Guest post from Angela Youngman.

Everybody knows what Jane Austen stories are like – or do we? All too often, her books are dismissed as being fluffy, lightweight romantic novels attracting a mainly female audience. It’s a viewpoint that tends to be reinforced by films, TV series and modern stories like Bridgerton offering entertaining escapism.

The reality is very different. When you look closely at her books, a very different impression emerges. Jane Austen was not just a great storyteller, but a social commentator especially when writing about the role of women. There are references to issues of war and slavery, crime and punishment alongside the dances, the balls, the social encounters and attempts to find a husband that reflect the harsh realities of Jane’s contemporaries.

‘What will become of us?’ asks Mrs Bennett in Pride & Prejudice worrying about the consequences for her daughters if they remain unmarried. It is a question that would have been paramount in the mind of every girl of Jane’s status in life. Born the daughter of a gentleman, she was a member of the gentry and had family connections to wealthy landowners. Throughout her childhood, she was educated with the aim of becoming a wife and mother. As soon as she was old enough to come out into society, Jane was sent out to stay for weeks at a time with relatives around the country in the hope of meeting a potential husband.

The problem was that just like the Bennett sisters, Jane had no dowry. This made her marriage prospects extremely bleak. Even though Thomas Langlois Lefoy expressed an interest in Jane, it was a relationship that could not be encouraged because he had no money. Practicalities took precedence.

Charlotte Lucas in Pride & Prejudice showed just how important this was, acting quickly to encourage Mr Collins after Lizzie rejected him. Having been on the marriage mart for some years, Charlotte was willing to overlook his faults in order to secure a comfortable future. It meant that her sister could start husband hunting herself, and her brothers would be free of worry about Charlotte’s future.

Gentlewomen like Jane faced a dire future if they could not secure a husband. “Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor – which is one very strong argument in favour of Matrimony’, wrote Jane. Her aunt, Philadelphia Austin, had nearly become a milliner until a wealthy relative offered to pay her expenses out to India on the ‘Fishing Fleet’ operated by the East India Company. The Fishing Fleet was quite simply a way of providing English brides to unwed men working in India. Although there was no scarcity of potential husbands awaiting them, the girls in the Fishing Fleet faced a long journey by sea, the risk of encountering pirates and storms along the way. Once in India, they were expected to find a husband within days – men with whom they would have no prior knowledge as to their characters or prospects. It was extremely risky to say the least.

Once married, women became the husband’s responsibility and he controlled money, assets and all property. When Jane’s father decided to retire and move to Bath, his wife and daughters had no choice but to go with him even though it meant having to give up cherished possessions such as Jane’s piano and music sheets.

A married woman was expected to bear children, giving her husband a male heir. Since many children did not survive beyond the age of five women faced the prospect of constant childbirth and death. If abused and mistreated, a married woman had no option but to continue the marriage. Divorce was rare and very costly.

Alternative options were limited. They could try for a husband working in trade or one of the professions, but this would mean a loss of status. Unmarried gentlewomen often found themselves spending their lives living on the charity of family members, working as an unpaid governess, companion or helper when required. Both Jane and her sister Cassandra often spent time helping with their brother Edward Knight’s young family.

Seeking paid work as a governess or companion was risky. They were neither servant nor family, and could find themselves without friends. The Bath Chronicle 1798 contained an advertisement for a governess which read ‘She is expected to rise early, and will not have a maid to attend her. She is to sleep in the room with a Young Lady, and to eat with her when requested. She will not visit with the Lady (of the house) as she is wanted to attend entirely to the education of the two Young Ladies’. Employment could end at short notice. One governess Nelly Weeton noted in her diary that ‘a governess is more a prisoner than any servant in the house’. It was also low paid – Nelly earned just thirty guineas a year. Companions faced similar problems. Jane Austen encountered many companions during her life such as Mrs Stent, the companion to Mrs Lloyd. She wrote ‘poor Mrs Stent… perhaps in time we may come to be Mrs Stents ourselves, unequal to anything and unwelcome to everybody.’

Women writers were rare, and Jane was reluctant to make her occupation known. Within her family, her domestic skills were regarded as more important than writing. During her lifetime, her books brought in less than £700.

Financially Jane always struggled. Her income was low, even when she started selling her books. Her brother Henry’s unwise financial decisions eventually rendered him bankrupt, and it was his advice that she had been following with regard to dealing with publishers.

Ultimately, spinsters like Jane depended on family charity. When Jane’s father died, Mrs Austen, Jane and Cassandra quickly found themselves taking ever cheaper lodgings in order to save money. Even when they moved to Chawton, their house was dependent on the continued welfare of Jane’s brother Edward Knight.

Such realities are clearly visible within Jane’s novels. Life for a woman was definitely not easy, especially for gentlewomen of Jane’s status with poverty and death never far away.

The Dark Side of Jane Austen’s World is available to order here.