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Authors: Joan Elizabeth Klingel Ray

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Gaining an “OxBridge” degree

Boys went to the university — Oxford or Cambridge, and so Oxbridge! — when they were ready to do so. So a boy entering Oxford at age 14 wasn't necessarily a prodigy (no offense to Jane's eldest brother, James, who did the same at age 14). They didn't have to take entrance exams like the ACT or SAT in those days, and the prime motive for boys' attending the university was to make connections for their future lives. Socializing was as important as — if not more important than — academics.

Both universities, Oxford and Cambridge, had the same precondition of attending: receiving Holy Communion in the Church of England.

The Oxford and Cambridge student bodies included a good many elder sons of gentry and nobility who would inherit great estates and titles. So why would these young men burn the midnight oil with a book in hand? (By 1800, about two-thirds of Britain's noblemen were OxBridge men.) Socializing was far more enjoyable and profitable than studying. Besides, any academic tests given weren't hard, frequently being on a subject that the student had, himself, requested. Getting an Oxbridge degree in those days wasn't hard!

Of course, some young men at the university did study. George Austen, Jane's father, was one of those. As a poor young man who attended Oxford on scholarship, he knew that he would have to have a profession after earning his degree. His intelligence and scholarship show that he had a strong academic inclination, and his excellence as a teacher indicates that he understood his lessons well.

But from what Austen mentions in her novels, not everyone was successful even at networking, and academics frequently took a backseat to drinking:

Pride and Prejudice:
Mr. Collins, “though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without forming at it any useful acquaintance” (PP 1:15) — in other words, he failed to network while at either Oxford or Cambridge!

Northanger Abbey:
While at Oxford, James Morland, eldest brother of the heroine of
Northanger Abbey,
befriends the lying braggart, John Thorpe. The Thorpes have far more to gain from Morland than Morland has to gain from the Thorpes. Clearly, James Morland didn't network well! When Catherine Morland later meets John Thorpe, she remarks that she has “heard that there is a lot of drinking at Oxford” (NA 1:9). In reply, John brags that at a party in his rooms he and his friends only “cleared about five pints a head” (NA 1:9)!

Mansfield Park:
Edmund Bertram, another Oxonian, tells Fanny and Mary that while at Oxford, “‘I have been a great deal use to have a man lean on me for the length of a street'” (MP 1:9). In other words, Edmund — who is so moral and upright that he would never be inebriated — has frequently had to help a fellow student home after a night of tossing a few pints back — especially if that friend had been at a party thrown by John Thorpe!

The famous Oxford/Cambridge rivalry was alive and well in Austen's day. She had a grandfather, a father, and two brothers (James and Henry) with Oxford degrees. So is it any surprise that
Pride and Prejudice
's irresponsible Wickham went to Cambridge (PP 2:12)?

Taking the Grand Tour

After completing a Bachelor's degree at Oxford or Cambridge, or in lieu of attending the university after finishing public or private school, a young gentleman might wish to expand his view of the world by making a Grand Tour. The
Grand Tour
consisted of

A jaunt around western Europe that included
Italy and France

The chance to practice spoken French, Italian, German, or other modern language

An opportunity to meet and network with wealthy and titled folks on the Continent

The occasion to visit famous sites

An invitation to attend dinner parties serving exotically foreign food

Sometimes a Grand Tour meant three years worth of dinner parties!

What might this young man take with him on his journey? In addition to the usual items of clothing (including formal attire), shoes, boots, favorite books, art supplies (particularly a sketchbook if he liked to paint or draw), writing paper, quill pens and penknife, ink, and toiletries, the traveler could have

A tutor or older man with him:
He might help the young gentleman with introductions and language translation, as well as provide tutoring and company for the traveler.

Letters of introduction:
The letters, as the phrase “of introduction” suggests, served to introduce the young traveler to important persons along the way. After all, with mail service from England to the Continent slow, the traveler might as well carry his letters of introduction with him. Young gentlemen on their Grand Tours might be lucky enough to have letters from professors, family members, and even distinguished family friends that would enable them to meet and even stay with foreign aristocracy, clergymen (priests, Bishops, Deans of Cathedrals), professors, and fashionable persons. Being able to present to the doorman a letter from an old friend or business acquaintance addressed to the resident of a mansion was traditionally certain assurance of getting invited inside!

Ideally, for the thousands of pounds spent on this jaunt, the young man came back with broader intellectual horizons and possibly a better French, Italian, or German accent!

Jane Austen's brother, Edward, who'd been adopted by their father's wealthy, childless cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Knight, chose to make his Grand Tour in lieu of attending the university. At age 18, he left England in 1786 for two years and visited Switzerland, Germany, and Italy (Rome). While in the last spot, Rome, he had a life-size portrait of himself painted in oils. Looking at the young man in this picture — it's on prominent display at the Jane Austen House Museum in Chawton (it's so big that you can't miss it) — the viewer immediately sees that the subject won't have to work for a living. Dressed in a dark coat, white ruffled shirt, gold silk or satin breeches, white stockings, and shiny black, buckled pumps (they're so dainty that I just can't call them shoes!), he leans against a column, one leg crossing the other with a smart-looking cane in his right hand. His facial expression is satisfied. The Roman ruins are behind him. Although Edward didn't have the networking experience of Oxbridge, he met several young English gentlemen who were also on the Continent, either touring or living there.

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