This Jane Austen blog brings Jane Austen, her novels, and the Regency Period alive through food, dress, social customs, and other 19th C. historical details related to this topic.
“One cannot have too large a party.” —Mr. Weston, Emma, volume 3, chapter 6
Happy Birthday all year long, dear Jane!
On Austen’s birthday, Dec. 16, we visited a few of the many events for Jane Austen’s 250th birthday this year. Here are a few more that my friends have attended:
July: Jane Austen Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio
(Reported by Christel Ford)
The yearly Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, Kentucky moved to Cincinnati, Ohio this year. The venue was the Heritage Village Museum, where sessions were held in historic buildings. The Post Office had examples of period letters, with docents answering questions about mail service of the period and letters.
Many attendees wore beautiful period clothing. A tent village offered many types of shops. Dresses, hats, fabric and sundries were for sale.
Many Janeites traveled up to New York City to see the fantastic exhibition hosted by the Morgan Library for Jane’s 250th birthday. A group from our Georgia region visited together on the opening weekend. Renata Dennis said the exhibit was jam-packed with fascinating materials. She enjoyed seeing everyday objects like letters, maps, a ledge of expenditures, and a reproduction of Jane’s pelisse. The exhibit addressed different aspects of Jane’s life, her family, life in England at that time, and her relationships. It also included her books in different languages and adaptations.
Some highlights were silhouettes of Jane’s parents, some of her music manuscripts, letters, and literary manuscripts, her turquoise ring, first editions of Emma and Mansfield Park, early illustrations of Sense and Sensibility, and much more.
The exhibition website says:
“A Lively Mind immerses viewers in the inspiring story of Jane Austen’s authorship and her gradual rise to international fame. Iconic artifacts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, England join manuscripts, books, and artworks from the Morgan, as well as from a dozen institutional and private collections, to present compelling new perspectives on Austen’s literary achievement, her personal style, and her global legacy.”
Harewood House, Leeds, England: Austen and Turner: A Country House Encounter
(Reported by Lori Mulligan Davis)
In 2025, Harewood House celebrated the 250th birthdays of two national icons, Jane Austen and painter J.M.W. Turner. They never met in life, but they mingle daily in wallets, with Turner on the £20 and Austen on the £10 banknote. Working with the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York, Harewood House Trust exhibited artworks and artifacts on topics of interest to Austen and Turner, including domestic tourism of country houses, the rising importance of sociability, the rage for the picturesque landscape, and the results of empire and slavery. Many first-time guests coming for Austen or Turner were equally glad to experience one of the finest of England’s great estates.
Many, many more events around the world celebrated Jane Austen’s 250th birthday this year. I hope you got to attend some of them! Tell us about your favorites!
“One cannot have too large a party. A large party secures its own amusement.”–Emma
2025 has been a full year of celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday. Janeites around the country are having a wide range of parties for Jane this month. Here in Atlanta, our group held a fantastic one day conference in September, besides our December birthday party which included a dance demonstration. Some of our public libraries have had special Austen events throughout the year, ranging from a pre-release screening of Miss Austen, to film versions including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the Laurence Olivier Pride and Prejudice, to special talks by authors and fashion experts. They also gave out free copies of Austen’s novels to library visitors.
I had the privilege of attending three major Austen events this year.
June: JASP
In June the Jane Austen Summer Program explored Sensibility and Domesticity with great discussions, lots of dancing, and a display of early editions of Austen’s novels and contemporary books she would have read. I posted about that in July.
A sample of Jenny Batchelor’s beautiful Austen-period embroidery. She taught two workshops and gave a plenary talk on Transatlantic Domestic Arts at JASP 2025.
September: Jane Austen Festival in Bath
Soldiers lead 2,000 people in Regency dress who promenaded through Bath for the 2025 Jane Austen Festival.
In September, I had the privilege of speaking at Bath Abbey during the Jane Austen Festival. This was the biggest one yet. The Promenade through Bath in Regency dress sold out at 2,000 wristbands almost immediately. Eight balls, eight dance workshops (some focused on specific types of dance, like waltzes or cotillions), and two assemblies (with dancing) also sold out rapidly. (At hefty prices—balls cost from £65 to £135 per ticket!) We enjoyed plays and musical programs in the evenings. The Theatre Royal (which Austen attended) showed a delightful version of Emma. Many ladies and gentlemen strolled around Bath in Regency dress all ten days of the Festival. A “pleasure garden” was recreated one evening, with appropriate foods and drinks, entertainers, and even fireworks at the end.
