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"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be to deprive it of a wife." Jane Austen would have written those words, but who would know that all these years later, a distant relative might actually be able to relate?
Ancestry.com did some digging and found that the new Member of the Royal family, Catherine Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and the legendary author, Jane Austen, are related.
Their common ancestor? That would be a certain Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland 2 in the first half of the 15th century. Percy is 16TH and 10th great-grandfather of Kate Austen's great-grandfather, making them-but of course! 11TH cousins, six times removed.
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"Find this connection between the Duchess of Cambridge and Jane Austen is very exciting because, in many ways, Catherine is the heroine of Jane Austen modern: a girl bourgeoisie, marrying the future King of England," said Anastasia Harman, lead historian for Ancestry.com family. "Jane Austen may have written on happily-ever-after, but it seems that Catherine has found a hero of nonfiction to spend his life with the epilogue-the distant past. "
It is understandable to see because ancestry is pushing the line of literature: remarked that Austen "novels are known for their pungent social commentary and the love story between the classes and her heroines for their wit, intelligence and spirit; are readers and hikers; are sisters and the faithful friends. "
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But ancestry also eager to play the fact that both women had an incredibly strong connection with their sister. In the case of Austen, referring to her sister Cassandra as "best friend and strongest supporter," stressing that when Cassandra was expelled for attending school at the age of 10 years, Jane then eight years refused to be separated, asking to go. In the case of Kate, her sister Pippa was a bridesmaid at the wedding and too recently enrolled in boarding school itself as well as Pippa Kate up to Scotland for the college.
This results in a rush of sales for the likes of pride and prejudice and and sensibility as Middleton's Legion of fans will embrace the news? Probably not. But just might give the Queen-in-waiting in Britain some ideas for how to whittle away the hours on the long flight of the Royal couple in Canada.
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