Obituary for Mrs Anne Lefroy, 21 December 1804
Object name: Obituary for Mrs Anne Lefroy copied from The Sun newspaper 21st December 1804 by Jane Austen
Object number: CHWJA:JAHLTR38
Category: Manuscript
Description: Obituary for Mrs Anne Lefroy titled âExtract from the Sun of Dec 21st 1804â all in Jane Austenâs hand.
Made: December 1804
Context: Jane Austenâs âbeloved friendâ Anne Lefroy (often referred to as Madam Lefroy) was the vivacious, charming and intelligent wife of Rev. George Lefroy, the Rector of Ashe, a small village just two miles from Steventon. Although 27 years Janeâs senior, a friendship sprang up between Mrs Lefroy and Jane, the older woman encouraging the youthful Jane in her love of poetry and literature.  According to Mrs Lefroyâs brother Egerton Brydges:
âThe nearest neighbours to the Lefroys were the Austens of Steventon. I remember Jane Austen, the novelist, a little child; she was very intimate with Mrs Lefroy and much encouraged by her.â
On 16th December 1804, Janeâs 29th birthday, Mrs Lefroy was killed falling from her horse when it bolted. Her funeral service was conducted by Janeâs eldest brother James.
An announcement of her death and a brief obituary appeared in The Sun (a daily evening newspaper printed between 1792 and 1876) on 21st December 1804, which Jane copied out into this manuscript.
Five years later, Jane wrote a poem in memory of her friend; its tone of love, loss and grief make it perhaps the most emotional and personal of Janeâs writings.
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