Portrait of Captain Marryat in front of a naval battle

Michele Larrow, Regional Co-Coordinator

You never know what treasure you might find in a book recommendation from a fictional character. I was reading Christopher Morley’s charming 1917 novel, Parnassus on Wheels, about a book seller who travels in a large single-horse wagon to bring books to rural readers along the East Coast. The “Professor” Roger Mifflin, sells Parnassus to Helen McGill and talks about the pleasures of life on the road. On rainy days, he and his dog “would curl up in the bunk and smoke and read. I used to read aloud to Bock: we went through ‘Midshipman Easy’ together, and a good deal of Shakespeare. He’s a very bookish dog” (82). The title Midshipman Easy made me think of Austen’s midshipmen: William Price in Mansfield Park and Dick Musgrove in Persuasion. A quick internet search showed that Mr. Midshipman Easy was published in 1836 and was written by Captain Frederick Marryat, R.N., who started as a midshipman in the British Royal Navy in 1806, eventually ascended to the rank of post-captain, and published many novels in the 1830s and 1840s about life in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. It looked like I found my next project!

Captain Frederick Marryat

We have a wealth of information about Captain Marryat’s life from the Life and Letters of Captain Marryat (hereafter LL), written in 1872 by Florence Marryat, his daughter (see Illustration 1.1 for an engraving of Marryat based on an 1835 portrait). Frederick Marryat was born in 1792 to a large gentry family. His father was a member of Parliament. He had an unhappy childhood and ran away several times, finally getting his father’s permission to enter the navy as a midshipman in 1806 aboard HMS Impérieuse, a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate[i] captained by Lord Cochrane (Johnson xii-xiv). Marryat’s journals reveal that he admired Lord Cochrane greatly and “(his) daring gallantry and cool judgment are accredited to most of Marryat’s captains” (xiv). During his three years on the Impérieuse, Marryat was engaged in the Mediterranean and was wounded three times (LL Vol I 53). Excerpts from his journals from the period 1807-08 (LL Vol I 47-48, see illustration 1.2 and 1.3) show how active the frigate was against both merchant and enemy ships, how often men were injured, and how they fought both on land (in attacking coastal gun batteries and signal posts) and at sea. Marryat earned a commendation from his first lieutenant for his bravery in the 1809 Battle of Basque Roads (LL Vol I 66-7; Illustration 1.4 is a painting of the ship in the battle). In 1812 he became a lieutenant and “his cruises were uneventful”, although he had several injuries (Johnson xvi). He became a Commander in 1815 (at 23; LL Vol I 78). He “has sailed in the North Sea, in the Channel, in the Mediterranean, and along the East Coast of America from Nova Scotia to Surinam” (Johnson xvii). Over the course of his service, starting when a midshipman, there were 27 commendations for when Marryat “attempted to save the lives of others at the risk of his own” (LL Vol I 75). For Johnson, “It is tolerably obvious that, both as midshipman and lieutenant, he evinced the cool daring and manly independence that characterises his heroes” (xvii).

After the peace of 1815, Marryat left the navy for a couple of years. During that period, the “code of signals for the use of all merchant vessels of all nations” was developed and brought into use in several countries, for which he was thanked in 1817 by the shipowners society (LL Vol I 80). In 1819 he married, was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and returned to the navy to command a sloop later that year (LL Vol I 79-80). Marryat’s ship was assigned to patrol the waters around St. Helena, where Napoleon was in exile. He was there for Napoleon’s funeral, and drew his body lying on his deathbed, which was published as an engraving when he returned to England soon after (LL Vol I 83-85). Marryat’s first publication was in 1822, a pamphlet arguing against impressment, the naval practice of taking men against their will to work as seamen. In the 1820s he saw service in Burma and commanded the Larne and then the Ariadne. He was promoted to post-captain and awarded the Order of Companion of the Bath in early 1827 in recognition for his service (LL Vol I, 150). He left active service in 1830 to focus on his writing, already having had some success with his 1829 novel, Adventures of a Naval Officer, or Frank Mildmay. Marryat wrote that his first novel, Frank Mildmay, has a fictional hero and heroine but that “the work in itself is materially true, especially in the narrative of sea adventure, most of which did (to the best of our recollection) occur to the author” (LL Vol I, 198-199). His other books are “wholly fictitious in characters, in plots, and in events” (LL Vol I, 200) but full of real naval detail. Writing for financial reasons to support his large family and his expensive spending habits (Johnson xxiv), he produced several more novels, including some children’s books, in the late 1840s (see Illustration 1.5 for a list of all his publications). He traveled in Europe and America in the 1830s and 1840s, writing about his American adventures. He died at home in 1848 after a period of ill health (xxix-xxx).

Illustration Set 1

The Works of Frederick Marryat

Marryat’s works were popular and reprinted many times in the 1800s and into the 1900s in both Britain and the United States. Several of the novels had been first serialized in the magazine Marryat edited from 1832 to 1835, The Metropolitan Magazine (Johnson xix). In the early 1840s, Marryat was attacked for publishing other works serially in newspapers and he said he would rather “write for the instruction, or even the amusement of the poor, than for the amusement of the rich” (LL, Vol II 105). His admirers included Joseph Conrad for his “youthful glamour and headlong vitality” (1919, quoted in Southam 34); Washington Irving, who wrote to Marryat in 1830 that he finds his “chivalry of the ocean quite a new region of fiction and romance” (LL Vol I 160-1); William Makepeace Thackeray, who enjoyed reading “my dearly-beloved Jacob Faithful” while ill (quoted in LL Vol I 211; this was published in 1860 in his Roundabout Papers essay “De Finibus”); and Virginia Woolf, who celebrated his “power of drawing character” (44). In the 1830s and 1840s, he was friends with Charles Dickens and “a merry circle of literary Bohemia” (Johnson xxiv) who included novelist Lady Blessington, Harrison Ainsworth, Clarkson Stanfield, and George Cruikshank and “many others of equal celebrity” (LL Vol II 114). Captain Marryat’s Novels were re-published by two publishers in 1896: the J. M. Dent edition editor R. Brimley Johnson chose Peter Simple as the first volume and W. L. Courtney highlights both Peter Simple and Mr. Midshipman Easy as excellent works in his introduction to the Peter Simple Routledge edition. This blog will focus on those two novels and how the early nineteenth century naval life Marryat wrote of gives the backstory for Austen’s naval characters. [Note: there are plot spoilers ahead.]

Peter Simple (1834)

Peter Simple is a long novel (450-600 pages depending on the edition) that tells the story of Peter from his entry in the navy as a midshipman at 14 to his becoming a captain in adulthood. His grandfather is a rich and politically powerful Viscount, but Peter’s father is the neglected youngest son who is an unhappy and financially strapped clergyman. At the beginning of the story, Peter is naïve, gullible, and slow-witted but he has good qualities such as being honest, compassionate, and honorable; he is inherently a gentleman. Over the course of the book, Peter serves under several captains: his first, Captain Savage, is skilled at managing the frigate Diomede (50 guns, fourth rate)[ii] and is a good leader. Many of the other captains he serves under have comical flaws (Captain Kearney, a liar; the indolent Captain Horton, “the Sloth”; and Captain To, who is managed by his wife, on board; eats only pork; and raises pigs onboard). As a midshipman, Peter is mentored by Terrence O’Brien, an Irish master’s mate, who teaches Peter all about naval life and the how a ship runs. Peter helps O’Brien get promoted to lieutenant through Captain Savage and the admiral after he saved Peter’s life when Peter was wounded by the French. When Peter and O’Brien are taken prisoner, Peter meets his love-interest, Celeste and her honorable father, an Irishman who is a high-ranking French officer and lets Peter and O’Brien stay with them while Peter heals. As French prisoners, Peter and O’Brien are moved around quite a bit and eventually they escape from a French prison (see Illustration 2.1), cross France into the Netherlands, follow the Scheldt to the North Sea, and find a British cutter to take them back to England.

O’Brien and a few of the other warrant officers teach and support Peter, share their stories, and try to protect Peter from harm and injustices. As an adult, Peter helps them as much as possible in their careers. Peter uses his family’s interest while his grandfather still lives to get a posting after they have been prisoners and later a promotion and posting for himself and O’Brien after Peter passed his lieutenant’s exam. O’Brien and Peter work as Commander and second lieutenant on the sloop Rattlesnake (16 guns[iii]) and have success during their time together. Peter’s uncle inherits the title when his grandfather dies and throughout the rest of the story, he seeks to cheat Peter out of being the heir to the title after he dies (since the uncle does not have a legitimate son). Peter is forced to separate from O’Brien’s protection through his uncle’s machinations, and he is put on a ship as first lieutenant with Captain Hawkins, who is a poor leader with no combat experience and, unknown to Peter, is the illegitimate son of his uncle. Peter goes through many hardships, including a court martial brought by Captain Hawkins, an attack by highwaymen, and long imprisonment in Bedlam (instigated by his uncle) until he is released through the intervention of friends. When his uncle and the fake heir die unexpectedly, Peter inherits the title, marries Celeste, and returns to the navy as a post-captain at the request of the First Lord of the Admiralty. O’Brien also prospers as a captain, kills Captain Hawkins in a duel, and marries Peter’s sister.

Mr. Midshipman Easy (1836)

And thus was our hero educated until he arrived at the age of sixteen, when he was a stout, good-looking boy, with plenty to say for himself,—indeed, when it suited his purpose, he could out-talk his father.” (Captain Frederick Marryat, Mr. Midshipman Easy 27)

Jack Easy is the only son of an eccentric wealthy man and his wife who has been raised with much indulgence. A family friend convinces his father to put Jack in school and then the Royal Navy, and he is a midshipman on board the Harpy, a 16-gun sloop[iv] commanded by Captain Wilson, a distant relation to whom his father has loaned a significant amount of money on very generous terms. Jack, like his father, is a “philosopher” who believes in the equality of man and who will argue a point with anyone. He must learn how a hierarchy works in the Navy and how to apply himself. Jack is charming and makes friends easily, especially since he is generous with his money. He forms a close relationship with another midshipman, Ned Gascoigne; and they have many adventures. He also has several enemies on board because he challenges bullies and his wealth is resented. He is challenged to a duel by the boatswain and the purser’s steward, who both dislike him, and a three-way duel/farce ensues where Jack is the only one to escape unscathed. Jack refuses a humiliating punishment of mast-heading given by the master for no reason except dislike, but the captain convinces him that he must obey a bad order if it is from a superior and then complain to the captain later. Jack agrees to the punishment to set a good example for the crew and the captain later chastises the master. Jack is brave and spirited takes many risks in service of his country.

