A Letter to Anne Elliot
Langford Hall
Whitley, Wiltshire
May 18, 1815
Miss Anne Elliot
Camden Place, Bath
My Dearest Miss Elliot,
Oh Anne, please know that I will be arriving in Bath shortly after you receive this missive. Upon reading your most informative letter, I put an order in for my carriage to be ready for an immediate departure for Bath. There is nothing that could keep me from your side at a time like this. You must be in quite a state! If I were in your position, I know that my mind and my heart would be all at wrong ends of one another and I would not know which way is up.
I see, from your missive, that your parent and sibling have not changed as much as their scenery has. One would suspect that having to retrench would put one in mind of greater economies, but it seems that is not the case, and I do feel sorry that you have to witness this avarice behaviour in one’s own family. To go on about Lady Dalrymple and her daughter, that must have been a sight to see as when one’s own parental figure get in a dither about a cousin, simply because she has a title. From what I remember of your father, I could see the potential for him to ‘froth at the mouth’ as you say when he was speaking of the local nobility. I am sure you have already thought of his elevating himself (and hopefully his daughters) in society simply by association.
I understand that you had a great disappointment when visiting Uppercross and your sister, Mary Musgrove. I know how difficult it is to be faced with one’s past, especially when there are younger and less-reserved females on the scene. It was unkind of Mary to put you in that position, to be so near the man you had wanted to marry. Did Mary not know of your connection with the infamous Captain Wentworth those many years ago? To put you, my Dear, in such a position was without feeling and rude, indeed. Though, I know you, Anne, and I wish that I were there so you need not have suffered in silence. Why did you not write to me sooner? You know that I would have been by your side in an instant, had you but asked.
However, it seems as if things took an interesting turn. This Captain Benwick sounds like an interesting young man. It is not often you find one that can quote the various poets of our times so well. Though, the melancholy could have been too much to bear if was any bit worse than what you had alluded to. If he had served with Captain Wentworth, then he too must have an enviable position in which a small manor in the countryside, or even near the sea would not be out of the question. Miss Louisa Musgrove, I am sorry to say, precipitated her own injury by being so very uncautious as well as displaying behaviour unbecoming to a young lady of her age and station.
I am saddened to hear that she did not fare well from her fall. I do hope that she does recover in a timely manner. I always knew that you had a cool manner about you, Dear Anne. If not for you and your quick mind, Miss Louisa may not be recovering at all. How you must have suffered on that journey through the countryside with that blathering captain who could not stop blaming himself for the incident. How were you to bear hearing your past love go over the situation for those many hours in one ear, and your sister’s histrionics in the other?
Then to be well received in Bath, especially with a young gentleman of fortune who not only happens to be connected to your family, but seems to have intentions to be even further connected to your family through your hand. From your own account, Mr. Elliot seems to be all genteel and not unpleasant to watch move about a room. Has he walked by your side whilst you partake in the mineral waters of the Pump Room? Did he ask for a prime spot on your dance card when you attended the Assembly Room? I must know more about this young man that had you speaking so profusely of his intelligence and good manners. I know that he must be of good sense to have singled you out above your elder sister, Elizabeth.
You have such an even temper, a pleasant manner, and a sweet look about you. Please do not go on any longer about your age and position. You will most assuredly not spend your years simply as an aged maid who attends your sister Mary’s children. Does not having two men paying homage to you through poetry or sweet words on the dance floor prove that? Please know that I am rushing as quickly as possible behind this note to be by your side to see how the rest of the story unfolds. My Dearest Anne, rest assured that your dear friend is on her way to walk with you through the streets of Bath to distract you from all that troubles you. I have a mind to walk along the Royal Crescent and take tea with you at the Assembly rooms so that I can learn all of the details of these past months that you were not able to put in your too short note that was recently sent to me. Have no fear, my Dear Anne, I will be there in a trice to help you choose which gentleman is worthy of my dearest friend.
I am always at your service,
Katherine Maxwell
Thank you for reading my letter to my favorite Jane Austen character, Anne Elliot of Persuasion. It was wonderful to be asked by Meredith of Austenesque Reviewsto partake in her Austen Extravaganza. Gentle Reader, you might also like this postI did on Persuasion, which includes “The Letter” from Captain Wentworth. Please let me know which Austen character you would write a letter to if you could.
CONNECT WITH KATE:
I would definitely write a letter to Elizabeth Bennett. Her wit would make her a fascinating pen pal.
Yes, Elizabeth would be a fantastic pen pal. Would that we all could have her wit in our lives on a daily basis?
Oh wow, I dunno who I’d write a letter to…Probably Elinor from S&S; we’re so alike!
araminta18 at gmail dot com
What a great letter! Anne definitely needs a friend like that, goodness knows her family are selfish and of no help whatsoever.
I think I would write to Elizabeth, she’d be a fun correspondent. Or maybe if I was feeling a bit masochistic I’d choose Lady Catherine, just for the comedic value of all her sage advice. Lol
Thanks for your great AE contribution!
@jaffobsession
Wonderful letter!
