The Watsons
Encyclopedia
The Watsons is an unfinished novel
by Jane Austen
. She began writing it circa 1803 and probably abandoned it after her father's death in January 1805. It has five chapters, and is less than 18,000 words long.
Living near the Watsons are the Osbornes, a great titled family. Emma attracts some notice from the boorish and awkward young Lord Osborne, while one of her sisters plaintively pursues Lord Osborne's arrogant, social-climbing friend, Tom Musgrave. Various minor characters provide potential matches for Emma's brothers and sisters.
Mr. Watson is seriously ill in the opening chapters, and Austen confided in her sister Cassandra
that he was to die in the course of the work. Emma was to decline a marriage proposal from Lord Osborne, and was eventually to marry Osborne's virtuous former tutor, Mr. Howard.
Austen's niece, Catherine Hubback
, completed The Watsons and published it under the title The Younger Sister in the mid-nineteenth century.
John Coates also published a completion in 1957.
Laura Wade
is adapting the text for the stage.
The Watsons, by Jane Austen and Another Lady (ASIN
B002ACZTWA) by Helen Baker is a completion published in 2008.
sold Austen's original manuscript to the Bodleian Library
for £993,250. A Bodleian Library source said that this was the last Jane Austen MS still in private hands. Before the actual auction, Sotheby's had estimated the MS's value at £200,000-£300,000.
Unfinished work
An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control such as death. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have...
by Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
. She began writing it circa 1803 and probably abandoned it after her father's death in January 1805. It has five chapters, and is less than 18,000 words long.
Plot summary
Mr. Watson is a widowed clergyman with two sons and four daughters. The youngest daughter, Emma, has been brought up by a wealthy aunt and is consequently better educated and more refined than her sisters. But when her aunt contracts a foolish second marriage, Emma is obliged to return to her father's house. There she is chagrined by the crude and reckless husband-hunting of two of her twenty-something sisters. She finds the kindness of her eldest and most responsible sister, Elizabeth, more attractive.Living near the Watsons are the Osbornes, a great titled family. Emma attracts some notice from the boorish and awkward young Lord Osborne, while one of her sisters plaintively pursues Lord Osborne's arrogant, social-climbing friend, Tom Musgrave. Various minor characters provide potential matches for Emma's brothers and sisters.
Mr. Watson is seriously ill in the opening chapters, and Austen confided in her sister Cassandra
Cassandra Austen
Cassandra Elizabeth Austen was an amateur English watercolourist and the elder sister of Jane Austen.-Childhood:...
that he was to die in the course of the work. Emma was to decline a marriage proposal from Lord Osborne, and was eventually to marry Osborne's virtuous former tutor, Mr. Howard.
Adaptations
Several attempts have been made to finish the novel.Austen's niece, Catherine Hubback
Catherine Hubback
Catherine Anne Hubback was an English novelist, daughter of Sir Francis Austen, and niece of Jane Austen.She began writing fiction to support her family after her husband was institutionalized with a breakdown...
, completed The Watsons and published it under the title The Younger Sister in the mid-nineteenth century.
John Coates also published a completion in 1957.
Laura Wade
Laura Wade
Laura Wade is a British playwright. Wade grew up in Sheffield, where her father worked for a computer company....
is adapting the text for the stage.
The Watsons, by Jane Austen and Another Lady (ASIN
Asín
Asín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
B002ACZTWA) by Helen Baker is a completion published in 2008.
Manuscript
According to the BBC World News, on July 14, 2011, Sotheby'sSotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
sold Austen's original manuscript to the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
for £993,250. A Bodleian Library source said that this was the last Jane Austen MS still in private hands. Before the actual auction, Sotheby's had estimated the MS's value at £200,000-£300,000.