Record revealed
Jane Austen’s will
This small document shows, in her own handwriting, how novelist Jane Austen planned to share her possessions with family and friends after her death.
Images
Image 1 of 3
The full text of Jane Austen’s will
Transcript
I Jane Austen of the Parish of Chawton do
by this my last will & Testament give and
bequeath to my dearest Sister Cassandra Eliz[abe]th
every thing of which I may die possessed,
or which may be hereafter due to me,
subject to the payment of my Funeral
Expences, & to a Legacy of £50 to
my Brother Henry, & £50 to M[a]d[am]e
Bigeon - which I request may be paid
as soon as convenient. And I appoint
my said dear Sister the Executrix of
this my last will & Testament:
Jane Austen
April 27. 1817
Image 2 of 3
A close up of the back of Jane’s will. This shows her handwritten confirmation that this document is her will.
Transcript
My Will. To Miss Austen
Image 3 of 3
The back of the will showing the Court’s record of the grant of probate. Probate is the legal recognition of the validity of the will, authorising the executor to carry out its instructions.
Transcript
My Will.
To Miss Austen
Proved at London 10th. Sep[tembe]r
1817 before the Worshipful Richard
Henry Cresswell Doctor of Laws and
Surrogate by the Oath of Cassandra
Elizabeth Austen Spinster the Sister
and sole Executrix to whom Adm[inistrati]on
was granted having been first sworn
duly to Adm[iniste]r. //
10th September 1817
Cassandra Elizabeth Austen Spinster the Sister
and sole Executrix named in this will was duly sworn
to the Truth and faithful performance thereof and
that the whole of the Deceaseds Personal Estate and
Effects does not amount in value to the Sum of
Eight hundred Pounds
Before me
RH Cresswell Surr[oga]te.
Tebbs
under £800
The Testatrix Jane Austen was late of Chawton in
the County of Southampton a Spinster and died in
the Month of July last
SJ[?]
Why this record matters
- Date
- 27 April 1817
- Catalogue reference
- PROB 1/78
The author Jane Austen (1775–1817) became ill for the last time at the age of just 41, after facing poor health throughout her life. Aware that she might not recover due to the severity of this illness, she wrote her will on 27 April 1817. She died less than three months later on 18 July 1817.
The will was folded, and, on the back, Jane wrote ‘My Will. To Miss Austen’, presumably leaving it with her other papers to be found by her sister after her death.
Jane is known to have written her novels on small tables or desks using small pieces of paper. Her will shares this characteristic and was written on a piece of paper smaller than most wills at just 17.8 by 22.2 centimetres in size. Also, like her other writings, she was precise, needing just 90 words in two sentences to complete her will. Additionally, Jane used various standard legal terms showing she was familiar with the formulaic style of wills.
Despite having a wide range of relatives and friends who might expect to benefit from her will, Jane only names three of them. To her recently bankrupt brother, Henry Austen, she left £50 and to his housekeeper, Madame Bigeon, another £50.
The rest of her personal possessions and money were left to her beloved sister, Cassandra. She also hints at the future financial value of her novels, writing that her sister will also receive ‘every thing… hereafter due to me’.
Death duty accounts record taxes paid on a person’s possessions and money after they have died. Jane’s death duty accounts (catalogue reference: IR 26/698 (f 768)) record that her estate was worth £661 and 2 shillings when she died, after debts, probate and funeral expenses were paid.
Cassandra was to receive a further £515, 17 shillings and 7 pence when Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published. These were released a year after Jane's death in 1818.
Jane’s will was unwitnessed, meaning no one signed the document to confirm that they had watched her sign it herself. This did not invalidate her will as a lack of witnesses was not required for wills that only left personal possessions and money until the Wills Act of 1837. It did, however, mean that its authenticity needed to be confirmed.
Due to this, family friends, John Grove Palmer and Harriet Ebel Palmer, gave evidence before the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. They confirmed that the will matched Jane’s handwriting and signature, which they were familiar with and could identify confidently.
The will was proved (confirmed to be legally valid) at the Court in London on 10 September 1817. This gave Cassandra the power to carry out Jane’s final wishes.