Let’s Go Shopping with Jane Austen!

For you literary-junkies, it turns out that Jane Austen’s letters contain many references to shopping:

From the letters it is apparent that the Austens bought some of their groceries on credit. On their journeys through London and Kent they frequently stopped at Guildford where they visited Mr Herington’s shop. There are several references in the letters to trying to pay his bills. On 20 May 1813 her party stopped at Guildford and she paid an earlier bill at Mr Herington’s and bought more goods from him on credit. Four days later she enclosed Mr Herington’s new bill in a letter to Cassandra. In March 1814 she intended to pay a bill of Mr Herington’s on her way through Guildford but she stayed at Cobham instead. One hopes she was trying to pay a later bill, not the one incurred 10 months earlier.’

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