Jack’s most interesting relationship is with Mesty (his nickname given by British sailors), an Ashantee warrior prince from Africa who escaped enslavement in America, went to England on a merchant ship, and then joined the British navy. Jack treats Mesty as an equal and is much loved by him. Mesty’s talents are wasted as a servant on the ship, and he teaches Jack all he has learned about all aspects of running a ship and naval warfare. With Mesty’s guidance, Jack captures a Spanish merchant vessel after he has ignored orders to return to the sloop after the boats attacked a convoy. Jack loses contact with his ship and the ship’s thinks they are all dead. The sailors in Jack’s charge leave the captured ship with the cutter to go to a deserted island and enjoy the spoils from the prize, essentially in mutiny. Jack and Mesty must wait in the captured vessel because there is no crew to sail her and Jack learns Spanish over the two months from a Spanish sailor. Eventually, some of the men return to the merchant vessel and Jack is able to find the Harpy. He is forgiven his disobedience because of the treasure on the vessel, which brings prize money for the ship’s crew. Jack both encourages the captain to promote Mesty, who becomes a corporal onboard, and seeks to soften the punishment for the mutinous sailors. When Jack took that Spanish merchant ship, he met a young woman, Agnes, who is headed to her family in Italy and later he and Gascoigne save her family members from attack at their home in Italy. Jack’s relationship with the family is blocked by an evil friar, who later tries to kill Mesty but is killed by him. Eventually, Jack returns to England when his father is reported to be mad and leaves the navy (still a midshipman), much to the disappointment of his naval superiors. After Jack inherits the family estate, Jack and Mesty head back to Italy in a ship as registered English privateers with a hired crew to bring back his fiancée and her brothers. In England, the couple are married after Agnes becomes a protestant and Jack settles down to run his estate with Mesty as his major domo. Jack becomes a Conservative member of parliament, having eschewed his earlier beliefs in equality for all.

Illustration Set 2

2.1 Peter and O’Brien Escaping a French Prison

Marryat’s Works Give the Backstory for Austen’s Naval Characters

“You have difficulties, and privations, and dangers enough to struggle with. You are always labouring and toiling, exposed to every risk and hardship. Your home, country, friends all quitted. Neither time, nor health, nor life to be called your own.” (Jane Austen, Persuasion 254)

Anne’s passionate acknowledgment to Captain Harville of her awareness of the risks of naval life helps convince the overhearing Captain Wentworth to write his declaration of love. Captain Marryat’s novels provide present-day readers with a detailed backstory for the “difficulties, and privations, and dangers” of navy life alluded to by the naval characters in Persuasion and Mansfield Park. Over his naval career, Marryat anchored in most of the English sea ports, visited the foreign stations, and fought in the seas and oceans that are mentioned in Austen’s two naval novels, and he takes his characters to those same places (LL Vol I passim). He gives multiple examples about what it was like for British navy ships to take merchant vessels, privateers, and enemy ships, including the use of smaller boats from the main ship. He explores the importance of prize money to all the ship’s company, the role of “interest” in promotion, and gives the details of Peter Simple’s lieutenant’s exam. He shows the danger of a tropical climate and disease to crew members and dramatizes the challenges of managing a ship in a gale or other extreme weather. Marryat novels provide a detailed account of the dangers, heroism, comradery, and infighting that existed in the British navy that Austen’s characters would have known.

Important Naval Locations

English Naval Ports

Persuasion abounds in the mention of English ports: the Sound off Plymouth, on the southwest coast, is where Captain Wentworth anchors on return from the West Indies (P 71; note 6 on p. 356: the Sound is unprotected from winds), Deal (P 77 where Mrs. Croft stays when Captain Croft is in the North Seas; note 16 on p. 358: a working port in SE England), and North Yarmouth (P 99; note 12 on p. 361: Greater Yarmouth naval base on the Norfolk coast for the North Sea and Baltic Fleets). Captain Wentworth travels from Plymouth to Portsmouth to console Captain Benwick after his fiancée’s death (P 116; a distance previously noted to be 175 miles note 13 on page 357). Portsmouth is more fully detailed in Mansfield Park Chapters 7 to 15 of Vol. III, and its importance as the fortified headquarters of the British Navy (MP, 720 note 4) is revealed in many ways. We learn that it is “a sad place” unsafe for women to walk unaccompanied (466), take a tour the large dock yard with Henry Crawford and Fanny (Vol III, Chapter 10), and hear about the preparation for leaving and launch of William’s new ship (Vol III, Chapter 7). In Peter Simple, Peter begins his career at Portsmouth as a naïve midshipman: he is solicited by a prostitute and unwittingly makes a date to see her later (Chap IV), is cheated out of money (Chap IV), and is attacked by a group of seamen’s wives when he is part of a pressgang crew trying to impress their husbands into naval service with a few marines (Chap X). Peter is based at Yarmouth when he is on convoy duty in the Baltic Sea (PS Chap LV-LVII). In Plymouth, the ships in Peter’s convoy that are headed to the West Indies wait until all ships are ready to sail and Captain Savage exchanges ships with Captain To, who fears the climate (228). Jack Easy starts his naval career at Portsmouth also, first living the high life in one of the hotels for three weeks until his captain directs the first lieutenant to hunt him down (MME Chap VIII). The Portsmouth chapters in Peter Simple might be an homage to the Portsmouth chapters of Mansfield Park, since Marryat was an Austen fan (LL Vol I 199).

Foreign Stations and Ports

Mrs. Croft tells Mrs. Musgrove that she has been to Cork (P 76; station for the Irish squadron, note 15, 357), Lisbon (base for the Mediterranean fleet, ibid) and Gibraltar (70; Royal Naval base at the entrance to the Mediterranean, note 8, 356) as well as Bermuda and the Bahamas (both British colonies off the coast of the Southern United States; Bermuda had a Royal Naval station ibid, 356-7). We know that William Price has been to Gibraltar (MP 274) and Sicily, where he gets Fanny’s amber cross (MP 295; note 1, 706 Sicily was a nodal naval base). In Mr. Midshipman Easy, the crew heads to Gibraltar to bring in prizes to the admiral there, and they have a two-week rest at Gibraltar (Chap XVII). Peter’s ship stays at Gibraltar for three weeks while the ship is “stripped to refit” the rigging, painted, and cleaned (PS 125) and Peter gets to go onshore after he has helped with all the onboard work for several days (Chap XVI). Jack Easy goes to Sicily without permission with another midshipman who speaks Italian after he was involved in a duel and there meets Agnes, his love interest whom he earlier released from a merchant ship he captured, and is feted by her family (MME Chap. XVII-XVIII). He also goes with his ship to Sicily to deliver dispatches and is given leave to visit Agnes and help defend her family from a planned attack (MME Chap XXX) and later goes to deliver prizes (Chap XLI). Gibraltar and Sicily are the only two foreign stations mentioned in Marryat’s two novels that were mentioned in Austen’s works.

The Mediterranean, West Indies, and Atlantic Crossings

During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain was fighting the war in many areas and not just against the French. Captain Wentworth was in the Battle of St Domingo (P 28; off present day San Domingo), went to the West Indies and back in the Asp (70), cruises off the Western Islands (72 now called the Azores note 10, 356) and also served in the Mediterranean (72). Admiral Croft was in the Battle of Trafalgar and served in the East Indies (24; note 10, 346 East Indies could apply to India, South-East Asia, Indonesia, or the Philippines). As a midshipman, William Price has been “in the Mediterranean—in the West Indies–in the Mediterranean again” (MP 275). Both Peter Simple and Mr. Midshipman Easy serve in the Mediterranean and the island of Malta, off Italy, is the naval port visited most often by Jack’s ship, although the admiral is in Gibraltar (according to Fulford, Malta was recently taken by the British from the French in 1802, 179). Jack becomes friends with the British Governor of Malta and frequently visits to tell of his adventures on land and sea. In the West Indies, Peter Simple’s ship is based at Barbados, a British colony where the crew spends time on land and get to know the local people some (Chapter XXXI and Chap XLIII). Their ship is sent to engage in battles off Martinique (a French colony) and St. Thomas (a Danish colony) and even carries dispatches up to Halifax in Canada (Chap XXXVI ), where Austen’s brother Charles was stationed and Marryat visited too in 1811 (Southam 34-35). While Jack Easy’s naval service occurs mainly in the Mediterranean, Peter Simple visited almost every area of naval action that is mentioned by Austen during his long time in the service.

Naval Action during War

Fleet Battles

Captain Wentworth was made commander after the Battle of St. Domingo (P 28) while Admiral Croft was in the Battle of Trafalgar (24). The only large naval battle mentioned in Marryat’s two works is when the quarter-master Swinburn tells Peter about the Battle of St. Vincent (which happened off the coast of Spain in 1797) when he was on a ship with Nelson (PS Chap 33 and 35). Perhaps Marryat did not choose to portray battles directly due to the complexity of representing the combat that would have occurred.

Ship to Ship Combat

Captain Wentworth mentions battling a French frigate coming back from the West Indies in his sloop the Asp (a smaller ship than a frigate in terms of guns) and implies that his ship had significant damage (“our touch with the Great Nation not having much improved our condition” P 71). Peter Simple has an example of how large ships would fight each other guns to guns at close range and these fights usually had many wounded and killed and damage to the ships (PS Chapter 55 against a Dutch brig). In Mr. Midshipman Easy, the Aurora (28 guns sixth-rate frigate[v]) takes on a Russian frigate at dusk into night off Corsica, where the ships broadside each other with cannons several times, resulting in the Aurora knocking over the mast of the Russian ship (273). When the Aurora rams the Russian ship, the British crew, including the captain, boards for hand-to-hand combat and they eventually take the ship, with a loss of 65 British and 200 Russian seamen and officers (MME Chapter XXIX).

