I spent most of my last year of college writing about British colonial slavery and anti-slavery movements in the 18th and early 19th century. There were actually many people of African descent living in England during Jane Austen's time. So I'm intrigued by the character Rhoda Swartz, a biracial heiress, in Vanity Fair. I'm only partly finished with Vanity Fair, but Thackery's portrayal of her is not super flattering. He often uses her as a kind of puppet to highlight the greed and vanity of many of the characters in his long satire of English society.
From the Reese Whitherspoon movie version of Vanity Fair: Hmph! Rhoda, you're actually too good for George Osbourne.
I think the only woman of colour in Austen is Miss Lambe, the rich West Indian heiress in 'Sanditon': 'She was about seventeen, half-mulatto, chilly and tender, had a maid of her own, was to have the best room in the lodgings, and was always of the first consequence...' Mercenary Lady Denham tries to force an acquaintance with Miss Lambe, partly in hopes of introducing her to her nephew, the impoverished but marriageable Sir Edward.
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