The possibilities which this brave new world offers are amazing. It is now possible to correspond with the Bodleian Library in Oxford over the internet, forward all the documentation which they require and then be granted access to the old, renowned Duke Humfrey's Library. Not only that, but three rare books were also waiting for me on the 1st July 2018 in the Weston Library, part of the Bodleian Library, when I arrived.

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The three books were:

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1. Emma by Jane Austen with an introduction by Joseph Jacobs and illustrations by Christ Hammond. Printed by George Allen, London, 1898.[i]
    

2. The Affecting History of Lady Bertha. A poem by William McVitie Dumfries, to which is added the Laidley Worm of Spindleston Heugh. Printed from an ancient Manuscript. Newcastle: Printed by M. Angus and Son, 1805; this book contains the story The Legend of Marden Rock; or the Life and Adventures of Little Spottee, The Hermit of the Rock. Dedicated to the Pic Nic Parties of Sunderland, Shields, &c. By John Young, Bishopwearmouth, Newcastle: published and sold by J. Ross.[ii]
    

3. Every Man his Own Gardener being a new and much more complete Gardener's Calendar and General Directory by Thomas Mawe and John Abercrombie. The Sixteenth Edition, London, 1800.[iii]

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I sought access to these three books because I had seen references to them during the spring which gave me a hope that they might provide answers or at least suggestions to why Austen had thought about strawberries and al-fresco parties the way she did.

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It was an amazing adventure being granted access to any part of the Bodleian Library that I desired. Walking below the street to the Radcliffe Camera was like being in a science fiction film; sitting in the almost empty and very quiet Duke Humfrey's Library was awesome, and contemplating who might have been sitting in the very chair which now contained my derrière was overwhelming. But to be honest, one day at the Duke Humfrey's Library was more than enough because the table-shelf was much too high for me and the old, wooden chair very uncomfortable. I much preferred studying at the Weston Library.

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My benefit from the three books was limited, though.

I had had hopes for the introduction to Emma by Joseph Jacobs, but I only recorded one sentence on page xvii: ‘There is nothing in “Emma” which would enable us to judge that it was written in Waterloo year.’

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I sought The Hermit of the Rock because sources had stated that its topic is ‘picnic’, and the purpose of obtaining it was to find an example in an old book describing a picnic, but it was not applicable as it is about a ghost instead.

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The third book, Every Man his Own Gardener by Thomas Mawe and John Abercrombie was much more interesting, as it contains instructions for the cultivating of strawberries. I had seen several references to this ‘gardeners’ Bible’, so it was quite interesting actually holding it and looking in it myself. Jane Austen might have consulted this gardening book as it was included in the Godmersham Collection owned by her brother Edward, even though it is printed by the publishers who rejected her early draft of Pride and Prejudice in November 1797, i.e. Cadell & Davies.[iv]

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[i]  Austen, Emma.

[ii] Young, ‘The Legend of Marsden Rock’.

[iii] Abercrombie and Mawe, Every Man His Own Gardener Being a New and Much More Complete Gardener’s Calendar and General Directory.

[iv] Austen-Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen, 105; Tomalin, Jane Austen: A Life, 123.

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