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Lindsay Jayne Ashford | The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen
August 29, 2013
When I was writing The
Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen I felt as if ghosts were whispering in
my ear. If that sounds far-fetched, let me explain: I was living in the house
once owned by Jane Austen’s brother – an Elizabethan mansion just a stone’s
throw from the novelist’s cottage in the English village of Chawton, Hampshire.
It was a place Jane Austen dined, danced and sometimes even slept in. Two
hundred years had elapsed since that time, but sitting in the library,
surrounded by antique books and family letters, I felt the Austens as an
invisible presence. You might be wondering how I got the chance to live in such a place. I moved
there in May 2008 when my partner was offered a job. The old house had been
transformed into a study centre - Chawton House Library – and he was to be the
new CEO. I’d been writing contemporary mystery novels prior to the move and I
planned to start work on another. But within a few weeks of settling in the
village I’d abandoned the new book. Something I’d spotted in a collection of
Jane Austen’s letters jumped out at me. Describing her symptoms a few weeks
before she died, she wrote: ‘I am considerably better now and recovering my
looks a little, which have been bad enough, black and white and every wrong
colour…’ As a writer of crime fiction I’ve read a lot about poisons. What Jane had
described sounded very similar to the effect of arsenic, which creates dark and
light patches on the skin when taken in small doses over a long period of time.
She died at the age of just 41 and no one has been able to fully explain her
symptoms. Could she have been poisoned, I wondered? I put the idea to the back
of my mind until a few months later, when the library had a visitor from New
York. She asked if I had seen the lock of Jane’s hair – cut off after her death
as a keepsake - on display at the cottage down the road. Then she related the
story of the couple who donated it – American collectors of Austen memorabilia,
both now deceased, who had bought it at auction at Sotheby’s in 1948. ‘And did
you know,’ she said, ‘that before they handed it over to the museum, they had it
tested for arsenic?’ This was my ‘lightbulb moment’. The hair had tested positive for arsenic. So
Jane Austen died with poison in her body. Why? How? The seeds of a novel began
to germinate. I quickly ruled out the possibility that arsenic in the water
supply, the wallpaper or some other substance in the house was to blame, because
she lived with her mother, her sister and a family friend, all of whom survived
her by at least a decade. Could she have been deliberately poisoned? Improbable,
perhaps, but not impossible. Jane Austen had a sharp wit and a prickly nature.
She undoubtedly drew on the lives of those around her for her novels. And my
reading of the Austen archives had revealed some dark undercurrents within the
family. I thought of Jane’s best friend, Anne Sharp, to whom the author wrote one of her
last letters. Anne was one of a number of people who received a lock of the
author’s hair after she died. She lived until 1853 – long enough to hear about
the discovery of the Marsh Test. Developed in 1836, it enabled the analysis of
human remains for the presence of arsenic. What would you do, I wondered, if you
suspected your best friend had been poisoned and you were in possession of a
lock of her hair? This is how the novel begins: ‘I have sent him her hair. When I took it from its hiding place and held it to
my face I caught the faintest trace of her; a ghost scent of lavender and
sun-warmed skin. It carried me back to the horse-drawn hut with its wheels in
the sea where I saw her without cap and bonnet for the first time. She shook out
her curls and twisted round. My buttons, she said, will you help me? The hut
shuddered with the waves as I fumbled. She would have fallen if I hadn’t held
her. I breathed her in, my face buried in it; her hair. I suppose he has had to destroy it to reveal its secret; he can have no idea
what it cost me to part with it. All that remains are the few strands the
jeweller took for the ring upon my finger: a tiny braid, wound into the shape of
a tree. When I touch the glass that holds it I remember how it used to spill
over the pillow in that great sailboat of a bed. If hair can hold secrets this
ring must surely hold mine…’ If you decide to read the book I hope that you’ll enjoy it as much I enjoyed
writing and researching it. Comment to win a copy of
The Mysterious Death of Jane Austen
Comments
36 comments posted.
Re: Lindsay Jayne Ashford | The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen
i always enjoyed jane austen`s novels i would love to read
this
(Denise Smith 12:32pm August 29, 2013)
WOW! after reading how this story begins, I would love to read
it.I really hope to win!
(Sandra Gest 1:12am August 29, 2013)
Sounds like an interesting story. Some of the best ones are based on some
true tidbit.
(Laura Gullickson 1:47am August 29, 2013)
It's not unusual to be in an old house or castle, and feel the ghost of someone who had lived or had been in the premises before. It's happened to me a couple of times, and it doesn't feel far-fetched at all. In fact, I find it fascinating when I read when it happens to others, too!! Your book sounds absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!! Your 6th sense really kicked up to full gear, and I'm sure your book is right on the money!! Congratulations on your book, and I'll be looking forward to a great read to kick off my Fall!! It's definately on my TBR list!!
(Peggy Roberson 7:46am August 29, 2013)
How wonderful it would be to win a copy!! It sounds like a great read!!
