We hope therefore that our narrative, with all its imperfections and its inevitable repetition of much that has already been published, will at least be of use in removing misconceptions, in laying some new facts before the reader, and in placing others in a fresh light. It is intended as a narrative, and not as a piece of literary criticism; for we should not care to embark upon the latter in competition with biographers and essayists who have a better claim to be heard. Both in the plan and in the execution of our work we have received much valuable help from another member of the family, Mary A. Austen Leigh.[2] An arrangement courteously made by the owners of the copyright has procured for us a free and ample use of the Letters as edited by Lord Brabourne[3]; while the kindness of Mr. J. G. Nicholson of Castlefield House, Sturton-by-Scawby, Lincolnshire, has opened a completely new source of information in the letters which passed between the Austens and their kinsmen of the half-blood--Walters of Kent and afterwards of Lincolnshire. Miss Jane Austen, granddaughter of Admiral Charles Austen, and Miss Margaret Bellas, great-granddaughter of James Austen, are so good as to allow us to make a fuller use of their family documents than was found possible by the author of the _Memoir_; while Mr. J. H. Hubback permits us to draw freely upon the _Sailor Brothers_, and Captain E. L. Austen, R.N., upon his MSS. Finally, we owe to Admiral Ernest Rice kind permission to have the photograph taken, from which the reproduction of his Zoffany portrait is made into a frontispiece for this volume. We hope that any other friends who have helped us will accept this general expression of our gratitude. W. A. L. R. A. A. L. _April 1913._ In the notes to the text, the following works are referred to under the shortened forms here given:-- _Memoir of Jane Austen_, by her nephew, J. E. Austen Leigh: quoted from second edition, 1871. As _Memoir_. _Letters of Jane Austen_, edited by Edward Lord Brabourne, 1884. As _Brabourne_. _Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers_, by J. H. Hubback and Edith C. Hubback, 1906. As _Sailor Brothers_. _Jane Austen: Her Homes and her Friends_ Constance Hill, 1902. As _Miss Hill_. FOOTNOTES: [1] Father of one of the present writers, and grandfather of the other. [2] Daughter of the author of the _Memoir_. [3] It has not, however, been possible to consult the originals except in the instance of the letters from Jane to Anna Lefroy. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE PREFACE v CHRONOLOGY xiii I. AUSTENS AND LEIGHS, 1600-1764 1 II. STEVENTON, 1764-1785 11