Jane Austen's Will

Below is an image of Jane Austen's will. It reads:

I Jane Austen of the Parish of Chawton do by this my last Will & Testament give and bequeath to my dearest Sister Cassandra Elizth every thing of which I may die possessed, or which may be hereafter due to me, subject to the payment of my Funeral Expences, & to a Legacy of £ 50. to my Brother Henry, & £ 50. to Mde Bigeon–which I request may be paid as soon as convenient. And I appoint my said dear Sister the Executrix of this my last Will & Testament.

Jane Austen
April 27, 1817

Unfortunately the will was not signed by witnesses, so after Jane Austen's death two of her friends had to swear in a written statement that they had known her for years and recognised her handwriting. At her death on 18th July 1817, her assets were valued at around £800.

Jane was very close to her sister Cassandra, who nursed her through her final illness. Their mother once said when they were younger: "if Cassandra's head had been going to be cut off, Jane would have hers cut off too". You can also see the affection in return in Cassandra's letter to their niece Fanny Knight:

[...] I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed. She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow; I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself. I loved her only too well -- not better than she deserved, but I am conscious that my affection for her made me sometimes unjust to and negligent of others; and I can acknowledge, more than as a general principle, the justice of the Hand which has struck this blow.

You know me too well to be at all afraid that I should suffer materially from my feelings; I am perfectly conscious of the extent of my irreparable loss, but I am not at all overpowered and very little indisposed, nothing but what a short time, with rest and change of air, will remove. I thank God that I was enabled to attend her to the last, and amongst my many causes of self-reproach I have not to add any wilful neglect of her comfort. [...]

Henry Austen, the fourth son of Rev George Austen & Cassandra Leigh, was instrumental in the publishing of Jane's novels. For some time he was based in London, which allowed Jane to visit and also communicate with her publishers. Henry published Northanger Abbey and Persuasion together posthumously in 1817 with a biographical notice revealing his sister as the author of her previously published novels.

Mde Bigeon was Henry Austen's longtime cook. Henry had recently been widowed and after the failure of his bank in 1816, had lost his savings and those of his servants, along with many thousands of pounds from his brother Edward Knight and his uncle.