Austen literary blunder leaves Bank blushing
Pride and Prejudice quote selected for use on new £10 note was supposed to be sarcastic, say critics
JANE AUSTEN was a master of weaving a subtle undercurrent of wit and satire gently through her novels.
But it appears that subtlety may have been lost on the Governor of the Bank of England (BOE), who has been accused of failing to understand the true meaning of a quote used on the front of the new £10 note.
Mark Carney was forced to defend the use of a line from Caroline Bingley, a character in the Austen novel Pride and Prejudice, who said: “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!”
Critics were quick to point out that as Miss Bingley had no interest in books, the quote was not intended to be taken literally and was in fact meant sarcastically.
Asked why this quote was chosen for the note, which was unveiled yesterday, Mr Carney replied: “It’s two things; it captures much of her spirit, you can read it straight, there is no enjoyment like reading, and we agree with that. If you know her work, you can enjoy the irony of that, it draws out some of the aspects of her social satire, it works on many levels.”
The Bank of England revealed the design of the new plastic tenner on the 200th anniversary of the author’s death yesterday at Winchester Cathedral, where the famous author was buried in 1817 at the age of 41.
The new note, which will be issued on September 14, is also the first BOE banknote with a tactile feature to help blind and partially-sighted users.
It constitutes a series of raised dots in the top left-hand corner of the banknote, developed with the help of the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Braille dots on the new £10 note have no specific meaning and exist purely to help people tell notes apart, the BOE said. Although the new £5 does not contain Braille, the £20 will.
The number of people in the UK with sight loss will increase sharply in the future due to the ageing population.
It is predicted that by 2020 the number will rise to over 2,250,000. By 2050, the estimate will have doubled to nearly four million.
The paper £10 featuring Charles Darwin will eventually be withdrawn from circulation in spring 2018, when they will cease to be legal tender.
Like the Sir Winston Churchill £5 note, which is already in circulation, the new £10 is made from polymer which is more durable than paper. However, the transition to polymer sparked controversy after the Bank confirmed that an “extremely small amount” of tallow – or animal fat – was used to make the notes.
In February the Bank decided to print the new £10 notes using the same polymer material as it had already printed 275 million, at a cost of £24 million.
Victoria Cleland, the Bank’s chief cashier, said: “The new £10 note marks the next exciting step in our introduction of cleaner, safer, stronger polymer notes.
“I am delighted that the £10 note incorporates an innovative feature, which I hope will greatly benefit blind and partially sighted users.”