TWO hundred years after Jane Austen’s too-early death at 41, the Limerick Chapter of the Irish Georgian Society celebrates her romantic connection to Limerick for the evening of Thursday September 7.
Back in the day, Jane had a thing going on with a member of the Limerick gentry, Mr Thomas Lefroy. There was an expectation of marriage but it was not to be.
“Many believe that he was the model for Mr Darcy, as Jane was writing ‘Pride and Prejudice’ during their courtship,” the IGS tells us. ”We are particularly thrilled to have Sandra Lefroy as our speaker for this event. Sandra will present an interesting thesis on a possible connection between Jane and Wordsworth.
“This lecture is made all the more special as Sandra’s own lineage is that of Wordsworth and her husband’s that of Lefroy, so her familiarity with these characters is second to none.”
It has been written of Jane Austen that she was solicited for marriage but eschewed the hand offered due to the lack of love one or both parties felt. Let’s not suppose she spent her life pining for Lefroy. Note her quip in ‘Pride and Prejudice’: “One cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.”
We will find out more on Thursday 7 at 8pm, in No. 1 Pery Square Hotel. €5 in.