Fire dancer at the Bath Pleasure Garden during the 2025 Jane Austen Festival.
“Book clubs” discussed each of the novels. Hands-on activities gave opportunities to make bonnets, reticules, hairpieces, hussifs (sewing kits), dresses, visiting cards, or parasols; to stargaze, fence, shoot with bows and arrows, or play croquet, whist, and other Regency games; or to sing Austen’s favorite songs, write letters with a quill, bind books, or dye fabric with plants and flowers. Minibus tours took attendees to Meryton, Longbourn, Chawton, Steventon, and Winchester. Walking tours around Bath featured various themes including “What about the Workers?” and “Life and Death in Georgian England.”
A gentleman dressed as Mr. Collins, at “Sew Chatty,” where people brought their sewing projects and socialized, as Austen and her characters socialize over their “work,” their sewing.
Of course I loved the talks by Austen authors and experts. In “Assembly and Diversity in Jane Austen’s Bath” I learned that the Upper Assembly Rooms were established, by subscription, to be open to everyone, not just exclusively for the upper classes—the most inclusive venue in Georgian Britain, according to Dr. Tim Moore. At “Dye and Colour in Regency Life,” I learned that green was a difficult color to create, and they used copper arsenic for it, surrounding people with poison! Every talk I attended brought fascinating new knowledge.
In the Bath Guild Hall, the Jane Austen Dancers prepare to show the intricacies of assemblies, public and private, in Austen’s time.
On the first Sunday, I was glad I arrived early for the free Regency Church Service in Bath Abbey. It was so full they had to turn people away at the doors. I had had the privilege of giving the staff some guidance on what a Regency service would have been like, and was delighted at the beautiful service. (The clergymen even used some material from my book, Fashionable Goodness!) Later that week I had a lovely discussion in the Abbey with those who attended my talk on Hannah More, whom Jane Austen’s friends were “reading with delight.”
Stephen Herring led special tours of Bath Abbey highlighting memorials to people connected to the Austen family. His wife Jackie Herring wrote Jane Austen’s Bath Abbey, giving us those people’s stories.
October: JASNA AGM
For Janeites in America, the JASNA AGM is always a highlight of the year. This one was the biggest ever, with 950 in-person attendees in Baltimore and about 225 on livestream. Our plenary speakers were all superb: Paula Byrne (The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things), Juliette Wells (A New Jane Austen: How Americans Brought Us the World’s Greatest Novelist), Vanessa Riley (Island Queen and other Regency fiction based on real women of color); and John Mullan (What Matters in Jane Austen?).
950 attendees at the 2025 JASNA AGM in Baltimore listen raptly.
A panel of well-known authors discussed Austen’s genius (Janine Barchas, Inger Brodey, Collins Hemingway, and Devoney Looser). And, as always, a fantastic lineup of breakout sessions, special sessions, workshops, tours, and dancing gave us many challenging choices, since we couldn’t do everything!
At the final brunch, John Mullan tells the 2025 JASNA AGM about “Austen’s Choice of Words,” ranging from her use of exclamation marks to her pioneering use of new words.
I loved hearing Susannah Harker, a special guest, talk about her role as Jane Bennet in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. Did you know that she was pregnant all during filming, so they had to film her very carefully to not show that? Or, have you ever noticed that Darcy rides a black horse at the beginning of the movie, and a white horse later on? I had to rewatch the movie to confirm this; what a sacrifice! 😊
Susannah Harker tells us about playing Jane Bennet.
A special offering this year were pop-up museums. We got to see some of the artefacts discovered in an archaeological dig at Steventon (as well as a talk on how they are developing a virtual version of the Steventon rectory). Caroline Knight brought treasures from the Knight family. Candice Hern shared some of her lovely items that would have been carried in a reticule. Alden O’Brien shared garments of the time. And much more.
Caroline Knight shows Knight family treasures in an AGM pop-up museum.
