Jane Cholmeley Leigh Perrot

author

Jane Cholmeley Leigh Perrot

1746–1836

Best remembered today as Jane Austen’s wealthy aunt, she stepped into history through a sensational 1800 shoplifting trial that ended in acquittal. Her life also reflects the family, money, and colonial ties that shaped the Austen world.

1 Audiobook

Trial of Jane Leigh Perrot, at Taunton Assizes, on Saturday the 29th day of March, 1800; charged with stealing a card of lace, in the shop of Elizabeth Gregory, haberdasher & milliner, of the city of Bath

Trial of Jane Leigh Perrot, at Taunton Assizes, on Saturday the 29th day of March, 1800; charged with stealing a card of lace, in the shop of Elizabeth Gregory, haberdasher & milliner, of the city of Bath

by Jane Cholmeley Leigh Perrot

About the author

Born in 1746, Jane Cholmeley Leigh Perrot was part of the extended family around Jane Austen and is usually identified as Austen’s aunt by marriage. She married James Leigh, later James Leigh-Perrot, and the couple lived as wealthy, childless members of the gentry with homes in Bath and Berkshire.

She is most often discussed because of the famous Bath lace-shop case: in August 1799 she was accused of stealing a card of lace, and in March 1800 she was tried at Taunton Assizes. The case attracted wide attention, but she was found not guilty after the trial.

Modern writers are also interested in her background because she was born in Barbados, linking her story to the colonial and plantation wealth connected with parts of Austen’s wider family circle. That mix of privilege, scandal, and family connection has kept Jane Leigh Perrot a vivid figure in Austen history.