Jane Austen's Best Friend: The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd

by Zöe Wheddon

Overview

The book will take the form of a “recipe for friendship” as Martha Lloyd is best known for her housekeeping and recipe book.

All fans of Jane Austen everywhere believe themselves to be best friends with the beloved author and this book shines a light on what it meant to be exactly that. Jane Austen’s Best Friend: The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd offers a unique insight into Jane’s private inner circle. Through this heartwarming examination of an important and often overlooked person in Jane’s world, we uncover the life-changing force of their friendship.

Each chapter details the fascinating facts and friendship-forming qualities that tied Jane and Martha together. Within these pages we will relive their shared interests, the hits and misses of their romantic love lives, their passion for shopping and fashion, their family histories, their lucky breaks and their girly chats. This book offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the shared lives of a fascinating pair and the chance to deepen our own bonds in ‘love and friendship’ with them both.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526763815
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	04/09/2021
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

A native of Jane Austen's beloved county of Hampshire, Zöe Wheddon has been married to Matt, (a stationery salesman, who keeps her supplied with post-it notes and gorgeous notebooks) for 30 years. They live in a North Hampshire village, on the outskirts of the town that they both grew up in, with their three grown up children and cat Princess Leia.

A perfectly imperfect local historian and aspiring writer, as the writer of her blog Zöe writes articles and book reviews on matters relating to friendship, self-compassion and personal development at mrswheddon.wordpress.com.

When she is not researching or writing she can be found in the classroom teaching Spanish and French or singing ABBA songs loudly in her kitchen.

Table of Contents

Foreword vi

Acknowledgements viii

Introduction x

Chapter 1 In the Beginning 1

Chapter 2 Early Writings 9

Chapter 3 Moving Away 19

Chapter 4 Love Lives 26

Chapter 5 Fashion Fun 42

Chapter 6 Fun and Frolics - Out and About 52

Chapter 7 Home Sweet Home 61

Chapter 8 In Sickness and in Health 72

Chapter 9 Home Is Where the Heart Is 85

Chapter 10 Charity Begins at Home 95

Chapter 11 Our Chawton Home 111

Chapter 12 The Character of Friendship 128

Chapter 13 Anything You Can Do… 138

Chapter 14 The Spirit of Friendship 153

Chapter 15 Life After Death 167

Chapter 16 Friendship Never Ends 181

Postscript 187

Notes 188

Bibliography 204

Index 206

Editorial Reviews

A unique and impressively informative contribution to our understanding and appreciation of the life and times of Jane Austen, "Jane Austen's Best Friend: The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd" is an extraordinary accomplishment and must be considered essential reading for all Jane Austen scholars and fans.”

Midwest Book Review