Welcome to our epistolary retelling of Pride & Prejudice! Jane Austen’s original version of the story, First Impression, was told entirely in letters, so it seemed like a great group project. We’ll be posting a new letter every Wednesday.
Mrs Bennet Writes to Lydia about Taking All Opportunities for Fun
Longbourn, 29 July 1812
My dearest girl,
I have just received your latest letter, and I have resolved to reply at once to tell you how delighted I was to receive your glad tidings.
How wonderful to hear that not a day goes by without a dinner invitation, or an impromptu dance, or at the very least a cheerful stroll with many an officer in attendance. How excessively kind of Mrs Forster to have given you the chance to partake in such riveting amusements! This is precisely what I wished for you, my dear girl.
Truth be told, this is what I wished for myself all those decades ago, when Colonel Millar’s regiment was stationed in Meryton. Upon their departure they were headed for Portsmouth, and as you may imagine, the amusements that place has to offer are absolutely nothing to the delights of Brighton. Even so, I would have followed the regiment at the drop of a hat, had I been presented with the opportunity. You have no notion, my dear girl, of how excessively fortunate you are! You think you know, but take it from me, you do not. The joys and freedoms you girls experience far exceed what was deemed acceptable in my time, and as far as the delights of beholding a whole campful of soldiers, and in such a lively and elegant place as Brighton – oh, my! I can imagine nothing better.
To own the truth, reading your letters would make me quite green with envy, were you not my sweet and most precious girl, whose happiness I value at least as much as my own. But oh, how I wish that your father could have been prevailed upon to take us all to Brighton! Then I should have been able to walk with you and witness your delights first-hand, rather than having to wait for a brief description in a letter.
By the bye, dear girl, I do wish you gave me more details! I would have dearly liked a full description of your new gown, and the reticules and parasols you write of, and I scarce know anything of your new bonnet, or of the Brighton fashions for ladies my own age. Do give me accurate descriptions when you get the chance! And pray tell me what sort of dishes are served at those fancy dinners you are attending, and moreover how the food is dressed and the table decorated. My sister Gardiner sometimes supplies me with such details of the dinners she attends in Town, but we need not beat about the bush and state plainly that she and my brother do not mix in the first circles.
‘Tis a whole different matter at the regiment. While some of the officers, like dear Mr Wickham, belong to our walk of life, many of the others (or perhaps I should say most of them) are young scions of titled families. Therefore I should imagine that you are rubbing shoulders with far more exalted personages than I ever had the chance to encounter. Make the most of this delightful opportunity, my sweet! As I said time and time again, should a handsome officer of five or eight thousand a year should take a fancy to one of my girls, I should not be the one to tell him ‘Nay’. How charming that would be, if you should be the one to form such an alliance!
Naturally, as matters stand, you are the only one who stands a chance. As you well know, that deceitful and undeserving Mr Bingley is gone (some say for good), so I expect there is no chance of your sister Jane getting him now. But oh, how it would gladden my sorrowful heart to see you engaged to the younger son of a viscount, or even an earl! All those who pity us now on account of that sad business of Jane’s, to say nothing of the grasping Lucases and their artful Charlotte, would choke with envy, but would have to swallow it whole and smile and simper and fawn over you, if you were to form an alliance with a noble family.
But pray do not turn up your nose at the son of some rich merchant, if he should favour you. Of course, the most desirable circumstance would be for you to gain the favour of two, three or more eligible prospects. Then their rivalry and jealous interest would work to your advantage, and at least one of them would hasten to propose, for fear of losing you to one of the others. Believe me, I know whereof I speak! I dearly wish we had the time to speak of this at leisure, face to face, prior to your departure, for it is very hard indeed to give you the full breadth of good counsel in a letter. For instance, great skill is required to fan the interest of more than one suitor without overplaying your hand and losing them all. You shall have to use all your good judgement, and I have great confidence you shall, because you take after me in all your best traits and talents.
But my dear girl, do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the trials and tribulations of finding and keeping suitors. Above all, do take every opportunity to enjoy yourself. Who knows when you might have the chance to set foot in Brighton again, and in such delightful company?
Take every opportunity to dance, my dear girl, and stroll by the seashore with the officers, and see all the wonders abounding all around you. I only enjoin you to remember them all, so that you can describe them to me in detail when we meet again.
Until then, I send you all my love and blessings.
Your loving Mama
2 comments
Not a single word about guarding her virtue or staying away from men who have no money like Wickham! Just encouragement to throw herself at any and all the men!
But of course, when this is what she does it is all Mrs Forster’s fault for she’s not the kind of girl to do such a thing – even when her mother begs her to?
I can just hear every word, thank you 🥰
Author
Thank *you*, Glynis! I’m so glad you could hear every word :))
LOL but of course it’s Mrs Forster’s fault. Some great neglect on her side. Poor dear Lydia had nobody to take care of her (and all that).
Take care, dear Glynis, and thanks for reading!