Jane and I have tried to console her by saying that one of our neighbours will perform the introduction at the Meryton assembly, but she refuses to be comforted, saying that Mrs Long is a hypocritical woman with two nieces and will therefore not introduce us. And even if these obstacles could be overcome—if Mrs Long were to suddenly become the kindest woman on earth and her two nieces were to become betrothed, or die, before the ball—it would still not answer, for Mrs Long will be away and will only return the day before the ball; therefore she will not have time to come to know him herself.

I dare say we will become acquainted with Mr Bingley sooner or later, whatever Mama thinks, since it is hardly possible we can be neighbours for any length of time without coming to know each other. Whether the acquaintance will be as welcome to her once it has been made I do not know, since it is almost impossible to find out anything for certain about Mr Bingley. This, however, does not stop the rumours. Almost everyone is sure they have heard something about him. Some say that he has three brothers, others that he has three sisters. He is, according to different informants, handsome, tolerably handsome and not at all handsome; temperamental, affable and condescending; a sportsman, an intellectual and a hermit. In height he is tall, medium and short; in figure he is portly, emaciated and spare.

However, we will have to wait until Michaelmas to find out for ourselves because he does not move into the Park before then.

Your loving niece,

Lizzy


Miss Susan Sotherton to Miss Elizabeth Bennet

Bath, September 25

Dearest Lizzy,

You will have heard by now that we have found a tenant for Netherfield Park, which has provoked different feelings in us all. Mama is relieved, because now, at least, some of the worst of our debts can be paid, whilst Papa is affronted at the idea of strangers living in our ancestral home, even though it is his own folly that has forced us to leave. My brothers and sisters are sad and angry in equal measure, and I must now become resigned to it. I must confess, I kept hoping against hope that Papa would see the error of his ways and stop drinking and gambling overnight, or that Mama would inherit a fortune from a hitherto unsuspected great-uncle, and that we could all return to Netherfield. But alas! It is not to be. Papa drinks as much as ever, though he gambles less, and unsuspected great-uncles are in short supply.

And so Netherfield has really gone and we will not be able to return there for at least a year, as that is the length of the lease. We know nothing about the man who has taken it yet, and I rely on you and Charlotte for the news. Papa takes very little interest in the affair and his man of business will talk to no one else.

We are settled in Bath for the autumn. It is cheaper to live here than anywhere else, at least with any pretence of gentility, and we will probably spend the winter here, too. After that, who can say?

Write to me soon, dearest Lizzy.

With fondest wishes,

Susan

OCTOBER

Miss Elizabeth Bennet to Miss Susan Sotherton

Longbourn, Hertfordshire,

October 1

Alas for unsuspected great-uncles: they are in short supply here, too. I am sure if we could find one, Mama would not be quite so eager to marry us to every man she meets. She has already decided that your new tenant will marry Jane. Poor Mr Bingley! He has hardly moved into the neighbourhood, and already he is considered as the rightful property of one or other of us.

But what is he like, you ask? I can answer that question. You will be pleased to know that he is a single gentleman and that he has a fortune of four or five thousand pounds a year. I hear that his money comes from trade, but we will not hold that against him.

Papa called on him as soon as he arrived, despite telling Mama that he would not go, and Mr Bingley returned Papa’s call yesterday. We were not downstairs, but Lydia called to us as soon as she heard his horse and we managed to catch a glimpse of him from an upstairs window. There was much jostling for position as Lydia and Kitty pushed each other aside, first one gaining the prime spot and then the other, whilst Mary quoted a sermon on the beauties of sisterly self-sacrifice and the evils of the flesh.

Despite Lydia and Kitty’s jostling, Jane and I managed to see him clearly and so I can also tell you that he is young and good-looking, that he rides a black horse and wears a blue coat. What more could you want? For if such a mode of dress and transportation does not declare an amiable disposition, I do not know what does.

