Henry IV ascended the throne of England a lot to his personal satisfaction within the yr 1399.
As opening strains for a historical past go, this is a wonderful one. Its writer was the teenage Jane Austen, in a vigorous brief piece she wrote for the leisure of her household: The Historical past of England from the Reign of Henry IV to Charles I, by – as Austen gleefully proclaims herself – ‘a partial, prejudiced and ignorant historian’.
This yr is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s beginning, and occasions celebrating her life and work are going down throughout the nation. It’s a good alternative to keep in mind that Austen was not solely an progressive novelist, but in addition a pointy and considerate reader of historical past, in addition to a satirist of the historians of her day. Although she was solely 15 when she wrote her Historical past of England, the wit of her later novels is unmistakably current. Nobody however Austen might have written of Edward IV that he ‘was well-known just for his magnificence and his braveness, of which the image we’ve right here given of him, and his undaunted behaviour in marrying one girl whereas he was engaged to a different, are enough proofs’.
Austen guarantees that her historical past will comprise only a few dates. Its goal is to not give info, however ‘solely to vent my spleen in opposition to, and present my hatred to, all these folks whose events or rules don’t go well with with mine’. She is shamelessly partisan: pro-Yorkist, anti-Tudor, and an outspoken fan of Mary, Queen of Scots. She defends Richard III and Anne Boleyn, however assaults ‘that shame to humanity, that pest of society’ Elizabeth I. Mischievously (for the daughter of an Anglican clergyman), she is proud to announce her sympathy for Roman Catholicism. Her audacious exaggeration and complete lack of impartiality are pleasant, but in addition mirror the teenage Austen’s eager notion of the implicit prejudices within the histories she had learn – simply as biased, she suggests, if extra delicate in conveying their authors’ opinions.
Questions concerning the historian’s artwork are additionally explored in Northanger Abbey, by way of a dialog between the heroine Catherine and her buddies Eleanor and Henry Tilney. All three are enthusiastic readers, however Catherine, although a lover of novels, confesses that ‘historical past, actual solemn historical past’, is to not her style. It’s all tiresome, ‘the quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in each web page; the boys all so good for nothing, and hardly any ladies in any respect’. Innocently assuming that everybody finds studying historical past as boring as she does, Catherine pities historians, who work so exhausting to put in writing books that nobody enjoys: ‘Although I do know it’s all very proper and essential, I’ve typically questioned on the individual’s braveness that would sit down on goal to do it.’
Catherine is an unworldly character, and her naivety is comedian – however she is way from silly, and thru this dialog Austen explores some real questions concerning the historic writing of her time. Catherine’s statement concerning the priorities of male-dominated ‘solemn historical past’ would possibly properly echo the sentiments of the younger Austen, who selected to dedicate essentially the most house in her Historical past of England to 2 ladies, Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots.
The opposite challenge raised on this dialogue is concerning the relationship between historical past and creativeness, and the way far the historian’s job would possibly overlap with that of the novelist. Catherine can’t perceive why she finds historical past boring when it should be as filled with invention because the Gothic novels she does take pleasure in. Since historians have to make use of their creativeness to elaborate on the ideas and motivations of their characters, she wonders, why isn’t the consequence extra entertaining? Eleanor Tilney, a wiser reader than her pal, defends the historians. She enjoys studying historical past, as a result of she is ready to respect these innovations as examples of literary talent; it’s the reader’s accountability, it’s implied, to be alert to the mix of reality and creativeness in historic writing. To Eleanor historical past is an artwork, not merely an obligation, so she will take extra from it than poor Catherine.
Northanger Abbey may be very a lot about studying to be a discerning reader, taking pleasure within the works of the creativeness with out forgetting to use motive and judgement. This dialog means that problem applies simply as a lot to studying historical past as to Gothic novels. No matter we would consider the writers of historical past – partial and prejudiced, or labouring over unread books – Austen reminds us that readers of historical past have our duties too.
Eleanor Parker is Lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Brasenose Faculty, Oxford.
