Order and disorder in the British Navy, 1793–1815: control, resistance, flogging and hanging

Abstract

interweaving of background information is sensitively done and, overall, adds value to the story, providing a broad perspective on Fanny’s life both as part of the lively Austen clan and as a member of a wider naval ‘family’. Of greatest interest to literary scholars is undoubtedly the link that Fanny may have provided between Austen and her fictional naval characters. Austen was an author who valued realism and accuracy in her writing and Kindred speculates on the information Fanny may have been able to supply that was subsequently immortalised in the novels. While Fanny does not appear to have a direct fictional counterpart, there are some similarities between her experiences and those of Mrs Croft, the wife of Admiral Croft, in Persuasion. Like Mrs Croft, Fanny was devoted to her husband and, importantly, spent time at sea with him. Also like Mrs Croft, the evidence suggests that Fanny was happiest when she and Charles were together, even if that was on board a warship in a conflict situation (196). Mrs Croft also displays a familiarity with specific naval terminology which may have been passed to Austen by Fanny and, perhaps most tellingly, she demonstrates a local knowledge of Fanny’s home island: ‘we do not call Bermuda or Bahama, you know, the West Indies’ (197). Sadly, there is no evidence of Fanny’s advice being directly sought by Austen, or of any conversations between the two women which might have yielded such nuggets of information. However, it is not unreasonable to assume that Fanny would have been one of Austen’s sources, particularly as her other naval sister-in-law, Mary, did not go to sea – although Kindred suggests other links between Mary and Mrs Croft (205–06). For those with a primary interest in Austen and her inspirations, the chapter which explores the possible links between Fanny and the novels is undoubtedly the most satisfying of the book and demonstrates Kindred’s depth of expertise as a scholar of both literature and history. Although those hoping for a rich new seam of Austen-related material may be disappointed, this is a meticulously researched, learned and well-written book. It provides a fascinating insight into the all-too-short life of Jane Austen’s seafaring sister-in-law and, although Fanny did not live to see her twenty-fifth birthday, it is comforting to think that she may in some small way live on through the pages of some of the world’s best-loved novels.