Pen and Parsimony: Carriages in the Novels of Jane Austen, Part 2

What was it like to be cast out from Northanger Abbey in a public coach? Ride in John Thorpe's gig? Journey to London crammed in a post chaise like the Steele sisters and Dr. Davies?

Watch Part 2 of Sandy Lerner's video series, "Pen and Parsimony: Carriages in the Novels of Jane Austen," and find out. This short film shows what it was actually like to ride in the carriages and travel in Austen's time.

As Lerner points out in her blog post introducing the video series, Jane Austen mentions carriages in her novels almost 400 times, and it's good to know a little about them when you read her work. These videos decode the social and economic implications of Austen's carriage references and help us better understand her characters and her comments about them.

Enjoy the ride!

Copyright Sandy Lerner 

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 The video series "Pen and Parsimony: Carriages in the Novels of Jane Austen" is based on a breakout talk Sandy Lerner presented at the 1999 and 2013 AGMs. She has graciously provided her talk as a reference for those who would like more in-depth information.

Sandy Lerner, OBE, cofounded Cisco Systems in 1984, moved on to create the cosmetics company Urban Decay, and now owns and operates an organic farm. Her foundation acquired a 125-year lease on Chawton House, funded its restoration, and established Chawton House Library, a center for the study of women’s literature in English during the period 1600-1830. Lerner is the author of Second Impressions, a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, and Caticons: 4,000 Years of Art Imitating Cats, and has many other pursuits, including carriage-driving and jewelry-making. She has been driving carriages since 1994 and is a founding member of the Four-in-Hand Club of America.