeton, are diametrically opposed in their tone and memories. Agnes Porter, unfailingly cheerful and positive, lived a relatively comfortable and safe life with a wealthy family and her notes reflect this. Ellen Weeton lived a precarious existence with little money and less support and her history makes painful reading.

Other Regency women had more notorious lives: Harriette Wilson wrote her scandalous memoir, and it appears that Mary Ann Clarke did also. The title alone of that memoir make one wonder about their verity: "Authentic Memoirs of Mrs. Clarke, in which is pourtrayed The Secret History and Intrigues of many characters in the First Circles of Fashion and High Life; and consisting the whole of Her Correspondence During the Time she lived under the Protection of His Royal Highness The Duke of York, the gallant Duke's Love Letters , and other interesting Papers never before Published."

I have always taken the term 'memoir' to be the "person's written account of his life" as in an early definition of the word. However, Mrs. Clarke's memoir is written by a third person and so is a memoir of Queen Caroline with the following title (no less intriguing than Mrs. Clarke's): "Memoirs of her Late Majesty Caroline, Queen of Great Britain; embracing every circumstance illustrative of the most memorable scenes of her eventful life, from Infancy to the Period of her Decease, interspersed with Original Letters and Other Documents, hitherto unpublished."

Personal accounts of relatively ordinary lives abound. In my book, The Beggarmaid, the hero Wessington writes an account of his travels in the Middle East. In a similar manner, one Henry Matthews, Esq. published "The Diary of an Invalid: Being the journal of a tour in pursuit of health in Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and France in the yearrs 1817, 1818 and 1819". Likewise, Mrs. Charles Stothard published "Letters Written During a tour through Normany, Britanny, and other parts of France, in 1818", and the family of Richard Tully, a British Consul published his "Letters written during a Ten Years' Residence at the Court of Tripoli;..."

There is no finer source of historical information than the diaries and letters and memoirs of our forebears; they are authentic facts about real history--real places and real people. Unfortunately, one has to put up with quantities of inconsequential information, uneven writing techniques, archaic usages and inexpert editing to uncover the gems of historical fact. Very few writers have the skill of Jane Austen in presenting their histories and their opinions. Nevertheless it is remarkably rewarding to glimpse the lives of those long gone, through their own words.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

N.B. Most of the books noted above are available from Google Books, or can be purchased in a print edition. A web search or a Google Books search will bring them to hand quicker than my recounting of web addresses! Please contact me if you have trouble locating any of these items. 

Regency Education Part 1 - The Governess

"There is nobody in the house with whom I can be on equal terms"

So spoke Ellen Weeton in her 'Journal of a Governess' and more than anything else, her statement delineates the chief difficulty of the governess' position.

The education of young girls, while sometimes involving young ladies' academies and the like (which I will discuss in future posts), was in the main left in the hands of 'the governess'. The governess was always a woman of gentle birth, with an acceptable level of education, good manners and a knowledge of society and its workings. She was also generally in reduced circumstances, in need of earning her own living.

The working day, which the governess laid out, often followed a pattern such as was illustrated in the 1809 publication "Ellinor: or The Young Governess" by Mrs. C. Mathews. "The morning after Ellinor's arrival at Selby-Grove, she commenced her task as governess. From seven to eight, the hour when the children were accustomed to take their breakfast, she appropriated to reading; the intervening time between that and dinner, was to be given to the study of French, the needle, etc.; the afternoon was dedicated to music; and the evening to rational amusement, instructive conversation, and healthful exercise."

The work day was long but not invariably unpleasant. Governesses were not always treated with the scorn and derision that literature leads us to believe. Some were treated as members of their employers' families, some were loved by their pupils, some lived with the same family their entire working life and were provided with a pension of some sort for their retirement.

"After questionings, and doubts, and anxieties, you come to the determination to teach, and you inquire after a situation; and here, again, you must be patient….It is very trying for some ladies to receive into their hourses those whom they feel to be in a reduced position; and they naturally prefer ladies who have been educated for the work of teaching, and who have all along kept this in view….On your first situation, and what it is to you, and you to it, depend mainly the comfort and success of your future career." These wise words were written by Emily Peart in "A Book for Governesses" one of the many guides to the profession available in the 1800s.

The education governesses provided their students was variable. Some were born teachers, some were only competent, others were poor educators and worse disciplinarians. The education of most Regency girls depended on the wisdom and perspicacity of their parents in choosing their governess. The governess' career depended--as the above quote indicates--on her own acuity.

The greatest challenge of the governess' life was apparently loneliness. However well-treated by their employers, they were not family. Neither were they considered servants for they were better born and bred than the servant class. Neither fish nor fowl they languished in a social vacuum, filling their off duty hours as best they could.

There was another class of governess--the daily governess--which may be a slightly later-than-Regency development. I am still researching the governess who called in each day at her employers' residence to provide education and guidance and returned to her own home in the evening. You might want to read my short story "Arithmetic and the Daily Governess" for a romantic view of the profession. If anyone has information on the daily governess, I would be interested in resources.

There are two general books on which I rely for information about governesses though they discuss the Victorian period more than the Regency or Georgian:

"The Governess: An Anthology" ed by Trev Boughton and Ruth Symes, 1997 Sutton Publishing Limited 0-7509-1503-X

"Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres" by Ruth Brandon, 2008 Walker Publishing Company 0-8027-1630-X

For Regency information, the following book has come to my attention. I'm looking forward to reading it.

"A governess in the age of Jane Austen: the Journals and letters of Agnes Porter" ed. by Joanna Martin, 2003, Hambledon & London 1-8528-5164-3

Next time we discuss Regency Education, we'll look at young ladies' academies,

Till then,
Lesley-Anne