Happy 250th Anniversary, Jane!
As Jane Austen’s anniversary year reaches its finale in this, her birthday month, Dr Gabrielle Malcolm, author, Austen expert and the Creative Director of our six-day Austen parties, looks back on a year of fabulous celebrations.
What a year it has been!
For the record, I have been to the Netherlands, the USA, Hampshire, Bath and London to celebrate Jane Austen; I’ve spoken to media and press from India, France, Germany and Australia; I have interviewed Susannah Harker (1995 P&P Jane Bennet), Caroline Knight (Jane Austen’s fifth great-niece) and novelist Gill Hornby (author of Miss Austen) and I’ve lost count of all the connections and friendships I have made. And the year isn’t over yet. That’s Jane Austen’s great power: community and connections. All the best elements of fan culture on the internet are found among the Austen community.
The real-world tributes poured in for Austen across the year as well.
In the summer, the Hampshire Regency Week gave pride of place to a new bust of Jane Austen outside Alton Assembly Rooms on the High Street. The author will be forever remembered alongside the locations she frequented during her life. Created by sculptor Mark Coreth, the unveiling was attended by the Austen-Knight descendants, among them Caroline Jane Knight. Jane is depicted in her familiar bonneted style on a plinth formed of her six completed novels.
Not to be outdone by their neighbours over in Alton, Winchester Cathedral unveiled a commemorative, life-size statue of Austen in the Cathedral Close. Designed by acclaimed sculptor, Martin Jennings (known for his portrait of King Charles III for the Royal Mint) it portrays a wistful figure, full of longing and imagination, wearing her topaz cross.
To celebrate the unveiling in October, Winchester Cathedral hosted Susannah Harker, Joanna David (1995 P&P Mrs Gardiner), and Adrian Lukis (1995 P&P Mr Wickham) for some dramatic readings from Austen’s novels.
For the first time, No. 8 College Street in Winchester was opened to the public. The sparse rooms within sight of the cathedral witnessed the last days of Jane Austen. She had been conveyed to Winchester from Chawton in the hope that an eminent doctor could help find a cure for her mystery, wasting ailment. Visitors were moved to tears on entry to these humble surroundings where their beloved Jane breathed her last.
Now that December is upon us, the year can be rounded off with some further, heartfelt celebrations of Austen. Known to her father George Austen as his ‘little Jenny’, Austen was born on 16th December 1775, when a great freeze hung over the countryside. What better way to celebrate her birthday than with some festivities in Bath?
Hot drinks, dancing, good food, cosy shawls, a decorated winter bonnet and splashing out on some shopping. There is no better way to remember Austen than with some of her favourite birthday and Christmas pastimes.
For the Austen family, in Jane’s youth, the Christmas period followed the ancient calendar, commencing on 6th December and concluding with Twelfth Night on the 6th January. Celebrated by regular services at her father’s parish church of St Nicholas, they enjoyed dances, caroling and feasting over the season that also witnessed Jane’s birthday.
George Austen is famous for the generosity he showed towards his two daughters and their education, and this can be seen in the birthday gift to Jane in 1794 when she turned nineteen. Her portable mahogany writing slope, usually kept in the British Library, has toured the UK for the 250th anniversary.
Why not treat yourself to an Austen-themed celebration this December with Strictly Jane Austen tours, and perhaps lavish a gift or two with a literary theme on yourself and your loved ones?
