Hello.
Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,
Your go-to romantic podcast that guarantees you a calm and entertaining transition into a great night's sleep.
Come with me as we immerse ourselves in a romantic journey to a time long since forgotten.
But before we begin,
Let's take a moment to focus on where we are now.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.
Now close your eyes and feel yourself sink deeper into the support beneath you.
It is time to relax and fully let go.
There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.
Happy listening.
Chapter Two In person,
Jane Austen seems to have borne considerable resemblance to her two favourite heroines,
Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse.
Jane too was tall and slender,
A brunette with a rich colour,
All too attractive.
Jane Austen had a well-formed,
Though somewhat small nose and mouth,
Round as well as rosy cheeks,
Bright hazel eyes and brown hair falling in natural curls about her face.
With regard to her knowledge and accomplishments,
Jane Austen was well acquainted with the English history and literature of her day.
When very young,
She was an ardent partisan of Mary,
Queen of Scots,
And Charles I,
Though one may be tolerably sure she modified her views in later years.
She read the Queen Anne,
Essayists and their followers.
She was a warm admirer of the works of Johnson,
Crabbe and Cowper.
Of Crabbe,
She said jestingly,
In reference to the author,
Not the man who she had not seen,
That if she ever married at all she could fancy herself Mrs.
Crabbe.
She knew Richardson's novels almost by heart.
She had great pleasure in Sir Walter Scott's poetry.
Of his novels only Waverley,
Guy Manoring and The Antiquary had come out before her death.
She has expressed more than once in her tales her lively appreciation of the novels of Mrs.
Radcliffe,
Madame d'Arbelay and Miss Edgeworth.
As to foreign languages and literature,
Jane Austen had a considerable knowledge of French and a slight acquaintance with Italian.
In music she could play and sing pleasantly,
With much the same degree of proficiency that she attributed to Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse.
Jane was accustomed to practice her music before breakfast,
With a laudable purpose of not disturbing other members of the family less musically inclined.
She would sing of an evening when required,
Simple old songs to her own accompaniment.
She was fond of dancing and danced very well,
Like several of her own heroines,
And like her sister author,
Anna Maria Porter.
Jane Austen was exceedingly neat-handed,
With a quick eye and a firm grasp.
Her handwriting was at once strong and fine,
As well as very legible.
I should say,
In broad contrast to what may be called the Italian hand,
An overflow of characterless elegance which belonged to the generation.
She sewed and embroidered as she did everything else with exquisite finish.
She was great in satin stitch.
She spent much of her time in sewing,
Not being above making her own clothes,
As well as those of the poor.
She was an adept in any of the old-fashioned games founded on dexterity of hand,
Such as spillikins and cup and ball.
She liked to play at such games when unable to read and write long at a time,
From weakness and weariness in those bright,
Searching eyes of hers.
The great novelist was very fond of children,
And much beloved by them,
Like Anna Maria Porter again.
Jane could tell no end of fairy stories.
She was the make-believe visitor in the children's make-believe houses,
And she readily improvised for her young listeners' benefit.
Jane Austen was not without suitors,
Either,
Whom her independent spirit,
Absorption in her family,
And quiet reserve could not repel.
Her descendants were aware of addresses paid to her by one gentleman who had every recommendation of character,
Connections,
And position,
To whom nothing was wanting save the lady's favour.
There is also the lingering recollection of a sorrowful little romance,
Bearing a resemblance to that of her sister Cassandra,
In connection with a brilliant,
Witty,
Successful author.
It was told by Cassandra Austen to her young relatives long after Jane's death.
The two girls,
While spending some weeks during their youth at a seaside place,
Became acquainted with a gentleman whose attractions of person,
Mind,
And manners made even Cassandra think him worthy of Jane,
And likely to win her.
When the young people parted,
The new friend expressed his intention of soon seeing the sisters again.
But the second meeting never took place.
The sisters heard,
Not long afterwards,
Of the gentleman's sudden death,
And with him perished,
In Cassandra Austen's opinion,
Her sister Jane's solitary short love dream.
