1771 - 1850

 

Henry Austen is often referred to as Jane's favourite brother and whilst he didn't have the same luck in his own career, he significantly helped Jane to achieve her success as a writer. 

 

Henry studied at St John's College, Oxford and did some writing of his own whilst there, contributing nine essays to the weekly periodical, The Loiterer, which had been founded by his eldest brother James. Henry received a Masters Degree from Oxford in 1796 and joined the Oxford Militia, rising to the rank of lieutenant, adjutant and captain before resigning his commission in 1801. 

 

Henry married his widowed cousin Eliza de Feuillide in 1797, who was ten years older than him. It is said that his elder brother James also pursued her, but she chose Henry. It is thought to be Eliza's influence that encouraged him to join the militia rather than follow in his father and elder brother's footsteps in the ministry. After leaving the militia, Henry tried his hand at banking and lived the life of a London business man until the bank failed due to economic depression in 1816 affecting both him and his family.

 

Eliza died in 1813, meaning that following the collapse of his bank, Henry was able to pursue his intended profession and become a Calvinist-leaning minister. He served the curacy of Steventon and Charton over the years that followed before becoming Perpetual Curate at Bentley. Henry remarried in 1820 to Eleanor Jackson who was well liked by the family having been a long-standing acquaintance. 

 

It is thanks to Henry that Jane's works were published and during his time in London Jane was able to stay with him when travelling to work with her publisher. Henry sold Susan (Northanger Abbey) to the publisher Crosby in 1803, Jane's first attempt at publication, but the manuscript remained with Crosby until 1815 when Henry bought it back for the sum of £10, the exact sum for which it was sold. Unfortunately due to the collapse of his bank, he was unable to arrange publication at this time.

 

Henry ensured Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published after Jane's death and added a biographical notice that prefaced both. This would be the only biography of Jane until her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh published A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869. You can read the preface here: http://www.austen.com/persuade/preface.htm [accessed 13 October 2016].