(Betty Hamilton 9:16am August 29, 2013)
Oh Lindsay, The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen sounds like a facinating book. What an opportunity you had to live in the home for a period of time. That was certainly meant to be, I think. I was captured in your post so I can only imagine how caught up I would get in this book. Thank you for the chance to win.
(Melanie Backus 9:33am August 29, 2013)
Sounds like a great book! I would like to read this one!
(Kathy Morrison 9:43am August 29, 2013)
This sounds like a fabulous read! I hope to win it. A great story for the autumn!
(Vennie Martinisi 9:45am August 29, 2013)
I would love to read this book...great story line and one I can't wait to read!
(Bonnie Capuano 10:03am August 29, 2013)
This is such a compelling and fascinating book and post. Best
wishes.
(Sharon Berger 10:44am August 29, 2013)
Wow! This sounds very compelling and completely fascinating and it the thought that it could actually be true! This is a MUST read.
(Lori Yost 10:58am August 29, 2013)
This sounds very good I like Jane Austen stories.
Penney
(Penney Wilfort 12:29pm August 29, 2013)
Wow. The story sounds great. And I love that you got to write in a building Jane Austen actually slept at. That is awesome.
(Pam Howell 2:06pm August 29, 2013)
I'm so jealous of your living arrangements. I can imagine that
it would spark creativity to be in such a place.
(Deidre Durance 3:15pm August 29, 2013)
This sounds so good. I would love to read this.
(Shawn Andree 3:23pm August 29, 2013)
thanks for my chance to read this one free!
(Debbi Shaw 3:24pm August 29, 2013)
This sounds fascinating. I can't wait to read it. Thanks for the chance to win!
(Elizabeth Bayer 3:41pm August 29, 2013)
I really loved your reasons for writing The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane
Austen! I knew she died young but never knew about the arsenic.
Congratulation on the book and thanks for the chance to win!!!
(Linda Brennan 4:03pm August 29, 2013)
WOW! Historical fiction at it's best! A murder of a well loved author! AWESOME!
(Sandy Fielder 4:23pm August 29, 2013)
How wonderful for you to have been able to go through Jane Austen's family books, letters, etc. in the place where she once lived. How exciting. Your blog post has me wanting to read your book for sure. Thank you so much for this chance to win it. All The Best To You.
(Esther Somorai 5:59pm August 29, 2013)
I love Jane Austen's novels. I think it's amazing that you had the chance to stay
in a place with such a connection to literary history. I would love to read the
novel you were inspired to write there.
Thanks for the giveaway!
(Becca Luman 6:46pm August 29, 2013)
I'm truly fascinated by the mysterious death of Miss Jane Austen. I'm thinking someone in the household (perhaps even a cook, servant or the family friend) could have slowly and secretively been poisoning her with arsenic. I would enjoy reading your book very much.
(Linda Luinstra 7:44pm August 29, 2013)
Sounds like a fascinating read - love Jane Austen books.
(Mary C 10:04pm August 29, 2013)
Wow, Congrats on your new book: THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF MISS
JANE AUSTEN. This sounds like a fantastic book to read and
yes it sounds like she was poisoned. What a shame that she
died so young. I am sure that Jane Austen appreciates you
writing a book about her life and death. I would love to win
and read this fantastic book this summer. Thank You very
much. Cecilia CECE
(Cecilia Dunbar Hernandez 11:40pm August 29, 2013)
Would love to read this! Just read the followup to Pride and Prejudice, Death
comes to Pemberly.
(Diana Kaye 12:12pm August 30, 2013)
I can't wait to read your new book. Great topic.
(Amy Kincade 12:42pm August 30, 2013)
There was always speculation that Jane Austen was murdered. Some speculated that she died of lead poisoning. I'm a big fan of mystery and crime stories. What can you expect when you do forensic for a living?
(Kai Wong 12:51pm August 30, 2013)
Wow--I loved your post, and can't wait to read the book. A bit of real detective work!
(Janet Martin 8:12am August 30, 2013)
Sounds like a good, I'm looking forward to reading it.
(Rita Wray 9:41am August 30, 2013)
I believe that a lot of people did ingest poisons in some way at that time, because everything from face powder to wallpaper had mercury, arsenic, lead or something else horrible in it. This is one reason why people felt so much better when they went to visit a spa town. So a deliberate poisoning would not necessarily be the case, and who would want to think of that happening to Jane Austen? I hope your book works out happily.
(Clare O'Beara 10:11am August 30, 2013)
Sounds great! I love it!
(May Pau 10:29am August 30, 2013)
I have read so may reviews on this book. It is on my wish list. Thanks
(Marguerite Beal 8:31pm August 30, 2013)
I love Jane Austens books so I would love to try yours!
(Charlene Fraley 10:44pm August 30, 2013)
Always loved the world of Jane Austen
(Roxana Perez 9:13am August 31, 2013)
I'm looking forward to such a fabulous read.
(Mary Preston 6:58am September 1, 2013)
A total Jane Austen fan, I cannot wait to read this book. It was such a
shame she died so young leaving many a page unwritten. I miss the books
she may have written as she aged over the years
(Lisa Lack 6:48am September 3, 2013)
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