Literary question

[eleneariel]

Someone asked me this the other day, and for the life of me I can't remember if I've ever heard a reason for it:

In Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and other writers of the period, why did they often not spell out names of people and towns in full? You know ... talking about going to _____shire, or how Mrs S______ did this or that.

It's driving me nuts that I can't remember.

Comments

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of the above--it's interesting though that, at least in P&P, Austen gives us Derbyshire and Hertfordshire, and even Kent as places where Darcy, the Bennets, and Lady Catherine live. The place when she does use a blank is for the _______shire militia--Wickham's regiment.

[mattiescottage.livejournal.com]

Ha-ha! Perhaps she didn't want to offend any particular Shire by burdening it with Mr. Wickham!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I certainly wouldn't want to be from the place Wickham resides!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Good point! I hadn't caught that before. :)