For my next (and possibly last) Austen in August contribution, I wanted to let readers know about a lovely book I chanced upon through this post at Charlotte’s Library: Mrs Hurst Dancing and Other Scenes from Regency Life, 1812-1823 (Victor Gollancz, 1981). This reproduction of two volumes of sketchbooks by a young lady of Jane Austen’s era provides an unusual glimpse into the daily life of an English country house of modest size.
The artist, Diana Sperling (about whom little is known, and who apparently abandoned art upon her marriage in 1834), has a delightfully unconventional and unstuffy approach to her sketches of family and friends. Slippery grass, recalcitrant donkeys, electrifying machines, lovelorn brothers, pesky flies that need to be “murdered” by maids standing on windowsills — these are just some of the subjects that inspired her, with charming results.
Diana’s artistic gifts are of the naive variety; her figures are not anatomically convincing, and she tends to make their faces very small and hide them behind large hats. But the liveliness and sheer fun of her compositions makes up for this. An introduction by Gordon Mingay gives the historical context, with brief notes opposite each picture (reproduced at their original size, and, as in the sketchbooks, on the right side of each spread).
We often read in nineteenth-century novels about young ladies industriously drawing and sketching. Here is a rare opportunity to see what a talented member of this legion of amateur artists produced, and to experience some of the forgotten details of their lives. Mrs Hurst Dancing is out of print, but used copies can be fairly inexpensive; check your library, too. For anyone interested in the era, it’s really worth seeking out.
Hi Lori – Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I have been reading a few of your posts. You have a very impressive blog. I really like your commentary and you cover some great books.
This book looks to be great edition to a personal library. I have been reading a few nineteenth century English novels lately so I particular appreciate it the art.
I agree with you, the pictures that you have posted are just very fun.
Thank you Brian! If you are interested in nineteenth century literature this book is definitely worth a look.
Another unique and excellent pick! How enjoyable!
I hope you might be able to find it to have a look. It really is a lot of fun.
Hi – this looks like a really interesting book, I've been enjoying your Austen in August posts. Anyway, I've nominated you for a Liebster Blog Award. I really like your blog & I hope you can take the time to join in. Hope you're enjoying your weekend 🙂
Thank you! I am honored and will try to follow up.
How lovely–we do read about young ladies sketching all the time, but we never see them! I appreciated getting a sample of what those might've looked like. Some of those are surprisingly humorous.
Wendy @ The Midnight Garden
Diana must have been a very interesting girl, from her choice of subjects. She definitely was not just drawing pretty floral arrangements and landscapes.