On a recent Cruise from Miami, Florida, to Rome, Italy, Kristine Hughes and I visited Bermuda, my very first time though one of many jaunts there for KH. Our ship docked at the Royal Naval Dockyards (RND), a complex now developed into museums, a dolphin activity, shops, and many colorful restaurants. We headed straight to the museum.
Bermuda is a collection of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 650 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. A British territory with local self-government, Bermuda has a subtropical climate and today is a tourist and resort magnet. When we were in port, there were three large cruise shops docked.
The English settlers arrived in the early 17th C., about 1612, establishing a maritime economy which remains today. After the American Revolution, the island became a major base for His Majesty's Navy and remained so until the mid 20th C.
The English settlers arrived in the early 17th C., about 1612, establishing a maritime economy which remains today. After the American Revolution, the island became a major base for His Majesty's Navy and remained so until the mid 20th C.
Above, deep within the thick stone walls, text panels told the history of the fort and naval dockyard over several centuries. Below. left, the Commissioner's House, built in 1820; right, uniform and regimental drums on exhibit.
Two of Jane Austen's brothers were officers in the Royal Navy, and long after her death in 1817, both were promoted to the rank of Admiral. Below, right, Sir Francis Austen (1774-1865) fifth of the six Austen brothers, and, left, Sir Charles Austen (1779-1852), the sixth, spent their careers serving around the globe.
Frances (Fanny) FitzWilliams Palmer Austen (1789–1814) is the subject of Jane Austen's Transatlantic Sister, based on her papers, by Sheila Johnson Kindred. Fanny, above right, met Captain Charles Austen, Jane Austen’s youngest brother, in her home in Bermuda when Charles served as a naval officer in the West Indies. The youngest daughter of the Attorney General of Bermuda, Fanny was born in Bermuda and married Charles in May, 1807. Their first child, Cassy, was born in December 1808. Between 1809 and 1812, Fanny sailed in his ships between Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia, five times. She and her daughters lived on the HMS Namur off the Kent coast from 1812-14. After just seven years of marriage, Fanny died there, after the birth of their fourth daughter; the child died at three weeks of age.
Sheila Johnson Kindred based her book on letters which chart "how Fanny was a source of naval knowledge for Jane, and how she was an inspiration for Austen's literary invention, especially for the female naval characters in Persuasion. Although she died young, Fanny's story is a compelling record of female naval life that contributes significantly to our limited knowledge of women's roles in the Napoleonic Wars."
Sheila Kindred was born in Ontario, and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She taught philosophy at Saint Mary's University, Halifax. The book is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017.
You can follow Sheila's blogs on Jane Austen's Naval World at
https://sheilajohnsonkindred.com/news
Sheila Kindred was born in Ontario, and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She taught philosophy at Saint Mary's University, Halifax. The book is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017.
You can follow Sheila's blogs on Jane Austen's Naval World at
https://sheilajohnsonkindred.com/news
Audible version of Least Likely Lovers will be available any day now. Narrated by the excellent voice artist June DeBorahae, you can find it via Amazon and Audible soon.
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