I would write a letter to Marianne Dashwood. I don’t think I’d be too nice to her, though. I’d tell her to get her silly romantic head out of the clouds. Elinor was too reserved to tell her sister to get her act together, but I sure would 🙂
Heather M.
hmoll(at)nycap(dot)rr(dot)com
At first I thought it was from Lady Russell since the tone of the letter fits the period. Katherine, you are quite adept in the proficient of letter writing and I like the letter. Thanks for sharing it with us.
As for me, I think I’ll write to Elinor since I’m also reserve like her. We could be the best of friends if only she was not a fictional character.
evangelineace2020[at]yahoo[dot]com
Loved your letter….
to whom I would write would take lots of
consideration…Ms Austen wrote so many
wonderful characters…Georgianna is whom
I most resemble…But Elizabeth, Emma and Anne
are such lovely ladies…all would be excellent
penpals…
I absolutely loved your letter. I would definitely choose Elizabeth or Emma to be my penpal, both would be so much fun to talk to.
Thanks for your awesome letter!
RedRose15
twitter: rosefire15
I thoroughly enjoyed your letter- very creative way to show appreciation. Now my favorite of Austen’s novels is Persuasion, but I think if I were to write a letter to a fav character it would be Fanny Price of Mansfield Park.
Thanks!
Sophia
sophiarose1816(at)gmail(dot)com
Holy cow! Your writing is beautiful – I hope to start reading some of your JAFF soon!
Lovely letter!
I like that you didn’t take the angle that others might and have such a good friend also in confidence about Anne’s unchanged feelings for FW. 🙂
I might write to Lady Catherine and be so facetious that she would be unable to see the sarcasm in the compliments. Hah!
T…
Great letter. I think I would have so much fun with Elizabeth Bennet, but Georgianna or Anne Elliot would be great too.
cherringtonmb at sbcglobal dot net
An absolute delight – how creative of you! Thanks for sharing.
elaine489(at)gmail(dot)com
I would love to share letters with Elizabeth Bennet… Love her wit & snarkiness! LOL
Valerie R.
txreyn5663 (at) earthlink (dot) net
What great fun having a correspondent in Lady Catherine – but would she deign to reply?!?
This was a great post! It makes me wonder what I would write to Anne if it was possible. Persuasion is my favorite of Austen’s work. I also enjoyed the letter from Capt Wentworth. Thanks for the link!
drcopeland(at)hotmail(dot)com
Love the letter- I would choose Darcy! Wouldn’t it be great to hear what is going on in his mind?
What a wonderful and creative post! I immediately thought that I would love to write to Elizabeth but then Joy above me said Mr. Darcy and I have changed my mind. I think being Mr. Darcy’s correspondent would be pretty amazing. He is a dutiful correspondent after all 🙂 Lumee23 at gmail dot com
Who would I write to? Probably Marianne or perhaps Elizabeth Bennet?
@samjaymc
Wonderful letter! Thank you for sharing.
If it was possible, I think I would love to be in touch with Elizabeth (though at first she would have had to be very patient with my English writing epistolary style:))
oloore at gmail dot com
Lovely letter! I would ABSOLUTELY have to correspond with Captain Wentworth! I’d probably stutter and totally embarrass myself, but his replies would be sooooo worth it!
Thanks! I had fun writing it. It is so neat being transported through time. Maybe I will dust off that NaNoWriMo I started last year for my S&S follow-on!
Thank you to all who have stopped by to read my letter. It was great fun to write it. All of your responses are wonderful. Sounds like Elizabeth Bennet would be the pen-pal of choice, as she would be wonderfully witty and a bit snarky, I think, to have an ongoing conversation. 😀
What a lovely letter you have written to our dear Anne Elliot! I think I would like to write to Emma, but I am not sure how faithful she would be in responding!!=)
kellik115(at)yahoo(dot)com
When reading your letter it made me realize how Anne was surrounded by, apparently, self-centered people! Thank goodness she had a good head on her shoulders to be firm and make her own choices.
This being said, I’d like to write a letter to her, asking about all her travels with her wonderful Capt. Wentworth! No doubt they would be wonderful tales 🙂
I loved the letter. I just can’t pick one I’d write to.
Great missive that you penned to dear Anne! I did enjoy it!
I think I would write a letter to Elizabeth or maybe Mr. Bennet. I would love the witty response that I am sure both would give!
Thanks for sharing your talent with us through your missive!
jbtaylor12(at)gmail(dot)com
That was lovely! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. 🙂 I would probably write a letter to Catherine Morland; we could compare notes on horrid novels. 🙂
liedermadchen(at)hotmail(dot)com
I really enjoyed reading your letter. It’s hard to say who I would write a letter to. There are so many great characters.
crystal_dark[at]att[dot]net
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Your letter was really interesting to read. If I had to pick one character to write to it might be Georgiana or Colonel Fitzwilliam perhaps.
castlefan[at]att[dot]net
Maybe to Darcy’s sister Georgianna, although I could imagine writing to Elizabeth Bennet or Elinor Dashwood or other characters.
catbooks(at)gmail(dot)com