Author Archives: adkins

Mansfield Park 200 years

Mansfield Park was published in May 1814. This was one of two naval novels that Jane Austen wrote – both Mansfield Park and Persuasion have significant naval themes and characters.

Title page of Mansfield Park

Her inspiration and knowledge came from two of her brothers, Frank and Charles, who were in the Royal Navy, and also from those officers who were her neighbours or within her social circle. One of those neighbours was Benjamin Clement.

THE CLEMENT MEMORIAL

The chancel of the church of St Nicholas in the village of Chawton in Hampshire has a stained glass window commemorating Benjamin Clement and his wife. The dedication within the glass at the bottom of the window reads: ‘In memory of Benjamin Clement, Captain RN. Born March 29th 1785. Died Nov. 5th 1835. Also of Ann Mary his wife. Born Septr. 22nd 1787. Died Aug. 30th 1858.’

The memorial window of Benjamin Clement

It is thought that this couple, along with Ann-Mary’s sister, Catherine-Ann Prowting, are referred to in perhaps the very last letter Continue reading →

Jane Austen talks

We are giving three illustrated talks in July. The first one is at the Ways With Words festival at Dartington in Devon. Our talk is “Why Jane Austen Loves a Sailor”, concentrating on the themes of Mansfield Park (which is 200 years old this year), in particular the Royal Navy. The talk is on Monday 7th July 2014 in the Barn, 10am, tickets £10. See www.wayswithwords.co.uk.

The next talk is on “Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England” at the Penzance Literary Festival on Thursday 17th July, at 2.30pm, in the gorgeous Morrab Library, Morrab Gardens, Penzance, TR18 4DA. This festival has really cheap tickets for its events, and our event there costs just £3, and £1 for concessions! Tickets can be booked here.

We are also giving our “Why Jane Austen Loves a Sailor” at the huge English Heritage “History Live!” festival, which takes place on the weekend of 19th and 20th July at Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire. Over 2,000 re-enactors and performers will bring the story of England to life, including battles, talks, live music, a historic market and a real-ale bar. Our talk is at 10.30am on Saturday 19th July.The talk will look at Mansfield Park, naval history and Jane Austen, and we hope you will find it fascinating, even if you hate Jane Austen! For further information, see here – the talks are always popular, so you need to pick up a free ticket at the BBC History Magazine tent once you arrive. The English Heritage Events Guide gives the prices of the entrance to the event, and these range from £13 for a day pass for an English Heritage adult member (£23 for non-members) to £53 for a family weekend pass (£100 for non-members).

Jane Austen’s Regency World review

The latest issue of Jane Austen’s Regency World (for July/August 2014) has just been published, and we are very pleased that the paperback of Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England has been very favourably reviewed (on page 60). The reviewer, Joceline Bury, describes our book as a “marvellously entertaining catalogue of early 19th-century English life” that “deserves a place on any Austen aficionado’s bookshelf”. Considering that there are hundreds of thousands of Austen devotees worldwide, we look forward to a surge in sales! We love the final sentence of the review – “I challenge anyone to pick it up and not still be reading an hour later, delighted by such a vivid and entertaining portrait of an era”.

For those of you in the US and Canada, our book is called Jane Austen’s England there.

Jane Austen’s Regency World is regarded as the leading Austen magazine. It has over sixty pages, beautifully illustrated in colour, and is published every two months. For details on how to subscribe, see www.janeaustenmagazine.co.uk – there are subscriptions for UK only and the rest of the world.

Jane Austen in Paperback

Our latest book was published in paperback in the UK on Mayday 2014, with the title Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England, and this is the jacket design of that edition, based on the specially commissioned embroidery sampler done for the US edition:

The paperback is published by Abacus, price £9.99, ISBN 978-0-349-13860-2. It is categorised as ‘popular history’ if you are looking for it in bookshops – but of course it is only being sold by good bookshops! You can also borrow it from public libraries or purchase it through various online retailers. The book is still available as a hardback and it is also sold in all e-book formats. Please note that in the US Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England is called Jane Austen’s England, and the paperback there will be published at the end of July 2014. For more information, take a look at www.adkinshistory.com/JaneAustensEngland.aspx

Subversive Hymns of World War I

At the moment there is a great deal of interest in the First World War, because the summer of 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the war. We were recently given a folded sheet of paper dating from that time, and on it an unknown serviceman had copied down a wry version of a soldier’s daily routine.

Part of the ‘soldier’s daily routine’

The original author of this humorous piece is unknown, Continue reading →

The Golden Stone of Somerset

A MEGA-HILLFORT

Close to the southern border of the county of Somerset stands the largest hillfort in Britain, called Ham Hill or Hamdon Hill, covering an area of 85 hectares. Its earth ramparts and defensive ditches are thought to be largely of the Iron Age, over 2,000 years ago, although there is evidence of fortifications dating to the Late Bronze Age. There are also indications of activity on the hilltop as far back as the Mesolithic period, with Neolithic, Roman and medieval finds as well. In short, the hill has been used throughout prehistory and into the historic era. An annual fair took place here from soon after the Norman conquest in 1066 until well into the 17th century, and there is still a flourishing pub called The Prince of Wales. Indeed, it is the only hillfort in the country to have a pub within the ramparts! Nowadays, much of the hill forms part of a country park, providing pleasant walks and stunning views of the Somerset landscape.

An early 18th-century print showing the sprawling mass of Ham Hill, with St Michael’s Hill (a) at Montacute on the extreme left

A GOLDEN QUARRY

Such a large hill dominated the surrounding countryside, but its influence spread far wider through its main natural resource – the beautiful, honey-gold coloured ‘hamstone’, which has been quarried from the hill and used in buildings throughout the region. The stone was used from at least Roman times, such as for stone coffins at Roman Dorchester in the neighbouring county of Dorset. In more recent times it has been used in buildings right across southern England. Hamstone is a Jurassic limestone, and being easily worked and with such an attractive colour, it has often been used Continue reading →

Jay’s Grave on Dartmoor

A LEGENDARY GRAVE

Dartmoor, the great expanse of granite moorland that lies at the heart of Devon in south-west England, has long been a favourite place for tourists and holidaymakers. Alongside the areas of natural beauty and the historic and prehistoric sites, one of the minor tourist attractions lies just to the north-west of Hound Tor and a few miles north of Widecombe-in-the-Moor. Like many such places on the moor, it seems to lie on a road that goes from nowhere in particular to nowhere in particular. The site is on the road that runs past the west side of Cripdon Down, at a point where a trackway branches off. It is marked as ‘Jay’s Grave’ on large-scale Ordnance Survey maps, at National Grid Reference SX732798.
Jay's Grave

Jay’s Grave

There are several graves on Dartmoor, and many stone markers and crosses, some of which are thought to mark graves, but the essence of Jay’s Grave is its anonymity. It is quite easy to drive past without even noticing it. The actual site is a small, very low mound on the roadside, with a kerb of small granite blocks. The most distinguishing feature are the flowers in a jam jar.

The legend about this site, which can be found in any number of recent books, is that Continue reading →