However, if you press me for more, I will say that Mama asked him to dine with us and that he declined her invitation as he was obliged to be in town on business. Mama was afraid it meant that he would always be flying about, but as soon as it emerged that he was only going to town to gather a large party together for the assembly, she was content. For you know that an eagerness to attend the assembly means an eagerness to dance, and a fondness of dancing is a certain step towards falling in love.

Alas! for the young women of Meryton: Lady Lucas declared that he would be bringing twelve ladies as well as seven gentlemen to the assembly; however, Mrs Long says it is to be only six ladies, which means that instead of drowning us under a surfeit of ladies, the assembly will give us an overall addition of one gentleman.

The only thing that could make me look forward to the assembly more would be your presence, but I comfort myself with the thought that you have settled in Bath, that it is full of entertainments and so you will not be dull.

Write to me soon.

Lizzy

P.S. Mary is including a letter for your sister.


Miss Mary Bennet to Miss Lucy Sotherton

Longbourn, Hertfordshire,

October 1

Most noble Friend,

From all I have read, to lose a friend is one of the chief ills that can befall a young woman, but we must pour into each other’s bosoms the balm of consolation and take courage from an exchange of scholarly letters. You and I, dear Lucy, were the only Learned Women in the neighbourhood and now that you are gone, I am the only one. I am determined not to let that prevent me from rational application and I have drawn up a plan of improvement for the coming autumn. I hope, dear friend, you have done the same.

However, it has met with little encouragement at home.

When I announced that I intended to spend four hours a day sewing blankets for the needy, Mama said that I had better sew blankets for our family, as we will soon be needy ourselves. ‘If not for the entail, I should encourage you to help the poor,’ she said, ‘but once an entail is involved, there is no knowing what might happen. As soon as your father dies we will all be turned out of our home and we will need those blankets because we will all be sleeping under the hedgerows.’

I explained to her again about the entail, but she was adamant that it was a deceitful invention, designed to cheat her out of what was rightfully hers.

This is not an easy house in which to be a Learned Woman, for there is no possibility of the exchange of rational or intellectual ideas.

At last I abandoned the attempt to explain the entail to her and continued to enumerate my plans, saying that I intended to devote four hours a day to learning a new instrument. Lydia said that I could not even play the pianoforte and that she would go mad if she had to listen to me learning to play the harp.

As you know, dear Lucy, Lydia is a Philistine. However, she only laughed when I said so, and danced around the room, saying, ‘Phyllis Stein, Phyllis Stein, Lord! What a lark! Kitty, you must not call me Lydia from now on, my new name is Phyllis Stein.’

I did not let this daunt me, and merely remarked that I intend to spend four hours a day practising the pianoforte as well. I will, of course, ignore Mama when she comes into the room after ten minutes and says, ‘What is all that noise? Really, Mary, have some compassion on my poor nerves,’ and I will also ignore my younger sisters when they laugh at me and tell me to play a jig.

It is not easy to be a Learned Women in such a wilderness of ignorance. If not for Mr Shackleton, I do not know what I would do. He at least is capable of rational conversation and deep thinking on important subjects. He agreed with me when I said that preludes are of great intellectual beauty, whereas there is no intellectual value in a jig. I have promised him I will write a maxim on the subject.

It is also my intention to spend four hours a day in rational conversation, but this is impossible since Mr Shackleton is engaged in my uncle’s office and no one at Longbourn House is capable of such a thing. Mama can talk of nothing except Mr Bingley and his five thousand a year whilst Kitty and Lydia can think of nothing but bonnets. Jane is a sweet girl but not even her best friend could accuse her of being a Woman of Brain, and Elizabeth confuses Levity with Wit.

Mr Shackleton agreed with me when I said as much at my aunt and uncle Philips’s house this evening. Although he is only my uncle’s clerk, he shows great signs of intelligence and I believe his friendship to be worth cultivating. Mr Shackleton also believes that our friendship is worth pursuing.

Shakespeare said: Friendship is constant.