Boats Attacking Enemy Ships

In Persuasion, Captain Wentworth mentions capturing “privateers enough to be very entertaining” (71) in the West Indies but does not detail how they did it. Privateers were ships were registered by a combatant country that were licensed to take enemy ships; in wartime, the British ships would attack enemy ships, privateers registered with enemy countries, or merchant vessels sailing under enemy flags. In Peter Simple, there is a detailed example of a “cutting-out expedition” (PS 280), where the frigate’s smaller boats (a launch, two cutters and a yawl 282) commanded by the boatswain, master, first lieutenant, and master’s mate (283-4) were sent out with a “fighting boats’ crew, which are selected from the very best men on board” (282) to take a privateer anchored in the bay off Danish-held St-Thomas by stealth, during the day when most of the crew was thought to be off the ship. The British boats faced gun fire from batteries on shore, fire from the Danish privateer crew on the brig and in smaller boats returning from shore, and bayonet and cutlass wounds from hand-to-hand combat when they land on the brig, resulting in several seamen wounded British (and a possible death of a severely wounded man who asked to be left behind) and the loss of the captured brig due to French cannon fire sinking it (PS, Chap XXXIII). When Jack and his cutter crew help attack a French ship, the first British cutter is sunk from French cannon fire, and then there is a great explosion from ammunition on the French ship after a pistol shot sets it off (see Illustration 2.2). Jack’s decision to have his crew wait to board allows them to save the other boat’s crew. (MME Chap XXII). Another use of smaller boat crews is to attack enemy gun batteries on the coast, a highly dangerous action. Peter Simple is wounded and the armourer is killed when their cutter crew attacks a French battery on the south coast of France. O’Brien refuses to leave the battery until he finishes spiking of the guns (driving a long nail into the cannon so the fuse cannot light, see Illustration 2.3) and can save Peter, but he and Peter are taken prisoner (PS Chapter XVIII). ). I have summarized just a few examples of the different types of naval action that Jack and Peter experience; these examples correspond well to the logs that Marryat kept as a midshipman (see Illustration 1.2 and 1.3), suggesting that Marryat’s novels are a realistic representation of what naval warfare was like in the Napoleonic Wars.

Promotion, Prize Money, and the Role of Interest

Prize Money and Promotion

Captain Wentworth was promoted from a first lieutenant to a commander after a battle in 1806 and has at some point been promoted to captain and given command of a frigate, the Laconia, and has made at least £20,000 in prize money during the war (P 28, 55, 81) For prize money, “the value of a captured vessels and its cargo was distributed to the crew of the ship that captured her, in a graduated scale from the captain downwards” (MP 719, note 1). Specific amounts of prize money are not mentioned in Marryat’s two novels, but like William Price’s goal to share his prize money as a lieutenant with his family at Portsmouth and save for a cottage with Fanny when out of the navy (MP 433). Peter and O’Brien send their prize money home and plan to support Peter’s sister after her father dies as both families are financially insecure (PS 97, 390). Getting a promotion to a higher rank meant a higher percentage of a ship’s prize money and a higher level of responsibility on the ship. Once the rank of first lieutenant is reached, promotion to commander and post-captain can occur when openings occur on ships through death or sickness that results in someone leaving service or by meritorious service, especially in battle or through prize money. After Captain Savage dies of accidental copper poisoning, First Lieutenant Falcon is promoted to commander, and the Admiral shuffles a few other officers to get a more experienced captain onto the frigate and Falcon onto a sloop (PS Chap XXX-XXXI). Captain Wilson is promoted from commander to post-captain and posted to a frigate Aurora and First Lieutenant Sawbridge becomes a commander of the sloop Harpy after Jack’s capture of a merchant vessel with 14,000 dollars on board, a lucrative prize for his ship and the Admiral of that station (MME 108,135). There is almost a mutiny on board a ship near the end of Peter Simple because the crew has fought valiantly against a Dutch brig, with many British sailors killed and wounded, and Captain Hawkins, who has not had combat experience, refuses Peter’s advice to take the last step to capture the vessel and another British ship gets the capture and the prize money. The crew is very angry and voice their belief that the captain is not fit. Peter must defend the captain’s inaction to maintain order on the boat but is later brought up for a court martial by Captain Hawkins (Chap LV). Marryat shows that all the ships’ crews and the admiralty are motivated by prize money and it can plays great role in promotion.

Becoming a Lieutenant

In Mansfield Park, William Price appears to have already passed his lieutenant’s exam but is unable to get a commission as a lieutenant (“that long thought of, dearly earned, and justly valued blessing of promotion” 273, also, 290 and note 19, page 705). Henry Crawford asks his uncle the Admiral to help, and William is promoted to become a second lieutenant and assigned to a ship. Once William is second lieutenant, he is already thinking about becoming a first lieutenant if the current first lieutenant is “out of the way” through action (MP 433). Peter Simple’s lieutenant exam takes place on a ship in Plymouth, the day after Peter has saved a drunk soldier who is drowning, ruining his only uniform. At his exam, the three captains review his logs and certificates, ask about navigation, seamanship, and one berates him for his attire. After learning through a newspaper that he was the person who saved a drowning man, the captains are kinder and ask if he knows how to club-haul a ship, which he does because he has witnessed Captain Savage do it. Peter passes and is told he is “a good seaman and a gallant young man” (Chapter XXXVIII 330-336).

The Role of Interest

At the start of Mansfield Park, Sir Thomas is described as having “interest” but as being unable to help Mr. Price due to his working for the Marines (4; note 6, page 641 defines interest as the power to obtain places or appointments through political clout”). When Sir Thomas hears that William has been invited to meet Henry’s uncle, Admiral Crawford, he is happy because “The Admiral he believed had interest” (MP 309). The Admiral writes to a friend who writes to the First Lord of the Admiralty and thus gets William’s commission to a sloop, the Thrush (346). In Persuasion, Admiral Croft tells Captain Wentworth that he was lucky to get a sloop after his promotion from lieutenant to commander and “with no more interest than his” (P 70). In Peter Simple, Peter asks his grandfather, Lord Privilege, to write to the First Lord after he and (newly promoted) Lieutenant O’Brien have escaped France to get them a new posting together and that letter succeeds (Chapter XXVI). When Peter gets a second letter from Lord Privilege to get his commission as lieutenant and O’Brien as a commander, his father tells him that his “grandfather’s interest was so great with the administration, that I might consider my promotion as certain” (Chapter XXXIX 343). Of course, interest can also result in the promotion of incompetent leaders, as Captain Horton (“The Sloth”) “was a young man of family who advanced rapidly in the service from interest” and his laziness made him occasionally seem brave and impervious to danger, such as walking rather than running from enemy fire. However, his laziness leads him to avoid any enemy engagement as a captain and the men on his ship do not like him (PS Chapter XXXVIII 324). Thus, in Marryat’s works, the political dimension of “interest” in naval promotions and ship assignments is clear; in Mr. Midshipman Easy, the political party is even named: “Gascoigne, by the interest of the Conservative member, soon attained the rank of post-captain” (MME 367).

Dangers of Weather, Climate, and Disease

Climate in Tropical Areas and Disease

In Mansfield Park, the “constant danger” Edmund says that Sir Thomas faces in going to Antigua probably includes the risk of disease in a tropical climate (147; note 22, 680 mentions both the danger of crossing the Atlantic and tropical disease). When Sir Thomas returns, he is “thinner and had the burnt, fagged, and worn look of fatigue and a hot climate” (208-209). In Peter Simple, there is a funny incident of the ship’s doctor and a few other officers using the dangers of a tropical climate to convince the ineffectual Captain To and his wife (the pig-raising and pork-eating couple) to swap for command of another ship when their ship has been ordered to the West Indies, focusing especially on Captain To’s high chance of death due to his heavy weight in a hot climate, that eating pork produces fatal dysentery in the tropics, and the risk of yellow fever (Chap XXVII, especially 225-7). Later in the novel, Captain Kearney suffers the “insidious attacks of a hot climate” in the West Indies and his “constitution appeared now to be breaking up” (316) by the time they get to Halifax with dispatches, where he dies after a few weeks (Chap XXXVII). In the Mediterranean, Jack’s ship has several cases of dysentery, which reduces the number of officers available for commanding the smaller boats and gives Jack a chance at a command of a cutter when they attack a convoy (MME Chap XIII). Scurvy is only mentioned in these two novels as something to be prevented with fresh food: after orders from the Admiral at Port Mahon, Jack is sent by his captain to Tetuan in Morocco on a mission to get bullocks “to drive the scurvy out of the Toulon fleet” (MME 224; Chap XXIII-XXIV). Marryat shows the very real risks of a tropical climate and disease that are a part of British naval life.

Extreme Weather

Captain Wentworth said he never had bad weather in the Asp until he returned to Plymouth, where he experienced a gale lasting four days when he was in the Sound that would have destroyed the ship if he had been out in the ocean. (P 70). In Mr. Midshipman Easy, the crew experiences a gale at sea with a lightning strike to the mast of the ship that destroys the mast and starts a fire in the coal hold. Jack helps to fight the fire, and the crew must prepare “jury-masts and jury-rigging” until they can get to a harbor to make repairs (MME Chap XXV-XXVI 246, see illustration 2.4). In one of the most exciting chapters of Peter Simple, there is a gale when the ship is near land and Captain Savage commands his crew to use a club-haul (dropping a temporary anchor and then releasing it) to avoid running aground on rocks and later expertly directs the control of the sails and the wheel in fierce wind to get the ship around a point of land, saving his crew from death from being dashed on rocks in both instances. While in the Caribbean, Peter faces a hurricane in a smaller boat with a crew rowing when they had been sent to capture prizes. Several of the crew are killed and some injured, including Peter, as the boat is thrown against the rocks on the French-held island of Martinique, where General O’Brien, Celeste’s father, is in charge. After Peter and his remaining crew help to look for survivors in wrecked buildings on Martinique, the British crew is patched up and allowed to return to their ship (PS Chaps. XLVII-XLIX).

