2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth on December 16, 1775, so it is no wonder than many travel publications are dedicating space to exploring her home and book settings around England. This feels personal to me to, as a lifelong Austen fan, my first degree in English Literature, and my time living in London with ample time in Hampshire. While leading communications for the Four Seasons UK Collection, I spent a lot of time in the lovely English countryside which included a visit to Jane Austen’s House & museum.
It is rare that I come across someone in the western world who has not read one of her books, or the many movie or miniseries versions, which include: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and her unfinished novel, Sanditon.
About Jane
Jane was born in the village of Steventon, in Hampshire, England, the seventh child and youngest daughter of clergyman George Austen (a scholar who encouraged the love of learning in his children) and his wife Cassandra (a woman of ready wit, famed for her stories). Her closest companion throughout her life was her elder sister, Cassandra, and neither Jane nor Cassandra married. Jane Austen’s lively and affectionate family circle provided a stimulating context for her writing. Moreover, her experience was carried far beyond Steventon rectory by an extensive network of relationships by blood and friendship. It was this world—of the minor landed gentry and the country clergy, in the village, the neighborhood, and the country town, with occasional visits to Bath and to London—that she was to use in the settings, characters, and subject matter of her novels.
She became an English writer who first gave the novel its distinctly modern character through her treatment of ordinary people in everyday life, with her earliest known writings date from about 1787. Her novels defined the era’s novel of manners, but they also became timeless classics that remained critical and popular successes for over two centuries after her death. These works reflect her enduring legacy.
About Jane Austen’s England
Jane grew up primarily in Hampshire, though around 1801 when her father retired, Jane had to put up with a succession of temporary lodgings or visits to relatives, in Bath, London, Clifton, Warwickshire, and, finally, Southampton, where the three women lived from 1805 to 1809. In 1804 Jane began The Watsons but soon abandoned it. In 1804 her dearest friend, Mrs. Anne Lefroy, died suddenly, and in January 1805 her father died in Bath. Eventually, in 1809, Jane’s brother Edward was able to provide his mother and sisters with a large cottage in the village of Chawton, within his Hampshire estate, not far from Steventon. The prospect of settling at Chawton had already given Jane Austen a renewed sense of purpose, and she began to prepare Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice for publication.
Therefore, the NY Times named one of its 52 places to go this year is ‘Jane Austen’s England’, or rather southwest of the UK. There will be several events this year where visitors can experience all kinds of celebrations around Hampshire, Steventon, Southampton, Winchester and Bath – from Regency-costumed promenades to themed festivals. In particular though, Jane Austen’s House, her former cottage, will feature an exhibition and themed festivals. All of this is to say that there has never been a better time to enjoy the beautiful region, walk the many fields and lanes, get a great Sunday roast at a local pub, and more. But first….
…let’s rewatch “Pride & Prejudice” or “Sense and Sensibility” for the millionth time 🙂
Carrie x
