Shortly before the end of her life, Jane Austen wrote on a slip of paper:—
Profits of my novels, over and above the £600 in the Navy Fives.
| £ | s. | |
| Residue from the 1st edit. of Mansfield Park remaining in Henrietta St., March 1816 | 13 | 7 |
| Received from Egerton, on 2nd edit. of Sense and S., March 1816 | 12 | 15 |
| February 21, 1817, First Profits of Emma | 38 | 18 |
| March 7, 1817. From Egerton—2nd edit. of S. and S. | 19 | 13 |
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published in four volumes by John Murray in 1818, and to the former was prefixed a short biographical notice of the author from the pen of Henry Austen. In 1832 Mr. Bentley bought the copyright of all the novels, except Pride and Prejudice (which Jane Austen had sold outright to Mr. Egerton), from Henry and Cassandra Austen, the joint proprietors, for the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds. Mr. Bentley must also have bought from Mr. Egerton's executors the copyright of Pride and Prejudice, for he proceeded to issue a complete edition of the novels with a biographical notice (also by Henry) containing a few extra facts not mentioned in the original edition of Northanger Abbey.
(James) Edward Austen, who added 'Leigh' to his name on succeeding to the property of Scarlets in 1836, wrote (in 1869-70) the Memoir of his aunt which has been so often used in these pages, and which, as the work of three eyewitnesses,[371] enjoys an authority greater than that of any other account of her. Its publication coincided with the beginning of a great advance in her fame, and we think it may be claimed that it was an important contributory cause of that advance. Before that date, an appreciation of her genius was rather the special possession of small literary circles and individual families; since that date it has been widely spread both in England and in America. From her death to 1870, there was only one complete edition of her works, and nothing, except a few articles and reviews, was written about her. Since 1870, editions, lives, memoirs, &c., have been almost too numerous to count. We, who are adding to this stream of writings, cannot induce ourselves to believe that the interest of the public is yet exhausted.
APPENDIX
The Text of Jane Austen's Novels.
In the course of frequent reprinting, various errors have crept into the text of the novels, which seem in danger of becoming perpetuated. We therefore make no apology for pointing these out and for giving our reasons why we prefer any particular reading.