Summary: Marryat Dramatizes Austen’s Allusions to the Danger, Heroism, Brotherhood, and Infighting of the Navy

Marryat’s works bring to life several aspects of the navy that Austen alluded to: the danger, heroism, brotherhood, and infighting. William Price has seen “every variety of danger, which sea and war together could offer” and had “the glory of heroism, of usefulness, of exertion, of endurance” (MP 275). In Persuasion, Captain Harville has “never had been in good health since a severe wound he had received two years before” and later is described as “a little lame” (P 101,105). Peter Simple and Mr. Midshipman Easy are full of instances of death or injury to the ship crews in naval combat, as discussed in the Naval Action section. Peter is shot in the leg by the French (PS Chap XVIII) and Jack Easy receives a cutlass wound in the fight to take the Russian frigate (MME Chap XXIX). Marryat also shows the dangers from bad weather, tropical climates, or disease and random hazards (such as the copper poisoning that killed Captain Savage in Peter Simple). As the novel plot summaries show, Marryat celebrates the joy and spirit of most of the sailors and officers getting ready for a naval battle or other missions and there are many examples of bravery and heroism. Like William Price, Jack and Peter are eager to learn naval skills from more experienced sailors and officers and to develop their leadership potential. The brotherhood of the navy that Austen shows in the relationship between Captain Harville, Captain Benwick, and Captain Wentworth in Persuasion is also shown with Jack and Peter’s ability to form strong relationships with their superior officers who mentor them and fellow midshipmen when they are friendly. Finally, Mary Crawford speaks of the “bickerings and jealousy” (MP 71) of the Admirals around Admiral Crawford (her uncle) and, when walking in Bath with Anne, Admiral Croft calls Admiral Brand and his brother “Shabby fellows . . . [t]hey played me a pitiful trick once–got away some of my best men” (P 184). Both Jack and Peter face many instances of peers or superiors acting from jealousy or dislike who seek to manipulate, unjustly punish, or thwart them. Marryat’s naval protagonists and Austen’s naval characters face the same dangers and share a similar heroism in serving their country and experience both friendship and rivalry among their naval comrades.

Captain Frederick Marryat and Jane Austen as Authors

The ‘Naval Officer,’ when ‘corrected,’ will be so improved that he may be permitted to stand on the same shelf with ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Sense and Sensibility’.” (Frederick Marryat, quoted in Florence Marryat LL Vol I 199)

As the quotation above shows, Marryat was a fan of Jane Austen’s work and sought to connect with her as an author. Most critics recognize that his skill as a writer does not approach hers in terms of plot, dialogue or narrative (see Woolf, Courtney, Johnson, and Southam). I find his plots when the characters are on land often unrealistic and sensationalized—for example, the murderous clergy, imprisonment in Bedlam, and repeated unlikely coincidences, with some last-minute saves that are truly unbelievable, everything that Austen mocked in her juvenilia. Reflecting English imperialism of his time, Marryat sometimes writes about other cultures with insensitivity (Fulford194; PS, Chap XXXI). The world he portrays is almost all men, with a few worrying mothers or insipid love-interests in the background. However, his descriptions of life on ship and what an officer or a sailor does feels real–“the world of 1806 is real to us and ordinary” (Woolf 42). His naval characters are “drawn vigorously, decisively, from the living face” (43). Virginia Woolf connects his fictional world to Austen’s world:

“he can create a world; he has the power to set us in the midst of ships and men and sea and sky all vivid, credible, authentic, as we are made suddenly aware when Peter [Simple] quotes a letter from home and the other side of the scene appears; the solid land, England, the England of Jane Austen, with its parsonages, its country house, its young women staying at home, its young men gone to sea; and for a moment, the two worlds, that are so opposite and yet so closely allied, come together.” (Virginia Woolf 44)

Fulford links Austen and Marryat to the works of Southey in his Life of Nelson (1813) and Coleridge in his Life of Sir Alexander Bell (1809) as promoting “models of British manliness on which a stable domestic society could be founded”, with officers as “the embodiment of the virtues necessary for command . . . such as patriotism, self-reliance, courage, paternalism, and, above all, attentiveness to duty” (187, 162). Compared to the three male authors, though, Austen “created positive models of femininity” in the “practicality, adaptability, and cheerful self-reliance” of Mrs. Croft and Anne Elliot’s focus on healthy morality and social usefulness (187-188). Despite his limitations, Captain Marryat does a wonderful job of creating a realistic and technically-detailed representation of life in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars that helps modern Austen fans understand what Captain Wentworth, William Price, and the rest of Austen’s naval characters experienced on board a ship. I hope you will give his books a read!

Notes

[i] The website threedecks.org has a search feature for ships that tell the type of ship, number of guns, and class if rated. The Impérieuse was a 38-gun, fifth-rate frigate from 1804 to 1838. https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=ships_search

[ii] Jane Austen used fake names for the ships that were sailed in by her characters except for the ships anchored at Spithead near the Thrush in Mansfield Park, which were ships commanded by her brothers (MP 439, note 13, page 721). Marryat used real ship names for the British Navy ships in his novels. The Diomede, a fourth-rate frigate, had 50 guns during the period 1798-1815. https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=ships_search Frigates would be sixth rate (20-28 guns), fifth rate (30-44 guns), fourth rate (50-60 guns from 1801 on), third rate (64 to 84 guns from 1801 on), second rate (90-98 guns from 1782 on), and first rate (100-120 guns from 1802 on), https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=ship_rates

[iii]The Rattlesnake sloop, unrated, had 16 guns 1791-1814. Sloops were unrated and usually had between 10 to 22 guns during the period 1803-1807. https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=ships_search.

[iv] The Harpy sloop, unrated, had 16 guns 1796-1817 ibid.

[v] The Aurora, a sixth-rate frigate, had 28 guns 1777 to 1814 ibid.

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

1.1 Crickmore, H. Portrait of Frederick Marryat. In Marryat, Frederick. The Novels of Captain Marryat: Volume First: Peter Simple. United Kingdom, J.M. Dent, 1896, frontispiece. This was etched from a print published in 1836 by Henry Colburn based on the oil portrait by John Simpson in 1835 in the National Portrait Gallery (UK), note p. x. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Peter_Simple/k0o1AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

1.2 Marryat’s log for 1807 in Marryat, Florence. Life and Letters of Captain Marryat. London: R. Bentley & Son, 1872. Vol. I, p 47. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/wwc3AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 (Digitized by the U. of California).

1.3 Marryat’s log for 1808 in ibid., p. 48.

1.4 Whitcombe, Thomas. Destruction of the French Fleet in Basque Roads – April 12th 1809 (detail). 1817. HMS Imperieuse (right) engages the grounded French ships. Thomas Whitcombe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basques_Road-Thomas_Whitcombe-217057.JPG

1.5 “List of Marryat’s Works”. In Marryat, Frederick. The Novels of Captain Marryat: Volume First: Peter Simple. United Kingdom, J.M. Dent, 1896, p. ix. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Peter_Simple/k0o1AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

2.1 Wheeler, E. J. “Escaping from the French prison”. In Marryat, Frederick. Captain Marryat’s Novels: Peter Simple United Kingdom, Routledge, 1896, between pp. 156 and 157. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Captain_Marryat_s_novels/kWGh1xrVgvUC?hl=en&gbpv=0

2.2 Unknown. “Their eyes directed to the volumes of smoke which poured through the ports”. In Marryat, Frederick, Mr. Midshipman Easy New York, Century Co., 1906, frontispiece. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mr_Midshipman_Easy/k-5GlEzJtlsC?hl=en&gbpv=0

2.3 Unknown. “Easy and Gascoigne went down with large bundles in their arms” in ibid, p. 244.

2.4 Wheeler, E. J. “O’Brien spiking the guns”. In Marryat, Frederick. Captain Marryat’s Novels: Peter Simple United Kingdom, Routledge, 1896, between pp. 130 and 131. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Captain_Marryat_s_novels/kWGh1xrVgvUC?hl=en&gbpv=0

WORKS CITED

Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. Ed. John Wiltshire. Cambridge: CUP, 2005.

____. Persuasion. Eds. Janet Todd & Antje Blank. Cambridge: CUP, 2006

Courtney, W. L. “Introduction” in Marryat, Frederick. Captain Marryat’s Novels: Peter Simple United Kingdom, Routledge, 1896. (Digitized by the Bavarian State Lib) https://www.google.com/books/edition/Captain_Marryat_s_novels/kWGh1xrVgvUC?hl=en&gbpv=0

Fulford, Tim. “Romanticizing the Empire: the naval heroes of Southey, Coleridge, Austen, and Marryat.” MLQ: Modern Language Quarterly 60.2 (1999): 161-196.

Johnson, R. Brimley “Frederick Marryat: Biographical Introduction” Marryat, Frederick. The Novels of Captain Marryat: Volume First: Peter Simple. United Kingdom, J.M. Dent, 1896 (Digitized by U of Michigan) https://www.google.com/books/edition/Peter_Simple/k0o1AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Marryat, Florence. Life and Letters of Captain Marryat. London: R. Bentley & Son, 1872. Vol. I: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/wwc3AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 (Digitized by the U. of California). Vol II: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ZbOfnBx4ckEC?hl=en&gbpv=0 (Digitized by the University of Michigan)

Marryat, Frederick. Captain Marryat’s Novels: Peter Simple. London: Routledge, 1896. (Digitized by the Bavarian State Lib) https://www.google.com/books/edition/Captain_Marryat_s_novels/kWGh1xrVgvUC?hl=en&gbpv=0

_______. Mr. Midshipman Easy New York: Century Co., 1906. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mr_Midshipman_Easy/k-5GlEzJtlsC?hl=en&gbpv=0

_______. The Novels of Captain Marryat: Volume First: Peter Simple. Ed. R. Brimley Johnson. London: J.M. Dent, 1896 (Digitized by U of Michigan) https://www.google.com/books/edition/Peter_Simple/k0o1AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Morley, Christopher. Parnassus on Wheels. New York: Modern Library, 1917/1925. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Parnassus_on_Wheels/8_1LAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 (Digitized by the U. of Chicago)

Southam, Brian. “Jane Austen and North America: Fact and Fiction.” Jane Austen and the North Atlantic. Ed. Sarah Emsley. Alton, U.K.: Jane Austen Society (2006): 22-37.

