Austen’s novels were published anonymously and read by a few thousand (including the Prince Regent), but she was almost unknown upon her death in 1817 and many of her books went out of print. It wasn’t until a biography written by her nephew came out in 1870 that her work took off, later achieving critical acclaim.
Now, we can’t escape Austenmania, evidenced not just by the reams of fan fiction (prequels, sequels and tales of bedroom antics) inspired by her work, but also by the number of UK-wide events organised this year to celebrate the 250th anniversary of her birth.
Read on for our top picks.
In Hampshire
The team at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire have organised a series of festivals themed around some of Austen's best-loved novels. Pride and Prejudice finishes today, but then there's Sense and Sensibility (May 1–11), Emma (July 12–20) and Persuasion (September 12–21), plus a Birthday Festival (December 13–21) and ‘Austenmania’, an exhibition celebrating adaptations. Click here for more information.
In Southampton
‘In training for a heroine’, with Austen’s travelling writing desk, runs at God’s House Tower in Southhampton, until February.
In Somerset
The Jane Austen Festival (September 12–21), plus a nautical Persuasion ball (May), a seaside Sanditon ball (June) and a Yuletide Birthday Ball (December) are all popping up at Bath's Jane Austen Centre.
In Hampshire
A life-size sculpture will be installed outside Winchester Cathedral and 8, College Street, where Austen spent her final weeks, will open to the public for the first time (June 4–August 30).
Across town, ‘Beyond the Bonnets: Working Women in Jane Austen’s Novels’ runs at The Arc on July 26–November 2
In Dorset
With Regency costume, letters and paintings, ‘Jane Austen: Down to the Sea’ at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery explores the author’s relationship with the coast (June 14–September 14.
On screen
Dolly Alderton is said to be writing a script for a new Netflix series of Pride and Prejudice. Miss Austen, a four-part adaptation of Gill Hornby’s 2021 bestseller, has been made by the BBC and begins February 2. Starring Keeley Hawes, it questions why Cassandra burned her sister’s letters. The BBC has also commissioned a 10-part series based on Janice Hadlow’s The Other Bennet Sister, giving spotlight to ‘odd one out’ Mary.
On the stage
Austentatious, the improvised comedy theatre production seen on the West End, will be touring the UK, with dates in York, Norwich, Buxton, Salford, Winchester, Bath and Leicester.
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Unputdownable: 12 page turners to see you through the rest of the winterFrom cookbooks to cricket, biographies to Sunday Times bestsellers, Country Life contributors name some of their favourite books from last year.
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J.R.R. Tolkien: The life and times of the lord of the booksFrom a sentence born of an exhausting teaching job, J. R. R. Tolkien crafted a series of fantastical novels that, 50 years on from his death, still loom as large in our imagination as Sauron’s all-seeing eye, says Matthew Dennison.
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Thomas Hardy's Wessex vs the real-life Dorset: Which bits are real, which dreams, and which are exact to the last stream and stileThomas Hardy’s depictions of a fictional Wessex and his own dear Dorset are more accurate than they may at first appear, says Susan Owens.
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The English villages that are hotbeds of murder, intrigue and endless summer days — at least in the minds of novelistsComforting yet complex, intriguing and alluring, the village setting is territory to which writers — and readers — will return again and again. Flora Watkins looks at how the customs, characters and communities of the English village have long sparked literary inspiration, from Jane Austen to Midsomer Murders.
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With love from Father Christmas: J.R.R. Tolkien's enchanting Christmas letters to his childrenFor nearly a quarter of a century, J. R. R. Tolkien sent his children elaborate letters and pictures from the North Pole. Ben Lerwill explores the penmanship, kindness and magic that went into Letters From Father Christmas.
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The best characters created Charles Dickens, still utterly unforgettable even 150 years after his deathCharles Dickens died 150 years ago, on 9 June 1870. Since then, Mr Micawber has become a byword for optimism, Scrooge for meanness and Uriah Heep for obsequiousness, and we still quote Mr Bumble’s ‘the law is an ass’. Rupert Godsal explains why these characters are so exuberantly unforgettable.
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Charles Dickens timeline: The best of times, the worst of timesRupert Godsal paints the major events in the life and times of Charles Dickens, who died 150 years ago on 9 June, 1870.
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In Focus: The greatest books ever written about theatre, as chosen by Michael BillingtonMichael Billington has been the theatre critic for Country Life (and several other publications) for decades. With theatres closed, he's turned his hand to picking out his 10 favourite books about theatrical life.
