The Novel's Deliberate Mapping Of Bath May Gloss A Minor Sticking Point In Publication History

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My emphasis on the novel's deliberate mapping of Bath may gloss a minor sticking point in its publication history, namely her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh's assertion in his Memoir that the original sale of Links London the manuscript in 1803 had been 'to a publisher in Bath'. Gilson suggests a 'Mr. CruttwelF as the likely Bath conduit to Crosby & Son in London and points to an advertisement for a pamphlet about the trial of Mrs. Leigh Perrot (Austen's aunt, who was accused of shoplifting) that names both firms. In light of this connection, Gilson grants, quoting the Memoir again, that 'it is possible that the first overtures for Susan were in fact made in Bath'.

Anthony Mandal similarly allows that 'the Bath connection is quite likely a valid one', suggesting that Crosby's 'provincial links' to publishers in the West Country might have enabled Cruttwell to serve as 'the channel through which Austen approached Crosby and Co.' In 1803, the year of Susan's sale, the Austen family resided at Sydney Place; an approach to a prominent nearby publisher about a story set in ...
... Bath appears logical enough. The Cruttwell family also had strong ties to Sherborne, a country parish contiguous with the one from which Mr Austen had just retired. This further strengthens the possibility that the Austens knew (or knew of) the Cruttwells and so began enquiries with them. If sending an unsolicited manuscript to a London publisher seemed daunting to the young Jane Austen (and certainly her father's cold-call on Thomas Cadell in London via letter had not yielded any results in 1797), calling on a Bath-based firm with family connections to their previous community would have been an appealing alternative especially when such a visit might be Links Of London Bracelets made in person. If, as Gilson suggests, Austen approached the Cruttwell establishment in 1803, she dealt with Richard Shuttle worth Cruttwell, who took over his father's business in 1799. Yet, as Gilson must be aware, all the Cruttwells were printers and not, strictly speaking, publishers though they owned several local newspapers, including The Bath Chronicle, and put out guidebooks such as The Nerv Bath Guide annually.

If the nature of Cruttwell's output and business dealings are carefully considered, perhaps James Edward Austen Leigh does not confuse a printer with a publisher. The Cruttwells of Bath did, occasionally, print book-length works 'for the author' or 'for the editor', suggesting that the firm was willing to dabble in book publishing as long as the author bore the printing costs. The Cruttwells were also worth approaching for their London network alone, as evidenced by the many respectable London booksellers mentioned in their imprints. But perhaps, the most salient feature of their publishing interests concerns the fact that Cruttwell owned the local newspaper and put out an annual guidebook of Bath. This might have made him particularly receptive to the manner in which the manuscript of Susan made use of current events and local geography.