Woolf, Virginia. “The Captain’s Death Bed.” In The Captain’s Death Bed & Other Essays. London: Hogarth Press (1950): 39-48. (The essay was originally published in 1935).

© Michele Larrow, 2026. This blog was written without the use of AI.

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The Regency Shrubbery in Fine Weather

July 6, 2025July 21, 2025 jasnaewanidvirtual

Michele Larrow, Regional Co-Coordinator

“The gardens or pleasure grounds near a house may be considered as so many different apartments belonging to its state, its comfort, and its pleasure.” Humphry Repton, Fragments 165

Jane Austen would likely agree with Regency-era landscape gardener Humphry Repton that the gardens or pleasure grounds around the house are a source of comfort and pleasure; her heroines experience the beauty of nature and freedom to roam in the pleasure grounds near a house. During the Regency era, the pleasure grounds were part of the estate, typically near the house, that contained flower gardens and shrubberies, as well as ornamental woods with paths. The kitchen gardens, orchards, and greenhouses or hot houses usually were in a different location than the pleasure grounds, and also near the house (see our two previous blogs: The Donwell Abbey Kitchen Garden and Orchard and Mr. Darcy’s Fruit for further information). The park was a separate part of larger estates used for hunting and riding, which was often left in a more natural state. During the Georgian and Regency periods, shrubberies were important garden elements that were found even in smaller houses and cottages, such as Austen’s last home at Chawton Cottage. Shrubberies are mentioned in the six novels, in a couple of stories in the Juvenilia, and in Lady Susan (29 times for “shrubbery” and 9 times for “shrubberies”). This blog uses ten quotations from Austen’s works and letters to discuss five aspects of shrubberies and other elements of the Regency pleasure grounds.

A Note about the Austen Texts: The Cambridge Edition of the six novels is used for almost all references, except for Chapman’s Minor Works (MW) for Lady Susan and when Chapman’s chronology is consulted and then the Chapman edition Appendices are cited. As is standard, NA=Northanger Abbey, SS=Sense and Sensibility, PP=Pride and Prejudice, MP=Mansfield Park, E=Emma, and P=Persuasion. The full citation for each novel is listed in the Works Cited at the end of the blog.

A Note about Illustrations: In her works and letters, Austen mentions almost forty ornamental trees and shrubs that were planted in the shrubbery. On our website, I have previously catalogued Austen’s trees and shrubs with the relevant quotations that mention that shrub or tree and photographs of what the plants look like now (see Austen’s Trees and Shrubs A-K and Austen’s Trees and Shrubs L-Z). For the current blog, I collected Georgian and Regency-era botanical illustrations of all those plants, some of which are used in the header image (Illustration 1 in the Illustration Credits) and all of which are shown in Illustration 2 and 3. A separate Illustration Credits is available at Shrubbery Illustration Credits , and it includes links to the full-size botanical illustrations used here. All the botanical images used are in public domain.

Illustration 2 Trees and Shrubs Over 30 Feet and Illustration 3 Trees and Shrubs Under About 30 Feet

Section I What Did Shrubberies Look Like throughout the Year?

“Our young Piony at the foot of the Fir tree has just blown & looks very handsome; & the whole of the Shrubbery Border will soon be very gay with Pinks & Sweet Williams, in addition to the Columbines already in bloom. The Syringas too are coming out.” Jane Austen’s Letters, Wednesday 29 May 1811 from Chawton to Cassandra

“It was hot; and after walking some time over the gardens in a scattered, dispersed way, scarcely any three together, they insensibly followed one another to the delicious shade of a broad short avenue of limes, which stretching beyond the garden at an equal distance from the river, seemed the finish of the pleasure grounds.” Emma 390-391

In the novels, we do not get much detail about what a shrubbery looks like, although there is some sense of how extensive they are in different settings. In Austen’s letters, we get more information about the shrubs, trees, and flowers that grow in the shrubbery, as well as a sense of their dimensionality, as we see in the quotation above from Austen’s letter when living at Chawton. Shrubbery could be borders around a lawn or meadow (as at Henry Tilney’s parsonage, Woodston, where the shrubbery is “round two sides of a meadow” NA 221); clumps of shrubs and flowers on a grass lawn; or bigger plantings with serpentine paths through them on larger estates. Shrubberies were typically located near the house for easy access. [For example, Illustration 4-1, below, from Repton in 1816 of Cobham Hall, Kent, shows shrubberies (highlighted in green) interspersed in a large plantation of trees surrounding the house, and the kitchen garden (highlighted in purple) is located near the house, stables, and shrubbery].

Shrubberies were almost always planted in the “theatrical” manner, with shorter plants in front and taller plants behind, sometimes many rows deep (see the header illustration for an example.) For taller shrubs, increasing space was allowed between rows (and within the row between plants) and it was recommended to have about 10 feet or more between rows of trees (Loudon 1006-7), so that larger plants had space to grow. Thus, on large estates, the shrubbery border could be over sixty feet wide if there were ten rows with 6 rows of shrubs and 4 rows of trees. In 1779, James Meader created two illustrations of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and trees ranked in rows by height to tell planters where in the shrubbery to locate a specific plant (Illustration 4-2 and 4-3, below) and he includes almost every shrub and tree mentioned by Austen. I created two similar pictures in color using botanical illustrations for each of the trees and shrubs mentioned in Austen’s works and letters, grouped by height, in descending order (Illustration 2 Trees and Shrubs Over 30 Feet; Rows I, II, III and Illustration 3 Trees and Shrubs Under About 30 Feet; Rows IV, V, and VI, above). Table 1 (below) corresponds with Illustration 2 and 3 and lists all the trees and shrubs mentioned by Austen that are used for ornamental purposes in the pleasure grounds in order from tallest to shortest, along with details about the current scientific name, the works where Austen mentions the plant, whether it is deciduous or evergreen, the month and color of blooms (using English Regency-era or slightly later sources), and whether it is native to the UK or the year it was first imported.

Table 1 Ornamental Trees and Shrubs Mentioned in Austen’s Works

TreesShrubsJA Shrubbbery height Download

The shrubbery border could include herbaceous flowers in the front but often was just woody flowering shrubs and ornamental trees. Shrubberies were often planted in the “mingled” manner with a variety of colors, blooming times, and whether a plant was deciduous or evergreen (Loudon 1006). Similar to how kitchen gardens were planted, the aim for shrubberies was to have as many different varieties blooming and in leaf for the longest time. For very large shrubberies, Loudon (1006-1007) suggested varying the month of blooming (6: March to August), color of bloom (4: red, yellow, white, purple), and evergreen or deciduous alternated within each row of plants grouped by height, which results in as many as 48 different plants in one row, although typically evergreens would have to be repeated, since there are fewer evergreens compared to deciduous plants (by a 1 to 12 ratio according to Loudon). Plants could also be planted in the “massed” manner, where several plants of all one kind were grouped together, although still in graduated heights (see Illustration 4-4, below, from Loudon of various evergreens arranged to show a variety of colors of green and texture of foliage 1008). Laird notes that the front row of the shrubbery often included unusual imports or plants that were especially beautiful, noting how on Meader’s evergreen plantation there were taller exotics from North America and Southern Europe mixed in with the shorter evergreens: “Meader’s ranking of the various plants is more intelligible as an equation of height multiplied by either beauty or rarity, cost or singularity” (250).

To see what shrubberies looked like in Austen’s lifetime, pictures of Audley End House offer excellent examples (see Laird 341-4). Illustration 4-5 (below) is an image from William Watts’ The Seats of the Nobility and Gentry (1779; a book that also features Edward Austen’s home Godmersham Park and was in his library), which shows Audley End House in an engraving, with shrubbery and flower beds in the foreground. Audley End was built in the early 1600s in Saffron Walden, Essex and is also featured in a series of full color paintings by William Tomkins in 1788 that shows shrubbery and gardens in several of the pictures (these paintings are privately owned and can be accessed through this link: Art UK Tomkins Link). Click on each painting to see the image and then right click to see a larger image in another tab: Audley End from the Southwest shows acacia trees (black locust, which are mentioned in SS as discussed in Section II) on both sides of the view; Audley End, the Tea House Bridge shows a tea house overlooking water with shrubbery on the sides; Audley End, View from the Tea House Bridge shows more shrubbery, including orange trees in pots sunk into the shrubbery (see Section IV); Audley End and the Ring Hill Temple and Audley End and the Temple of Concord both show temples in the landscape (see Section IV).

Shrubberies were used year-round in the Regency, even Mr. Woodhouse takes his “three turns—my winter walk” (E 61). The walks in the shrubbery were often gravel or sand, or occasionally grass (see Loudon 1006) to ensure good drainage in rain or snow. Loudon recommends shrubbery walks of one to two miles for exercise, starting close to the house, and planting on one side for views, and using circuitous rather than straight lines (1005-6). Recall that when Sir Thomas sends Fanny to the shrubbery after Mr. Crawford’s rejected proposal, it is early January (MP Chapman Edition “The Chronology of Mansfield Park” 555). He tells her: “I advise you to go out: the air will do you good; go out for an hour on the gravel; you will have the shrubbery to yourself, and will be the better for air and exercise” (MP 371). In Northanger Abbey, after Catherine has been at the Abbey several days and when Henry is away, she became “tired of the woods and the shrubberies–always so smooth and so dry” (218) even though it is still winter. Landscape gardener Humphry Repton often included specific “winter garden[s]” that were in sheltered areas near the house as part of his plans for large estates (see Illustration 4.6 and 4.7 of Repton’s map for Ashridge, with a winter garden highlighted in green on Illustration 4.7. A color map from the Red Book for Ashridge shows the same areas labeled more clearly (see the Resources list at the bottom of the blog for “Hardy Plants and Plantings for Repton and Late Georgian Gardens [1780–1820]”; the Ashridge map is on page 23 of the PDF.) When shrubberies were planned, care was taken to be sure that at least some of them could be used in all seasons.

