Jonty Claypole

So she basically ran the equivalent of Accessorize for the 18th century.

And in fact, she was the breadwinner for the Bernie family.

Charles did not make a huge amount of money as a musicologist, whereas Esther, the mother and her sisters did.

They had a very successful business.

And it had to be kind of hushed up, the fact that she was in fact the breadwinner because it wasn't particularly in keeping with the time.

There is a advertisement that has been found for her business, which I think is lovely.

And the advertisement runs as follows.

Esther Sleep makes mounts and sells all sorts of India and English fans with great variety of French and English necklaces, drops and earrings after the most modern taste.

wholesale and retail at reasonable rates, NB fans mended after the neatest manner.

Isn't that great?

Fanny's brother, incidentally, for our Australian and New Zealand listeners.

James.

Francis's brother, James, he went on Captain Cook's second and third voyages.

So he didn't go to Australia, but he did go to New Zealand.

And Francis would have been very, I mean, she was right there alongside the reports coming back of the Southern Hemisphere as and when they were happening.

So that's a sort of nice detail there.

For me, the sort of year zero of Austen's view of the world, though, isn't the publication of Evelina in 1778.

It's actually a moment in Francis Burney's diary from 1775, Francis's 23.

And we have the most extraordinary and intimate moment.

diary entries from her recounting the attempts of a man called Mr. Thomas Barlow to marry her.