(Image of Bombay harbor during the time of the East India Company)
Another brilliant gem from the mines of Paula Byrne’s The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things is the story of Jane’s aunt Philadelphia. If you’d prefer to get right to the core, here’s an article from The Guardian reviewing a book about this phenomenon: The Fishing Fleet by Anne de Courcy.
Now, the relationship to Jane herself is quite interesting, though it begins with the tragic death of her paternal grandmother. At just aged 9, George Austen (Jane’s father) lost his father. Left in the care of a step-mother who did not actually care for her step-children, George and his two sisters, Philadelphia and Leonora, soon went into the care of their Austen uncles. Sadly, though they were taken in by Stephen Austen, the family lore comes down that the children were mistreated and neglected. However, as Byrne notes, Leonora remained in the home of this family into adulthood, much like a later Fanny Price, thus it does seem questionable that it was quite so bad. Leonora later became a lady’s companion, but it is Philadelphia’s life that is so particularly interesting.
At the age of 15, Philadelphia became an apprentice at a milliner’s shop in Covent Garden. While this might have seemed like a kind of job security, things were not nearly so rosey. Young women in the milliner’s trade not only faced long hours and hazardous working conditions, but were also frequently subjected to sexual assault, which then resulted in being “forced” (because of the stigma of this victimization) to become prostitutes. Indeed, slang for prostitutes included the phrase “Milliner of Covent Garden.”
Having come of age and inherited her portion, Philadelphia then made a very bold and admirable decision. In November 1751, she wrote to the directors of the East India Company to request permission to take passage on a ship bound for Bombay. There, she – along with 10 other young women – hoped to find a husband, a feat nearly impossible for a woman who brought no fortune or family name to an alliance in England. She was granted this passage on the HMS Bombay Castle, pictured below:
If you’re interested in reading about life aboard an East India Company ship, enjoy this post from the British Library.
The Fishing Fleet had begun far earlier, as indicated in the review posted at the top of this thread, so Phila would have had at least some knowledge of what she was getting herself into. Not only did she successfully find a husband in Tysoe Saul Hancock, a surgeon for the East India Company, but she also found herself in close quarters with Warren Hastings, a man destined for a great, albeit controversial career as Governor General of India…and rumored to be the biological father of Phila’s only child and Jane’s beloved cousin, Eliza de Feuillide. Through her marriage with Hancock, Philadelphia acquired exactly what she had set out on 18 January 1852 to find: marriage to a successful, stable, and (as it seemed he was aware of the relationship between Phila and Hastings) amenable husband.
Here are some additional links to articles for more exploration of this interesting bit of Georgian history:
Madras Musings: The days of the Fishing Fleet
Maddy’s Ramblings: The Fishing Fleet
The Daily Mail: Husband Hunters of the Raj
The Collector: British Debutants Searching for Love in India
Quick note: Philadelphia embarked on 18 January 1852 and arrived 8 August 1852. That’s a voyage of nearly 7 MONTHS!!!
A Life in Austen 
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