Illustration Set 4 Miscellaneous Shrubbery Prints

4.1 Repton’s “Map of Cobham Hall”, with shrubbery highlighted in green

In several of her letters to Cassandra, Austen focuses on what is blooming or fruiting in the garden, as in the letter above which mentions the “piony”. About half of the trees and shrubs mentioned by Austen bloomed in May in England (see Table 1), similar to the effusion of blooming that happens in May in Eastern Washington. In Emma, the characters seem to be especially attuned to the seasonal changes in nature: for example, in February, Emma wonders if the elder will be coming out soon, foretelling spring (E 203). When the Highbury folks go to Donwell Abbey “at almost Midsummer” (388) and walk to the avenue of lime trees, it is important to know that limes in England (called lindens in the United States) bloom right around the time of the strawberry picking party (June 23, see the Chapman Edition, “The Chronology of Emma” 497). At midsummer on a hot sunny day, lime trees would be a heady perfumed mass of yellow flowers surrounded by buzzing bees (Miller 174; see video 1). Emma’s use of the word “delicious shade” (390) for the avenue of limes reflects the full sensory experience of limes in bloom. When Emma has joined Mr. Knightley and Harriet in the lime avenue and “They took a few turns together along the walk.—The shade was most refreshing, and Emma found it the pleasantest part of the day” (392), Austen highlights the natural and emotional harmony available for Emma with Mr. Knightley at Donwell Abbey.

Video of Lindens surrounded by bees, taken early July at Lawson Gardens, Pullman, WA by Michele Larrow

Section II What Plants Were Valued in the Georgian and Regency Shrubbery?

Cleveland was a spacious, modern-built house, situated on a sloping lawn. It had no park, but the pleasure-grounds were tolerably extensive; and like every other place of the same degree of importance, it had its open shrubbery, and closer wood walk, a road of smooth gravel winding round a plantation, led to the front, the lawn was dotted over with timber, the house itself was under the guardianship of the fir, the mountain-ash, and the acacia, and a thick screen of them altogether, interspersed with tall Lombardy poplars, shut out the offices.” Sense and Sensibility 342-343.

“I am so glad to see the evergreens thrive!” said Fanny, in reply. “My uncle’s gardener always says the soil here is better than his own, and so it appears from the growth of the laurels and evergreens in general. The evergreen! How beautiful, how welcome, how wonderful the evergreen! When one thinks of it, how astonishing a variety of nature! In some countries we know the tree that sheds its leaf is the variety, but that does not make it less amazing that the same soil and the same sun should nurture plants differing in the first rule and law of their existence.” Mansfield Park 244

Fanny’s rhapsody on the common laurel (Prunus laurocerosus) makes sense in the context of the rarity of native evergreens in Britain and the frequent use of imported evergreens in the shrubbery. Marshall notes that laurel is “the stock plant in shrubberies and other ornamental grounds” (318) and is an import from around the Black Sea (311). Laurel is mentioned twice in Mansfield Park, at the Mansfield Parsonage (244) and in the wilderness at Southerton (106); Mrs. Elton notices the laurel at Hartfield “[s]o extremely like Maple Grove!” (E 294); and there is a laurel hedge at the Collins’ Hunsford parsonage (PP 176). According to Laird, there are seven native British evergreens: yew, holly, box, juniper, spurge laurel, butchers broom, and Scots pines (393, note 36). Four of these native evergreens are mentioned by Austen, sometimes connected with a garden: Mrs. Jennings mentions that there is an ”old yew arbour” at Delaford (SS 223) and in Mansfield Park, Henry Crawford mentions yews around a farm house when he was lost and stumbled on Edmund’s future parsonage (280); a holly branch helps to hide Anne in the hedgerow where she overhears Captain Wentworth talking to Louisa (P 95); Box Hill of Emma fame (399) is named after the “extensive plantations of box” (Marshall 91) that grow there; and the “thick grove of old Scotch firs” in Northanger Abbey that attract Catharine are Scots pines (183). Other evergreens that Austen mentions that were imported include spruce, fir, lavender, and myrtle (see Table 1). Evergreens were especially valued both for timber and for the year-round green color in the pleasure grounds.

Laird (especially 61-98) details the explosion of interest in England for American plants in the 1700s, especially flowering trees or shrubs that were also broadleaf evergreens, such as evergreen magnolias, rhododendrons, azaleas, and mountain laurel (kalmia). There is an Austen connection for the use of American exotics as Laird reports that nursery bills for James Leigh, the cousin of Jane Austen’s mother, at Adlestrop in 1762-63 show orders for many American exotics including rose acacia (Robinia hispida), Hydrangea, New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), Catalpa bignoniodes, a Magnolia grandiflora, and Rhododendron maximum (156-157). Jane and her family visited their family cousin the Rev. Thomas Leigh at Adlestrop Parsonage in 1806 after the improvements of Humphry Repton in 1799 at the parsonage and Adlestrop for Rev. Leigh and James Leigh’s son, James-Henry, who was the current owner of Adlestrop (Batey 81; Letters Biographical Index “Leigh families” 548-49) and these American exotics would be mature trees by then. Repton’s plan for the Ashridge gardens includes a Magnolia and American garden (Illustration 4.7, highlighted in purple, above). Harvey estimated that once a tree or shrub was imported to London or large estates, it would take about 20 years for the trees to get out to the smaller planters in the country. The acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia; sometimes also called false acacia) mentioned at the Cleveland estate in Sense and Sensibility was an import from America (where it is called black locust) which Abercrombie says does well in open plantings in England and was valued for its sweet smelling, pendulous blossoms (ROBINIA). The English also imported American maples such as the sugar maples and scarlet maples (Laird 86) that were much taller trees than the native English or field maple. I think that the maples at Mrs. Elton’s nouveau riche brother-in-law’s seat, Maple Grove, in Emma were the tall imports from America for the grandest effect. Marshall mentions many American varieties of English native trees that were also grown in the shrubbery and ornamental woods, such as American limes (or lindens, 413); oaks, including the evergreen live oak as well as the white, red, and black oaks (311); and many conifers, which were all classed as Pinus at that time, such as Weymouth or white pine, Newfoundland spruce fir, and Hemlock-fir (282-283). Laird examined bills from nurserymen for large estates and found in the mid to late 1700s that orders would include “large quantities of evergreen and flowering shrubs bought in bulk” (50-100 plants) such as laurels, hollies, lilacs, syringas, roses, laburnums, and honeysuckles among others and then “the very small quantities of special plants bought as curiosities”, which often included more expensive imports from America (152). Because America had a similar temperate climate to England in many parts of the America of the 1700s, trees and shrubs from America could be grown outdoors and did not need as much winter protection as did imports from more tropical locales.

Section III How Are Shrubberies Used in Austen’s Works?

“The weather continued much the same all the following morning; and the same loneliness, and the same melancholy, seemed to reign at Hartfield—but in the afternoon it cleared; the wind changed into a softer quarter; the clouds were carried off; the sun appeared; it was summer again. With all the eagerness which such a transition gives, Emma resolved to be out of doors as soon as possible. Never had the exquisite sight, smell, sensation of nature, tranquil, warm, and brilliant after a storm, been more attractive to her. She longed for the serenity they might gradually introduce; and on Mr. Perry’s coming in soon after dinner, with a disengaged hour to give her father, she lost no time in hurrying into the shrubbery.” Emma 462.

“Reginald is never easy unless we are by ourselves, and when the weather is tolerable, we pace the shrubbery for hours together.” Lady Susan, Letter 16 Lady Susan to Mrs Johnson MW 268

Shrubberies are places where characters go for outdoor exercise, for self-reflection and soothing, or to have the privacy to meet romantic partners or to discuss important personal events with family or friends. At Netherfield, Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley walk in the shrubbery without any romantic intent, at least on Mr. Darcy’s side, and he tries to accommodate both Elizabeth and Mrs. Hurst into the walk when they meet them, also out walking, on a narrow path (PP 57-58). Catherine and Eleanor enjoy walking in the shrubbery at Northanger Abbey (218). Even indolent or invalid characters enjoy their sheltered spaces–Mr. Woodhouse “never went beyond the shrubbery, where two divisions of the grounds sufficed him for his long walk, or his short, as the year varied” (E 25) and Lady Bertram tells Mr. Rushworth she likes to get “’out into a shrubbery in fine weather’” (MP 65).

Both Fanny and Emma use the shrubbery for reflection and to soothe themselves when troubled, and shrubberies afford them the privacy to have important conversations there with the men they will marry. When Emma is distressed about the possibility that Mr. Knightley will marry Harriet and tries to fully understand “the blindness of her own head and heart!—she sat still, she walked about, she tried her own room, she tried the shrubbery. . .” (E 448), and eventually she acknowledges her errors and realizes the depth of her love for Mr. Knightley. Fanny is eager to follow Sir Thomas’s advice to go to the shrubbery after he has berated her for rejecting Henry Crawford (MP 371). Later, she avoids walking alone in the shrubbery to avoid a scolding by Mary Crawford. who is angry that Fanny has rejected Henry (412). Edmund is sent by Sir Thomas to talk to Fanny in the shrubbery, and Edmund wants her to “open her heart to” him, to “have the comfort of communication” (399). Although Edmund does not understand the depths of Fanny’s distrust of Henry, he is aware of her feeling “oppressed and wearied” by their talk and takes her into the house (410). After the rupture with Mary caused by Maria’s elopement with Henry Crawford, Edmund recovers emotionally by “wandering about and sitting under trees with Fanny all the summer evenings” (535), and eventually he realizes that he loves her romantically. Both the heroes and the heroines can find solace with others in the shrubbery.

