Jane Austen is not an author we would usually associate with novels of war and international battles. Her conflicts are those within the human heart and among lovers, families, and friends.
However, she wrote in a time of almost perpetual warfare and her books were read by her contemporaries who were only too well aware of the effects of the war on their nation. Some critics and scholars have actually denigrated Austen’s works because they are not War and Peace or Vanity Fair.
However, she wrote in a time of almost perpetual warfare and her books were read by her contemporaries who were only too well aware of the effects of the war on their nation. Some critics and scholars have actually denigrated Austen’s works because they are not War and Peace or Vanity Fair.
Jane Austen herself compared her work to a miniature portrait on a tiny bit of ivory – and that two or three families in a country village are just the thing to work on. Nevertheless, readers will find many references to the army and the navy throughout her novels and in her letters. Think about Colonel Brandon in Sense &Sensibility, the militia stationed in Meryton and later in Brighton in Pride &Prejudice, Fanny Price’s brother William becoming a midshipman in the Royal Navy in Mansfield Park, and Captain Wentworth’s fortune earned by capturing enemy ships in Persuasion.
Below, L, Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon; M, Adrian Lukas as Mr. Wickham; Ciaran Hinds as Captain Wentworth, all films are the 1995 versions.
Below, L, Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon; M, Adrian Lukas as Mr. Wickham; Ciaran Hinds as Captain Wentworth, all films are the 1995 versions.
Jane Austen was born just before the beginning of the war for American Independence; the British and French had long been engaged in combat over land in North America and the sugar plantations of the Caribbean islands. The French Revolution of 1789 spawned European wars that lasted from 1792 through the decisive victory of the British, their Allies and the Prussians in 1815.
Next June 18th is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, with huge reenactments taking place on the original location in today’s Belgium, just a dozen miles south of Brussels. Exhibitions, memorials, and other anniversary activities are planned all over Europe. There were no celebrations of the 100th anniversary in 1915 because Europe was fighting in much the same area in the Great War.
Next June 18th is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, with huge reenactments taking place on the original location in today’s Belgium, just a dozen miles south of Brussels. Exhibitions, memorials, and other anniversary activities are planned all over Europe. There were no celebrations of the 100th anniversary in 1915 because Europe was fighting in much the same area in the Great War.
Above, L, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, commander of the Allied Armies; R, Field Marshal Gerhard von Blucher, commander of the Prussian Army. At the time of the Battle of Waterloo, Jane Austen was almost 40 years old. By June of 1815, she had published – anonymously – three novels: Sense and Sensibility in 1811, Pride and Prejudice in 1813, and Mansfield Park in 1814. Emma was in the hands of a publisher and she was probably working on The Elliotts, a Novel which eventually was published after her death as Persuasion.
Since the summer of 1809, Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra, their mother, and Martha Lloyd were living in Chawton, at the cottage provided for them by Edward Austen, later known as Edward Austen-Knight, the brother who was taken into the Knight family as the heir of his father’s wealthy relatives. Jane Austen had just over two years to live.
Waterloo is in the present day nation of Belgium, north of France. Paris to Brussels is a distance of 160 miles. From the French border to Brussels is a bit over forty miles. Below L, Napoleon and the Imperial Guard; R, below, Scotland Forever, Charge of the Highlanders, by Lady Butler.
Since the summer of 1809, Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra, their mother, and Martha Lloyd were living in Chawton, at the cottage provided for them by Edward Austen, later known as Edward Austen-Knight, the brother who was taken into the Knight family as the heir of his father’s wealthy relatives. Jane Austen had just over two years to live.
Waterloo is in the present day nation of Belgium, north of France. Paris to Brussels is a distance of 160 miles. From the French border to Brussels is a bit over forty miles. Below L, Napoleon and the Imperial Guard; R, below, Scotland Forever, Charge of the Highlanders, by Lady Butler.
Waterloo is a village about a mile from the battle site. Brussels is just eight miles to the north, beyond a forest. The area today has modern motorways and railroads, but it is essentially still small towns, hamlets, and farms
Here’s a little background on the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon gained power in France after the end of the Reign of Terror and eventually in 1804 crowned himself as Emperor. He intended to conquer most of Europe and establish French rule over the former Holy Roman Empire, the Italian states, Spain, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Russia – from the Atlantic east to Moscow and beyond. But perhaps most of all, he wanted to conquer the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Over the years, Six Coalitions of European powers opposed his armies, but Napoleon was rarely defeated. Britain’s role was usually to provide funds, not troops, for the European battles. For many years the British faced a huge French army encamped at Boulogne, just across the English Channel on the coast of France, preparing an invasion. Belo w. two of the reactions of British political cartoonists to the attempted invasion.
Here’s a little background on the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon gained power in France after the end of the Reign of Terror and eventually in 1804 crowned himself as Emperor. He intended to conquer most of Europe and establish French rule over the former Holy Roman Empire, the Italian states, Spain, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Russia – from the Atlantic east to Moscow and beyond. But perhaps most of all, he wanted to conquer the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Over the years, Six Coalitions of European powers opposed his armies, but Napoleon was rarely defeated. Britain’s role was usually to provide funds, not troops, for the European battles. For many years the British faced a huge French army encamped at Boulogne, just across the English Channel on the coast of France, preparing an invasion. Belo w. two of the reactions of British political cartoonists to the attempted invasion.
