Читать книгу What Jane Austen Didn't Tell Us! - Austen Alliance - Страница 4

While this book is meant for the enjoyment of the general reader, a few items of Austen scholarship have crept in. Perhaps the most notable is the spelling on the name of the Bennet sisters’ aunt, Catherine Philips. When Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813, the name was spelled “Phillips” and has remained so in most subsequent editions. However, there is strong evidence that Austen had actually used “Philips,” which led the renowned scholar R.W. Chapman to follow that spelling in the definitive Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen six-volume collection. As an editorial decision, we attempted to honor the author’s original intention in this matter.

There was also a question of how to base the dates used in our reconstructions of the characters’ lives. A first draft of Pride and Prejudice, then titled First Impressions, was offered for publication in 1797 and declined. For purposes of our collection, the action of the novel begins shortly before Michaelmas (September 29) of 1813, the year Pride and Prejudice was first published. At the time, Michaelmas was one of the days used to mark the quarters of the financial year, and would serve as the starting date for the lease of a property—such as Netherfield Park.

Please know if any details turn out to diverge from the historical track, it is not from lack of diligence but from honest mistakes by the authors and editors.