Shrubberies are especially associated with newly married couples and those getting engaged. In Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey, the parsonage where each heroine will ultimately live is described as having a young shrubbery about “half a year” old (NA 221) or of three years growth (from when the Grants moved into the parsonage; MP 243). The “project[ing of] shrubberies” is one of the activities of the newly married Elinor and Edward (SS 425). Shrubberies are also places where engaged lovers can have privacy, such as when Jane and Bingley escape to the shrubbery to avoid Lady Catherine (PP 389). Lady Susan and Reginald “pace the shrubbery for hours together” in Lady Susan, and Mrs. Vernon is aghast that it is often in view of Lady Susan’s daughter, whose bedroom overlooks the shrubbery (MW 268, 271). When Emma and Mr. Knightley walk together in the shrubbery after a rain shower in early July (probably July 8 based on the Chapman Edition’s Chronology of Emma 498), they might be enjoying the sight and smell of late June and early July Austen floral favorites such as lime tree blossoms, roses, honeysuckle, lavender, and syringa (Miller 200, 236). After Mr. Knightley consoles Emma for the loss of Frank Churchill, and Emma tries to promote his happiness, even though she imagines he will choose Harriet, they are able to resolve their misunderstandings and declare their love, on their way to “perfect happiness” (E 471).

Section IV Greenhouses and Other Architectural Elements of Pleasure Grounds

“. . .for here are some of my plants which Robert will leave out because the nights are so mild, and I know the end of it will be that we shall have a sudden change of weather, a hard frost setting in all at once, taking every body (at least Robert) by surprise and I will lose every one;” Mansfield Park 247-248

“Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.” “Go, my dear,” cried her mother, “and show her ladyship about the different walks. I think she will be pleased with the hermitage.” Pride and Prejudice 391

Many gardens had greenhouses for sheltering plants that needed to be protected during the winter and could be heated if the weather were freezing, as Catherine notes about the Allens’ “one small hot-house, which Mrs. Allen had the use of for her plants in winter, and there was a fire in it now and then” (NA 183). A greenhouse is mentioned at Cleveland, when the Dashwood sisters go outside with Charlotte “dawdling through the greenhouse, where the loss of her favorite plants, unwarily exposed, and nipped by the lingering frost, raised the laughter of Charlotte” (SS 343; see Illustration 5.1, below, from Repton of a simple greenhouse). Tropical plants would need much more heat and were kept in hothouses that needed constant heat sources, such as the pinery that General Tilney casually mentions for growing his (very expensive) pineapples (NA 182). Mrs. Grant talks about her gardener leaving her plants out when there is a threat of frost and a few paragraphs later, Mary Crawford states that she plans to be rich enough to purchase as much myrtle as needed (MP 247-48); myrtle is a plant that would have grown in a greenhouse in Northamptonshire, thus clarifying why Mary mentions it (see Abercrombie MYRTUS and Loudon 1094). Laird discussed how greenhouse plants would be taken out of the greenhouses in the summer and sometimes put into the ground in their pots in the shrubbery, especially citrus trees and other showy exotics (see 133-172). Greenhouses were places to grow beautiful plants that needed more protection in winter and that could become places for winter exercise if they were big enough (see Repton Fragments 552). Illustration 5.2, below, shows Repton’s drawing of the forcing houses at Woburn Abbey in winter, perhaps something like what Austen had in mind for the kitchen gardens at Northanger Abbey.

Austen would be familiar with the use of temples and other buildings in landscape gardens through her visits to Godmersham, home to her brother Edward Austen Knight. At Godmersham, “just outside the park was a small rounded hill on top of which, within the woods, was a summer house which had been built by the Knights earlier in the eighteenth century as a Grecian temple in the Doric style with a portico entrance of fluted columns and marble steps, and a fine grassy walk leading up to it” (Le Faye 237-8). Batey has a picture that shows the side of the temple and the view from it across the river Stour to the mansion, and remarks that Austen enjoyed sitting in the temple “where she would think out further plots for her novels” (102). The “Grecian temple” at Cleveland where Marianne tries to imagine seeing Combe Magna, Willoughby’s estate 30 miles distant, and where she plans a “twilight walk” (SS 343-4), is probably modeled on Godmersham’s temple.

In Northanger Abbey, Catherine is lured to a drive with John Thorpe by the prospect of “Blaize Castle”, which Thorpe promises is “the oldest in the kingdom” with “dozens” of towers and long galleries (83). The joke is that Blaise Castle is a “gothic folly” on a hill overlooking Bristol and the nearby river valleys on the Blaise estate built by a “Bristol sugar-merchant. . . in 1766” (NA note 4 325). Lane describes the interior: “The design features three ornate castellated turrets, one of which contains the staircase giving access to the flat roof of the central, lower tower. Traceried windows and cruciform arrow-slits supply the Gothic ornamentation, while stained glass and elegant interior plasterwork supplied the comfort. There was a vestibule and dining room below, and a main chamber above” (79). A later owner of the property commissioned Humphry Repton to change the landscape and Illustration 5.3, below, shows Repton’s watercolor of Blaise Castle from the 1796 Red Book for Blaise. Loudon notes that buildings should be used in the shrubberies “more sparingly, and with greater caution” (1011) than statues or urns and this seems to be an opinion that Austen would concur with.

The hermitage mentioned at Longbourn in Pride and Prejudice reflected an interest in the late 1700s and early 1800s in more natural wooded walks and rustic buildings that would fit into the wooded landscape. “A hermitage, meant to resemble the hut of a religious recluse and to inspire melancholy associations, ought properly to be located in a secluded wooded area, so the Bennets’ hermitage is sited correctly, though perhaps too close to the house for best taste” (Wilson 38). Repton shared an example of a “rustic thatched hovel”, which was used as a place to rest and observe the views in a hilly wooded area and which he recommended should be covered with vines and use tree trunks in the construction (Observations 255-6; Illustration 5.4 below); this building gives a sense of what more rustic landscape architecture looked like. Batey writes that when Jane Austen was living in Chawton, she would have known the hermitage at nearby Selborne that Gilbert White built behind his house The Wakes (44-46). Catherine expresses pleasure in a “sweet little cottage” among “the apple trees” at Woodston, Henry’s parsonage, and the General embarrasses her when he tells Henry it must be preserved (NA 220). Temples, covered seats, and tea houses in gardens were widespread and even less affluent families, like the Martins, yeoman farmers, in Emma, have, in Harriet’s words, “a very handsome summer-house” in their garden “large enough to hold a dozen people” where they plan to drink tea next summer (E 27).

Illustration Set 5 Miscellaneous Garden Architectural Elements

5.1 Repton’s “Greenhouse with Trellis Work”

Section V The Shrubbery as an Expression of the Estate Owner’s Taste and Wealth

“As to all that,” rejoined Sir Walter coolly, “supposing I were induced to let my house, I have by no means made up my mind as to the privileges to be annexed to it. I am not particularly disposed to favour a tenant. The park would be open to him of course, and few navy officers, or men of any other description, can have had such a range; but what restrictions I might impose on the use of the pleasure-grounds, is another thing. I am not fond of the idea of my shrubberies being always approachable; and I should recommend Miss Elliot to be on her guard with respect to her flower garden. I am very little disposed to grant a tenant of Kellynch Hall any extraordinary favour, I assure you, be he sailor or soldier.” Persuasion 21

The number of acres contained in this garden was such as Catherine could not listen to without dismay, being more than double the extent of all Mr. Allen’s, as well her father’s, including church-yard and orchard. The walls seemed countless in number, endless in length; a village of hot-houses seemed to arise among them, and a whole parish to be at work within the enclosure. The general was flattered by her looks of surprise, which told him almost as plainly, as he soon forced her to tell him in words, that she had never seen any gardens at all equal to them before; and he then modestly owned that, “without any ambition of that sort himself — without any solicitude about it — he did believe them to be unrivalled in the kingdom. If he had a hobby-horse, it was that. He loved a garden. Though careless enough in most matters of eating, he loved good fruit — or if he did not, his friends and children did. There were great vexations, however, attending such a garden as his. The utmost care could not always secure the most valuable fruits. The pinery had yielded only one hundred in the last year. Mr. Allen, he supposed, must feel these inconveniences as well as himself.” Northanger Abbey 182

The shrubbery and woods of the pleasure ground was the domain of men for planning the design for planting but open to women for exercise. Sir Walter clearly distinguishes that his area of control is the shrubbery and park, and Elizabeth’s area of control is the flower gardens (P 21). Laird’s review of many different estates from 1700-1800 shows that the male estate owner was the person to whom shrubbery plans and follow-up questions were addressed by landscape gardeners (e.g., the Duke of Argyll at Whitton 83-88 or Lord Petre at Thorndon Hall 63-67), although there are some exceptions, like widows (the Duchess of Portland at Bulstrode 221) or times when the married couple is both addressed and the wife appears to play a role in decisions about pleasure grounds and not just flower gardens (the Duchess and Duke of Portland before his death in 1762 or the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort at Badminton 128). Since men were the predominant property owners in Austen’s time, except for widows like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, it makes sense that they would be the ones to make decisions about the pleasure grounds and the park.

When Catherine explores the shrubbery and kitchen garden with Eleanor and General Tilney, General Tilney is telling her that he is a VERY rich man in detailing his garden woes. If his gardens are “unrivalled in the kingdom”, that is a big claim considering how much royalty and aristocrats spent on landscape gardens. Natali details the ways in which the General’s off-hand comment that his pinery “yielded only one hundred in the last year” tells someone in the know the vast sums he has spent on pineapple plants to produce 100 pineapples because the plants required being kept in a hothouse with constant heat throughout the year, and each plant took 2-3 years to produce one pineapple. “By pointing to his pinery, General Tilney is asserting that he is not only a man of monetary value but also a man of social value. Readers would have instantly recognized that General Tilney’s wealth would perhaps have rivaled that of the highest, wealthiest, and most influential group of land-owning aristocrats in England.” Although the General is focused on the expense of his kitchen gardens rather than his pleasure grounds in this example, pleasure grounds were also places to spend lots of money in the Regency era, especially by importing many rare trees and shrubs that needed expensive care.

