Hello friends. Julie Klassen here. Today, I am delighted to have author Brenda Cox share with us about her new book, Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. I met Brenda after one of her informative talks at a meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Brenda has been researching and speaking about this topic for years and I’m so glad that her book is now available. I know it will be an incredibly helpful resource for authors like me who set novels in late 18th or early 19th century England, and I think it will also be useful and interesting for readers who enjoy this time period as well. Please join me in welcoming Brenda.
Jane Austen at Church by Brenda S. Cox
How did Jane Austen and her characters worship?
This was one of many questions that started me on a quest to learn about the church in Austen’s England. That journey eventually led to my brand-new book, Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. Here’s a taste of what I share in that book.
Jane Austen’s letters mention going to church or chapel regularly, even when she was traveling. Her characters also go to church, as we see in all the novels. A random selection of quotes:
“However this morning he came just as we came home from church; and then it all came out”—Anne Steele in Sense and Sensibility
“Mr. Darcy they had seen only at church.”-Pride and Prejudice
“The Prices were just setting off for church the next day when Mr. Crawford appeared again.”—Mansfield Park
Austen doesn’t tell us what Sunday church services were like, because her original readers already knew. “Church” for Jane Austen meant the Church of England, which was (and is) a state church. Services followed the Book of Common Prayer, the worship handbook mandated by Parliament. It includes services for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, as well as other types of services. Morning and Evening Prayer could be read daily, and it appears that Jane’s family often read them on weekdays. Sunday morning and evening services also followed these patterns.
The services use a detailed liturgy: set prayers, responses, and Bible readings. The language is formal and beautiful. One of my favorite prayers from the evening service says, “Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
On Sunday mornings and afternoons, Austen and her family would file into their small parish church in Steventon or Chawton. They sat in their own family pew. It probably had low walls around it, but not high walls like the squire’s box pew. Poorer people of the parish might sit on benches, or even on the floor, in the back of the church or in the balcony.
In Steventon, Jane Austen’s father was the clergyman leading services. He stood at a pulpit in front. In Sense and Sensibility, Robert Ferrars laughs at the idea of his brother Edward “reading prayers in a white surplice.” He is imagining his brother leading a worship service, reading the prayers aloud from the Book of Common Prayer. A surplice is a white robe worn over the clergyman’s clothes. Clergy at that time did not dress differently from other gentlemen outside of church. When they were leading a service, though, they would wear a surplice and bands (rectangles hanging from the neck). In the movie Emma. (2020) you can see Mr. Elton in such bands all the time, though he would only have worn them in church.
The service began with an opening Bible verse and prayer, then a general confession said by the whole congregation together. (Marianne’s repentance in Sense and Sensibility shows echoes of this prayer.) It continued with various prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father which art in heaven . . .”) several times. A church clerk led the congregational responses. One country clergyman called his clerks “Mr. Amen” because that was the most common response.
Scriptures were read according to a yearly calendar. Those who read the services at home on weekdays would read most of the Bible each year, some parts several times.
The clergyman then would give a sermon, usually based on a text (Bible passage) in one of the daily readings. In Emma, Miss Nash writes down the text Mr. Elton preaches from each week.
It might feel strange to us that, at this time, most English country churches had little congregational singing. Sometimes they had a choir, called the Singers, who would sing some of the psalms and possibly an anthem. They might have some basic musical instruments, though usually not an organ. If the congregation sang, the church clerk led them by “lining out” the psalm, saying or singing one line and then the congregation sang it after him. According to contemporary accounts, the music was generally very bad. But city churches had better music. Hymns were just being introduced.
Sunday morning church might last two or three hours, with another service in the evening for many parishes, including Austen’s. Sunday church was pretty much an all-day activity for the Austens. Fortunately, they lived in the parsonage, close to the Steventon church. Even later in her life, in Chawton, the Austens’ home (now Jane Austen’s House) was only a short walk from the Chawton church. You can easily visit both, as well as the manor house which was owned by her brother Edward, next to the church.
For more on Book of Common Prayer services, see my more detailed outline. Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England includes chapters on worship, church music, sermons and sermon-writers Austen mentions, and much more. I invite you to join me in exploring all aspects of the church in Jane Austen’s life, novels, and world!
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Thank you for sharing this with us today. I love Jane Austen and I am always intrigued to read about real life during her time. I enjoyed this blog post and I look forward to reading the book as well.
Thank you, Bridget! It’s been fascinating writing this book; it took me almost ten years of reading and digging. 🙂 I think you’ll enjoy it.
Thank you, Brenda, for this blog post. I loved it, and I look forward to reading your book. I love Jane Austen’s books and am drawn to Regency fiction, although my own books are mostly set in the American West.
You’re very welcome, Robin. If you decide to give Regency fiction a try, this book is designed to be a comprehensive resource for you. I wrote it because I wanted to write a Regency novel myself (actually an Austen variation), but couldn’t easily find the background information I wanted. My research led me to write this book!
How fascinating! Thanks for these insights into church as Jane would have experienced it.
You’re very welcome, Becky. If you get a chance to go to a Book of Common Prayer service at an Anglican church, you’ll get an even clearer idea, though remember that the hymns would probably not have been included, at least in country churches. I’ve been privileged to attend such services in Bath, Alton, and elsewhere!
That is fascinating! Thanks for sharing with us!
You’re welcome, Angie. My privilege! This is a topic I love to share about, obviously, since I wrote a 400-page book on it! Don’t be put off by the length, though. It’s only 300 pages of text, easily and enjoyably read by any Jane Austen fan (at least, that’s what my readers are telling me!). Besides explanations of what Austen says about the church and clergy, there are inspiring stories of world-changing people of the time, including several women. The last 100 pages includes things like tables for quick reference, resources including Austen’s prayers and George Austen’s letter to his son, a timeline, a glossary with definitions of church terms used during that time, notes, and other resources. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
So interesting! I can’t wait to get my copy of the book! 🙂
Thanks, Erica! It’s packed full of information that I think you’ll enjoy!
Exciting to see all the content Brenda has been sharing at JASNA meetings now in the form of a book. Hurrah and thank you!
Thank you, Erna, for all your encouragement! Let’s talk about options for me to share with your JASNA group, if you’re still interested in that.
Love this post! Thanks for sharing the book.
You’re very welcome, Carole! I hope you’ll enjoy the book. Blessings to you.