Unfinished Jane Austen manuscript goes up for auction
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a bibliophile in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a Jane Austen manuscript.
鈥淭he Watsons,鈥� Austen鈥檚 unfinished, unpublished manuscript, will be auctioned Thursday by Sotheby's in London. It is expected to fetch between $330,000 and $490,000.
The manuscript, much of which is in Austen鈥檚 handwriting, is one of her few manuscripts that survived and, as a work in progress, offers a rare glimpse inside Austen鈥檚 mind as a writer.
(The only surviving manuscripts from Austen鈥檚 completed novels are two chapters of 鈥淧ersuasion,鈥� which are at the British Library, 鈥淟ady Susan,鈥� at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York, and 鈥淪anditon,鈥� at King鈥檚 College, Cambridge, England.)
'It's very much a working draft,' said Gabriel Heaton, a senior specialist in the books and manuscript department at Sotheby鈥檚, in . 'You can see how her mind was moving鈥攈ow she's refining and sharpening her text as she revises.'
In 1804 Austen started 鈥淭he Watsons,鈥� after finishing 鈥�Northanger Abbey鈥� in 1799 and starting 鈥淢ansfield Park鈥� in 1811. She completed about a quarter of the novel (68 pages, or some 17,500 words), then simply abandoned the book. Why? Austen鈥檚 own life, scholars believe, started to imitate art.
鈥淭he Watsons鈥� tells the story of four sisters, the daughters of a widowed clergyman. One of the daughters, Emma Watson, an intelligent, middle-class girl, returns to her family after the wealthy aunt who raised her squanders Emma鈥檚 inheritance on a botched second marriage. Back with her own family, Emma cares for her sick father and watches as her sisters court a round of rich suitors.
The manuscript ends here, but thanks to letters Austen wrote her sister Cassandra, scholars believe Emma鈥檚 father was going to die, thrusting the Watson girls into a difficult financial situation. A certain Lord Osborne, inspired by the character of Mr. Darcy, would likely emerge as Emma鈥檚 suitor and the girls would redouble their efforts to wed.
Austen鈥檚 story, it seemed, hit too close to home. Austen鈥檚 own father died in 1805, by which time neither Austen nor her sister Cassandra had married.
鈥淭hat was most likely her reason for abandoning the project,鈥� Mr. Heaton . 鈥淪he had no appetite to continue with a story that was going to parallel her own life in fairly unhappy ways.鈥�
For that reason, said Declan Kiely, curator and head of the literary and historical manuscripts department at The Morgan Library & Museum, 鈥淭he Watsons鈥� is Austen鈥檚 most biographical work.
That鈥檚 one reason scholars say 鈥淭he Watsons鈥� is the most important Austen artifact to be auctioned in more than 20 years, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors.
鈥淭his unique manuscript provides scholars with important evidence, not just of how Jane Austen composed and revised her work, but also of how her other manuscripts must have looked before they were edited by her publishers,鈥� Heaton .
Book critic Margaret Drabble described 鈥淭he Watsons鈥� as 鈥渁 tantalising, delightful and highly accomplished fragment, which must surely have proved the equal of her six other novels, had she finished it,鈥� .
One fortunate buyer will take the precious manuscript home Thursday. The rest of us, however, are not completely left out. 鈥淭he Watsons,鈥� along with the rest of Austen鈥檚 fiction manuscripts, have been digitized and are online in a complete digital collection, , available to all.
Husna Haq is a Monitor contributor.
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