Discussions of taste pervade the Regency-era literature on landscape gardening; “taste” is mentioned 100 times in Repton’s collected works and Loudon describes Repton in the introduction as “eminent for his artistical genius and taste” (1840 xii). Repton compliments the good taste of his royal or noble and wealthy clients, including the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Portland, and the Earl of Darnley (364, 141, and 418). When Elizabeth explores Pemberly, she forms a favorable opinion about the taste and values of Mr. Darcy in a way that corresponds with the Georgian and Regency focus on gardens and landscape grounds as an expression of the owner’s taste. The language that Elizabeth uses when she sees Pemberly reflects her sense of Darcy’s good taste: “. . . in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste.” (PP 271). Later when Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner visit Georgianna, the view is beautiful and the trees have special meaning: “Its windows opening to the ground, admitted a most refreshing view of the high woody hills behind the house, and of the beautiful oaks and Spanish chestnuts which were scattered over the intermediate lawn.” (295). Oaks and Spanish chestnuts are noted by Repton to be preferred for English landscapes rather than quicker-growing larches and spruce firs which are grown for profit (Fragments 46). Marshall notes that the Spanish or sweet chestnut grows to “a great height” and is good as an ornamental (167). He also goes on at length about the historical importance of oaks to England, especially for shipbuilding “the oak raised us once to the summit of national glory” and comments on its beauty as an ornamental tree as well (314). Because oaks take so long to attain full maturity, growing them is a commitment to the future and reflects Mr. Darcy’s stability as well as his taste and Englishness.

Critics of Austen’s work note that small details reveal much when you understand the historical and cultural context, as the annotations in the Cambridge editions of the six novels (2005-2006) attest. In the Regency era shrubberies were constructed with a large variety of trees and shrubs from America and Europe as well as England, presented “theatrically” in ascending height. Plants were chosen to bloom for as long as possible and included many evergreens since the shrubbery was used year-round. In the novels, shrubberies are important places for Austen’s heroines to experience nature, exercise, reflect, and most importantly, to have privacy for important conversations away from other family members. Pleasure grounds and other landscape elements revealed the wealth and taste of the owner and included architectural elements as places to enjoy views, rest, and, perhaps, take refreshment.

RESOURCES

For more information about Humphry Repton, color pictures from some of his Red Books, as well as an extensive list of what trees and shrubs were popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s pleasure grounds, see Sarah Rutherford’s 2018 research report “Hardy Plants and Plantings for Repton and Late Georgian Gardens (1780–1820)” for Historic England, which is available for download at: Repton Research Report from Historic England.

Historian Andrea Wulf has written several engaging and accessible books about the history of English landscape gardening and its cultural impact. This Other Eden: Seven Great Gardens and 300 years of English History by Andrea Wulf and Emma Gieben-Gamal (2005) details gardens at Hatfield House, Hampton Court, Stow, Hawkstone Park, Sheringham Park, Chatsworth, and Hestercombe from the 1600-the early 1900s. The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession (2008) explores the relationship between American John Bartram and Englishman Peter Collinson that brought many American plants to England; the rivalries between Philip Miller, one of England’s foremost botanists for decades, and other botanists, including Carl Linnaeus, for whose vision would shape eighteenth century botany; and the explorations of Australia and other parts of the south Pacific by Captain Cook with botanist Joseph Banks and others. The Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation (2011) examines the impact of the English landscape garden movement on our first four presidents in their design of their own gardens and plans for the country.

In the Works Cited list, I highly recommend Mavis Batey‘s and Kim Wilson’s books. Both have beautiful photographs and explore many aspects of Jane Austen and Landscape Gardening.

WORKS CITED

Note: Several of the works cited here were owned by Edward Austen Knight at Godmersham. See https://www.readingwithausten.com/catalogue.html for the full 1818 catalogue of works in his library.

Abercrombie, John. (Also lists Mawe, T. as an author but he did not contribute). The Universal Gardener and Botanist London: G. Robinson, Pub., 1778. This is the same edition that Edward Austen Knight owned. Digitized by the Ohio State University: Abercrombie Universal Gardener

Austen, Jane. Emma. Eds. Richard Cronin & Dorothy McMillan. Cambridge: CUP, 2005.

____. Emma. Appendices: “Chronology of Emma.” Ed. R. W. Chapman, 3rd ed. Oxford: OUP, 1953/1967. . Jane Austen’s Letters. Ed. Deirdre Le Faye. 3rd ed. Oxford: OUP, 1995.

____. Jane Austen’s Letters. Ed. Deirdre Le Faye. 3rd ed. Oxford: OUP, 1995.

____. Juvenilia. Ed. Peter Sabor. Cambridge: CUP, 2006.

____. Mansfield Park. Ed. John Wiltshire. Cambridge: CUP, 2005.

____. Mansfield Park. Appendices:“Chronology of Mansfield Park”. Ed. R. W. Chapman, 3^rd ed. Oxford: OUP, 1953/1967.

____. Minor Works. Ed. R. W. Chapman, 3rd ed. Oxford: OUP, 1953/1967.

____. Northanger Abbey. Eds. Barbara M. Benedict & Deidre Le Faye. Cambridge: CUP, 2006.

____. Persuasion. Eds. Janet Todd & Antje Blank. Cambridge: CUP, 2006.

____. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Pat Rogers. Cambridge: CUP, 2006.

Batey, Mavis. Jane Austen and the English Landscape. London: Barn Elms, 1996.

Harvey, John H. The Availability of Hardy Plants of the Late Eighteenth Century. Glastonbury, UK: Garden History Society, 1988.

Laird, Mark. The Flowering of the Landscape Garden: English Pleasure Grounds 1720-1800. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.

Lane, Maggie. “Blaise Castle.” Persuasions 7 (1985): 78-81. https://jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number7/lane.html

Le Faye, Deirdre. Jane Austen’s Country Life. London: Frances Lincoln, 2014.

Loudon, John Claudius An Encyclopædia of Gardening: Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape Gardening. London: Longman. 1835. Reprinted in The English Landscape Garden Series, Ed. John Dixon Hunt, Garland Publishing, NY. 1982. Print. Digitized by the University of Michigan: Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Gardening

Marshall, William Planting and Ornamental Gardening: A Practical Treatise, 1785 first edition London J. Dodsley (The first edition was owned by Edward Austen Knight). Digitized by The British Library: Marshall’s Planting and Ornamental Gardening

Meader, James. The Planter’s Guide Or, Pleasure Gardener’s Companion. Giving Plain Directions, with Observations, for the Proper Disposition and Management of the Various Trees and Shrubs for a Pleasure Garden Plantation. London: G. Robinson, 1779. Digitized by the U. of Michigan: Meader’s Planter’s Guide

Miller, Philip. The Gardeners Kalendar, Fifteenth Ed. London: J. Rivington, Pub, 1769. Digitized by Oxford U: Miller’s Gardener’s Kalendar (The first edition of 1732 was in Knight collection at Godmersham.)

Natali, Christopher J. “Was Northanger Abbey’s General Tilney Worth His Weight in Pineapples?” Persuasions On-Line 40.1 (2019). https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/volume-40-no-1/natali/.

Repton, Humphry. Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1816), Print version in The English Landscape Garden Series. Ed. John Dixon Hunt, Garland Publishing, NY, 1982. Digital version available in The Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late Humphrey Repton, Esq Being His Entire Works on These Subjects. Ed. J C Loudon, 1840. Digitized by the U. of Michigan: Repton’s Complete Works

Repton, Humphry. The Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late Humphrey Repton, Esq Being His Entire Works on These Subjects Ed. J C Loudon, 1840. Digitized by the U. of Michigan: Repton’s Complete Works

Repton, Humphry. Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1803). Available in The Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late Humphrey Repton, Esq Being His Entire Works on These Subjects. Ed. J C Loudon, 1840. Digitized by U. of Michigan: Repton’s Complete Works

Wilson, Kim. In the Garden with Jane Austen. London: Frances Lincoln, 2008.

Michele Larrow, Regional Co-Coordinator

Captain Frederick Marryat

Illustration Set 1

The Works of Frederick Marryat

Peter Simple (1834)

Mr. Midshipman Easy (1836)

Illustration Set 2

Marryat’s Works Give the Backstory for Austen’s Naval Characters

Important Naval Locations

English Naval Ports

Foreign Stations and Ports

The Mediterranean, West Indies, and Atlantic Crossings

Naval Action during War

Fleet Battles

Ship to Ship Combat

Boats Attacking Enemy Ships

Promotion, Prize Money, and the Role of Interest

Prize Money and Promotion

Becoming a Lieutenant

The Role of Interest

Dangers of Weather, Climate, and Disease

Climate in Tropical Areas and Disease

Extreme Weather

Summary: Marryat Dramatizes Austen’s Allusions to the Danger, Heroism, Brotherhood, and Infighting of the Navy

Captain Frederick Marryat and Jane Austen as Authors

Notes

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

WORKS CITED

© Michele Larrow, 2026. This blog was written without the use of AI.

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Michele Larrow, Regional Co-Coordinator

Illustration 2 Trees and Shrubs Over 30 Feet and Illustration 3 Trees and Shrubs Under About 30 Feet

Section I What Did Shrubberies Look Like throughout the Year?

Table 1 Ornamental Trees and Shrubs Mentioned in Austen’s Works

Illustration Set 4 Miscellaneous Shrubbery Prints

Section II What Plants Were Valued in the Georgian and Regency Shrubbery?

Section III How Are Shrubberies Used in Austen’s Works?

Section IV Greenhouses and Other Architectural Elements of Pleasure Grounds

Illustration Set 5 Miscellaneous Garden Architectural Elements

Section V The Shrubbery as an Expression of the Estate Owner’s Taste and Wealth

RESOURCES

WORKS CITED

Illustration Credits are available at https://jasnaewanid.org/shrubbery-illustration-credits/

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