As one example of a special session, Dan Macey talked about the variety of smells of the time, most of which were bad (think tanneries, chamber pots, slaughter houses, poor hygiene, tallow candles, mutton . . .). But at the end we all got to smell a perfume used at the time, still produced by a perfumer from the 1700s (DR Harris & Co.)
Mackenzie Sholtz teaches a group how to make Regency pin holders.
I got to participate in a “pecha kucha,” a Japanese presentation style that has become very popular worldwide. Three of us had ten minutes each to give the headlines of a talk (20 seconds per slide). I spoke on Hannah More, Nili Olay spoke on LM Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables), and Joy Prevost spoke on AI imaging trying to capture Austen’s genius. People seemed to enjoy these quick talks, and asked great questions at the end. Regular breakout sessions explored topics ranging from philosophy to headgear and shoes to Jane Austen’s “Genius of Place.” (Did you know Austen consulted atlases to find appropriate place names for her fiction, such as situating Highbury in an area with many towns ending in -bury? Hazel Jones told us all about this; she will be one of the keynote speakers next year.)
Next year’s AGM will be in Tuscon, on the “Bath Novels,” Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
All these events included great shopping arcades. Here are just a few of my favorite acquisitions: an amber cross on a ribbon (like Fanny Price’s) from JASP; a Jane Austen Lego set (40766) from the Festival Fayre in Bath; and an Austen calendar (with dates identified by things that happened in Austen’s life or novels) from the AGM (Wisconsin region does these every year). The 250 pin is also from the AGM.
Happy Birthday, dear Jane!
What have you been doing to celebrate Jane’s 250th birthday? Let us know in the comments. In a few days I will share a few more events that my friends have attended this year.
If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for the Austen-lovers you know, check out these options.
I was not able to track down everyone in all these photos. If you were at one of these large events and you object to your photo appearing here, please contact me through my website and I will take the photo down immediately. (Or if you want your name added to the photo description!)
In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary year, I’m happy to announce a new audiobook project: The Praying with Jane Audiobookfeaturing narration by actress Amanda Root and author Rachel Dodge (yours truly). Published by ONE Audiobooks, this title is available on all major audiobook platforms.
Amanda Root is best known by Austen fans around the world for her starring role as Anne Elliot in the acclaimed 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Root claimed audience hearts opposite Ciarán Hinds, as Captain Wentworth, and has held them ever since.
Proceeds from this anniversary project will be donated directly to the Jane Austen House Museum to further Jane Austen’s lasting legacy.
Persuasion film adaptation with Amanda Root (1995).
Amanda Root and Rachel Dodge, Kansas City AGM.
Audiobook Description
In this 31-day devotional, you will get an in-depth look at Jane Austen’s prayers. Her faith comes to life through her exquisite prayers, touching biographical anecdotes, intimate excerpts from family letters and memoirs, illuminating scenes from her novels, and spiritual insights. Austen’s prayers read by British film and voice actress Amanda Root; text read by author Rachel Dodge.
You can listen to a sample of Jane Austen’s Prayer 1 here, read by actress Amanda Root:
Proceeds will be donated to the Jane Austen House Museum.
Amanda Root Bio
Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actress and a former voice actress for children’s programs. Root is known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, her role in the British TV comedy All About Me (2002), as Miranda, alongside Richard Lumsden in 2004, and for voicing Sophie in The BFG (1989). She trained for the stage at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. (IMBD Mini Bio)
This week I’d like to introduce you to a new book by Helena Kelly called The Worlds of Jane Austen: The Influences and Inspiration Behind the Novels. This book caught my eye, initially, because of its beautiful cover – yes, I admit it! I do judge a book (first) by its cover. But more than that, I was intrigued by the idea that Jane Austen’s novels reveal deeper influences that we might not realize without careful digging.
Austen lived through many historically significant moments, and though Austen doesn’t discuss war or politics or social issues in detail in her novles, Kelly asserts that Austen’s “sharp, observant fiction reveals just how engaged she was with the issues of her time.”
Kelly’s chapter titles include: “The Rectory,” “The Revolution,” “Army and Navy,” “Give a Girl an Education,” “City,” “Countryside,” “Seaside,” and “Empire and Slavery.” Three additional chapters are titled “Legacies,” “Austenmania,” and “Present Day.” Kelly explores the various facets of each topic in detail, providing key examples from Austen’s novels to show the way each influence plays a part in her writing, which is always my favorite part.
