Mary Pearson
Mary Pearson | |
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 Portrait of Mary Pearson by William Wood. | |
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| Known for | A failed betrothal to Henry Austen |
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| ParentExpression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". | |
Mary Pearson was a young woman who was briefly engaged to Jane Austen's brother, Henry Austen.[1][2][3]
Mary Pearson was the daughter of Sir Richard Pearson, an officer in the Royal Navy.[2]
Mary Pearson's portrait[edit]
In 2021 the Jane Austen Museum acquired a portrait of Mary Pearson, painted by William Wood.[1][2][4] The Museum released a video, where a curator explained the context of the acquisition.
Mary Pearson's marital prospects and Lydia Bennet[edit]
According to the Museum's curator, Pearson was engaged to Henry Austen, for several months, in 1796.[1] The curator didn't say why the pair did not marry, but did say the incomplete betrothal clouded her marriage prospects, and so she didn't get married for almost another 20 years.[4]
The curator said that Jane Austen met Pearson, and wrote a letter to her sister, Cassandra Austen, with a very unflattering account of Pearson.[1]
The curator said that Jane may have used the failed betrothal between her brother and Pearson as a model for the scandal around Lydia Bennet's disappearance with George Wickham, and the cloud this put on her marital prospects, and those of her sisters.[1][5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Mary Pearson Portrait Miniature". Jane Austen's House vie YouTube. 2021. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2
"Portrait miniature of Mary Pearson, by William Wood". Jane Austen's House. 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
Mary Pearson was the daughter of the distinguished naval officer Sir Richard Pearson and his wife Margaret. In the summer of 1796 she met Jane’s brother Henry Austen at Rowling in Kent (where Jane’s brother Edward Austen lived), and the pair became engaged to be married.
- ↑
"Mary Pearson by William Wood Acquired by the Jane Austen Museum". Philip Mould & Company. 2019-09-17. Archived from the original on 2025-02-02. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
As a pretty girl who jumped into a short-lived engagement with a dashing young soldier, Mary is said to have inspired the character of Lydia Bennet -- the officer-obsessed teenager who eloped with the notorious Mr Wickham in Pride and Prejudice…' Read the full museum entry here . All featured press cen be read in full by following the links below:...
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
C. D. Gerard (2020-07-10). "Mary Pearson: A Possible Inspiration for Lydia Bennett, a Guest Post from C. D. Gerard". Every Woman Dreams... Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
Jane Austen corresponded with Mary years after her brother broke off the engagement. Mary wed another, but not for nearly 20 years. It is thought that this only known miniature portrait of Mary might have been part of her attempt to get back on the marriage market after the broken engagement. We know during Austen’s time a broken engagement could be quite the scandalous thing, and that could be why Mary did not have another marriage proposal for all that time.
- ↑
Mark Brown (2020-04-07). "The original Lydia? Portrait discovery delights Jane Austen museum". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
'There is a theory that she inspired Lydia Bennet and there are striking similarities between the characters,' said Reynolds.