Protection was provided more by the Navy than by the army. It was the Navy that prevented the invasion – which would have occurred very close to Jane Austen’s homes in Steventon, and Chawton. Her favorite brother Henry was an officer in the militia, which brought the fear of invasion right into her family. Two brothers, Francis (Sir Francis William Austen, Admiral of the Fleet 1774-1865) and Charles (Rear Admiral, 1779-1865) were in the Navy, trained at the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth and on ships sailing in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic from Europe to the West Indies and North America, and even in the East Indies. Both Frank and Charles became admirals long after Jane’s death, with Frank serving as Admiral of the Fleet for a short time before he died in 1865. Below left, Sir Francis Austen, 1774-1865, Admiral of the Fleet (died at 91). Right, Admiral Charles Austen, 1779-1852.
British dominance of the seas was insured by victory in the battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, 1805. Just weeks previously, Napoleon had marched his troops away from the English Channel, giving up the attempted invasion in favor of years of land battles against the European powers. Under the leadership of Admiral Horatio Nelson, off the Cape of Trafalgar near Cadiz, Spain, the British Fleet, destroyed the combined French and Spanish fleets. Sadly, Nelson (1758-1805) died in the battle, forever remembered as a great hero. Below, L, Admiral Horatio Nelson; R,The Battle of Trafalgar by
William Clarkson Stanfield.
William Clarkson Stanfield.
Above L, Death of Nelson, by Benjamin West, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; Trafalgar Square, London, with Nelson's Column at right.
Napoleon marched his troops away from Boulonge on the Channel coast and defeated the combined Austrian and Russian armies at the Battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805. He continued his conquests on the continent, eventually dominating almost the entire area of Western Europe and a large slice of eastern. Most of the British efforts in the coalitions opposing the French Empire were through diplomacy and large amounts of cash to support their Austrian, Prussian and Russian armies.
Then, in 1808, Britain sent troops to defend Portugal from takeover by Napoleonic Spain, conquered but not subdued by the French. The Peninsular War lasted until the first defeat and exile of Napoleon to Elba in 1814. The British allied with the Portuguese army and the troops of the anti-French Spanish fought their way into southern France about the same time that Napoleon was defeated by the Sixth Coalition [after losing the Battle of Leipzig, October 16-19, 1813.]
The British army was led in the Peninsula by Arthur Wellesley, who was honored for his victories with increasingly important titles, is best known as the first Duke of Wellington. After the Allies entered Paris on March 31, 1814, the Duke was British Ambassador and head of the army of occupation.
Below, L, Napoleon at his bivouac before the Battle of Austerlitz, December 1, 1805, by Loouis-Francois, Baron Lejeune,1808; R, Duke of Wellington at Vittoria, Spain, 21 June, 1813; by Thomas Jones Barker.
Then, in 1808, Britain sent troops to defend Portugal from takeover by Napoleonic Spain, conquered but not subdued by the French. The Peninsular War lasted until the first defeat and exile of Napoleon to Elba in 1814. The British allied with the Portuguese army and the troops of the anti-French Spanish fought their way into southern France about the same time that Napoleon was defeated by the Sixth Coalition [after losing the Battle of Leipzig, October 16-19, 1813.]
The British army was led in the Peninsula by Arthur Wellesley, who was honored for his victories with increasingly important titles, is best known as the first Duke of Wellington. After the Allies entered Paris on March 31, 1814, the Duke was British Ambassador and head of the army of occupation.
Below, L, Napoleon at his bivouac before the Battle of Austerlitz, December 1, 1805, by Loouis-Francois, Baron Lejeune,1808; R, Duke of Wellington at Vittoria, Spain, 21 June, 1813; by Thomas Jones Barker.
Above, L, Adieu to the Old Guard: Napoleon leaves Fontainebleau for exile on Elba; by Antoine Alphonse Montfort; R, Return of Napoleon to France, March 1815, by Karl Stenben.
Napoleon was sent into exile on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea, just 12 miles off Italy. Many of the most experienced British troops were shipped off to North America to fight in the war with the United States. In London, the Allies celebrated their victory with elaborate feasts, fireworks and concerts in June 1814. In August, British troops burned the White House and the Capitol in the half-built town of Washington City.
[The War of 1812 was settled by the Treaty of Ghent (Dec. 14, 1814) when the Battle of New Orleans took place. American troops led by Andrew Jackson triumphed over the British, led by General Ned Pakenham, who died in the fight. He was the brother of Kitty, Duchess of Wellington. The date was January 8, 1815.]
In September 1814, the Congress of Vienna assembled to sort out the mess Napoleon had made of European borders. In March of 1815 came the news that Napoleon had returned to France and was marching on Pairs with many eager recruits and much of his old army. The Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw, and nations again prepared for war.
Jane Austen and the Battle of Waterloo Part Two, next week.
Napoleon was sent into exile on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea, just 12 miles off Italy. Many of the most experienced British troops were shipped off to North America to fight in the war with the United States. In London, the Allies celebrated their victory with elaborate feasts, fireworks and concerts in June 1814. In August, British troops burned the White House and the Capitol in the half-built town of Washington City.
[The War of 1812 was settled by the Treaty of Ghent (Dec. 14, 1814) when the Battle of New Orleans took place. American troops led by Andrew Jackson triumphed over the British, led by General Ned Pakenham, who died in the fight. He was the brother of Kitty, Duchess of Wellington. The date was January 8, 1815.]
In September 1814, the Congress of Vienna assembled to sort out the mess Napoleon had made of European borders. In March of 1815 came the news that Napoleon had returned to France and was marching on Pairs with many eager recruits and much of his old army. The Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw, and nations again prepared for war.
Jane Austen and the Battle of Waterloo Part Two, next week.
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