Jane, her sister Cassandra, and their mother moved into Chawton Cottage in 1809, thanks to her brother Edward Knight’s generosity. One other person came to live with them. Martha Lloyd was a longtime friend, and a few of Jane’s surviving letters are written to her. She was the sister of Jane’s oldest brother James’ second wife, Mary. Got all that? (James took over the rectory at Steventon when their father retired; his son by his second wife, James Edward Austen Leigh, is the one who wrote Jane Austen’s first official biography. So both Martha and Jane were aunts to James Edward Austen Leigh). Continue Reading
