] I remember reading something a while ago suggesting that Mrs. Elton, of Emma , was probably from a family of slave-traders. That in the Regency period, the Bristol area, where Mrs. Elton is from, was known as a base for slave traders, who were often known for vulgar, preening displays of their new found wealth from the trade.

It is certainly true that the city of Bristol is associated with the slave trade. The url below contains links to a range of sites which explore this in some depth. However, Mrs Elton does specifically deny any involvement in the slave trade. When Jane Fairfax refers to the job agencies in London as places where human intellect rather than human flesh is on sale, Mrs Elton's reply is:

"Oh! my dear, human flesh! You quite shock me; if you mean a fling at the slave-trade, I assure you Mr. Suckling was always rather a friend to the abolition."

Of course, her reply could just be an instance of the lady protesting too much, but I don't think there's enough evidence in the text to assume that she was prevaricating.

It's so frustrating when these interesting questions come up and there really is no way to answer them. If only JA were here to ask!