Jane Austen in 100 Objects: No 1 – Portable Writing Desk or Writing Slope

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:

I had the pleasure of visiting England in 2013 on a Jane Austen pilgrimage. Our first stop in London was the British Library. While the building’s architecture is very modern, I can assure you it houses a treasure trove of books and related materials representing a nation’s proud literary heritage.

A Thoughtful Gift

One of its highlights was Jane Austen’s writing desk. I viewed it in the John Ritblat Gallery along with many other special literary books and objects from the British Library. Made of mahogany, the portable desk, or writing slope, had been a thoughtful gift from her father in 1794 when Jane was nineteen years old. The writing box, as she called it, is a rectangular shape that folds open to reveal an embossed leather surface that slopes toward the user. When placed upon a table, or on a lap, the writer can compose on paper at an ergonomic angle. Biographer Paula Byrne perfectly described it as, “the Georgian forerunner of the laptop computer.” It is fascinating to think that Austen wrote or revised her novels and all her adult work on this writing surface.

Partially open view of Jane Austen’s writing desk © British Library.

A Little Adventure

We first learn of her writing desk in a letter to her sister Cassandra on Wednesday, 24 October 1798. Jane and her parents were staying at the Bull and George in Dartford while traveling back to their home at Steventon Rectory in Hampshire. They had been visiting Godmersham Park in Kent, the new residence of Jane’s older brother Edward Austen and his family.

“I should have begun my letter soon after our arrival but for a little adventure which prevented me. After we had been here a quarter of an hour it was discovered that my writing and dressing boxes had been by accident put into a chaise which was just packing off as we came in, and were driven away towards Gravesend in their way to the West Indies. No part of my property could have been such a prize before, for in my writing-box was all my worldly wealth…Mr Nottley immediately despatched a man and horse after the chaise, and in half an hour’s time I had the pleasure of being as rich as ever; they were got about two or three miles off.”

All Her Worldly Wealth

At this point in Austen’s career, she had composed her Juvenilia, the novella Lady Susan, novels Elinor and Marianne, and First Impressions (both later revised and renamed Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice). When Austen, in her usual ironic style, shared with Cassandra that the box contained all her worldly wealth, it was no joke.  

Open view of Jane Austen’s writing desk © British Library.

Writing slopes were very popular during the Georgian and Victorian eras because of their compact design and portability. In addition to the slanted writing surface, they contained compartments for holding an ink pot, sealing wax, a knife, and writing implements such as a quill pen and pencils. The drawer was lockable to secure valuables. What was inside Jane’s desk when it was misdirected to Gravesend that she considered all her worldly wealth? My guess is it was what she valued most, her manuscripts. 

The provenance of the writing desk and how it came to the British Library is an adventure in Austen’s after-life. They describe the history of the desk as follows:

“When Austen died in 1817, aged 41, the desk was inherited by her sister Cassandra. It was later passed down through her eldest brother James’ family. In 1999, Joan Austen-Leigh, Jane Austen’s great-great-great-niece, generously presented it to the British Library…in order to provide pleasure and inspiration to future generations of writers and readers.”

For me, Jane Austen’s writing desk is indeed a pleasure and an inspiration—a brilliant icon of her life, and works.

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Jane Austen in 100 Objects

Welcome to my first contribution to a new blog project. My original inspiration came after my 2013 trip to England where I was fortunate to see many items and places connected to Jane’s world. My plan is to tell her story through visual objects that impacted her life and influenced her writing. 

Question?

What objects do you associate with Jane Austen that you would like me to feature? Please leave suggestions in the comments.

Best, LA   

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Bibliography

• Austen, Jane, The Letters of Jane Austen. Ed. Deirdre Le Faye. 4th ed. Oxford: OUP, 2011.
• British Library Research Repository
• Byrne, Paula, The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things. New York: HarperCollins 2013
• Freydis, Jane Welland, The History of Jane Austen’s Writing Desk, Persuasions, the Journal of the Jane Austen Society of North America, 2008.
• Le Faye, Deirdre, Jane Austen: A Family Record. 2nd ed. Cambridge: CUP, 2004

Illustration of Elizabeth Bennet at her writing desk by Isabel Bishop, chapter 16 of Pride and Prejudice, published by E.P. Dutton (1976).

We purchased the books used in the research of this post. Images of Jane Austen’s writing desk courtesy of the British Library; text Laurel Ann Nattress © 2024, Austenprose.com, an Amazon affiliate. No AI: material on Austenprose.com may not be used in datasets for, in the development of, or as inputs to generative AI programs.

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