The Worlds of Jane Austeninvites readers to see one of Britain’s most beloved authors in a completely new light. Far from the quiet world of country houses and tea parties, Austen lived through revolution, war and major social change, and her sharp, observant fiction reveals just how engaged she was with the issues of her time.
This lively and accessible guide explores the people, politics and places that shaped Austen’s life and work. It features expert insight from bestselling author Helena Kelly alongside over 150 photographs, artworks and illustrations that bring her world vividly to life.
Whether you are discovering Austen for the first time or returning to her novels with fresh eyes, The Worlds of Jane Austen is the perfect companion for curious readers, literature lovers and admirers of classic storytelling.
About the Author
Helena Kelly holds a doctorate in English Literature from Oxford, where she has also taught from time to time and where she is about to return for a visiting scholarship at the Oxford Centre for Life Writing at Wolfson College.
She is the author of The Life and Lies of Charles Dickens (November 2023), already praised by Kirkus Reviews as ‘a literary bio that deftly untangles truth from untruth’, and of Jane Austen, the Secret Radical (2016), hailed as ‘a sublime piece of literary detective work’ (The Observer) and ‘an interpretive coup that is dazzling and dizzying’ (The New Yorker).
Additional Influences
I enjoyed this book tremendously and learned a great deal. I was familiar with some of it, but there were many new areas of information for me to delve into. I do have a few additional area of inspiration and influence I would be curious to investigate further as well.
In Kelly’s words, “Book could teach you almost anything.” I would have appreciated an additional chapter or section devoted to the books Austen read in the chapter about education for women and Austen’s personal education. After all, we are what we read. Our opinions and convictions are a compilation of our influences, and many of those ideas for Austen came through extensive reading. Austen read widely and deeply, even memorizing great portions of text, secular and religious alike, and her reading interests surely influenced her writing and the ideology behind her novels.
In a similar vein, I would have also enjoyed learning about the influence of religion on her writing. Austen had a brilliant mind and read Fordyce’s Sermons, The Book of Common Prayer, William Cowper, and other religious writers and materials during her lifetime. She was not silent about the role of the clergy in her novels, nor was she ignorant of the issues facing the Church of England during her lifetime. As a clergyman’s daughter, her daily life was intertwined with the Church, and it would be fascinating to read more scholarly information about that particular influence in her life.
However, exploring Austen’s influences could become a lifelong project, so I applaud Kelly’s careful research on the topics she chose and her excellent focus on the texts of Austen’s novels. Seeing the “proof” on the page is always the best part! Seeing Austen’s influences play out on the pages of her novels was splendid. Austen tells us so much, even when she’s not telling us much.
New Releases for Austen’s 250th
This is yet another incredible book in the great line up of books releasing this year for the 250th celebration of Austen’s life and legacy. The bounty of books knows no bounds this year! If you’d like to read a comprehensive live of new releases for this year, I invite you to visit this wonderful blog resource that I recently found in my searches: Regency Explorer: “Jane Austen 250 – a list of new books scheduled for 2025” by Anna M. Thane.
If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself overjoyed and overwhelmed by the vast list of books Thane put together. It must have taken an immense amount of time and dedication. I plan to reference it as I continue to explore the many new Austen books that have released this year (and some that are coming next year).
As we continue our tour of new books and media for Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary celebration, my choice this month is the much-anticipated Jane Austen in 41 Objects by Kathryn Sutherland. This extensive new “biography” features the beloved 41 Objects from the Jane Austen Museum, along with beautiful photographs and in-depth information about each item in the collection.
“Jane Austen’s House holds an unparalleled collection of objects relating to Jane Austen’s life and works, her family circle and her legacy. Here you can see some of the treasures of the collection, ranging from books and letters to pieces of furniture, clothing and paintings. Many of these objects can be seen in the House . . .” (Jane Austen’s House)
For those who have had the opportunity to visit Jane Austen’s House Museum, many can attest that it’s hard to take everything in during a tour of the house. This book provides a closer look at each object in greater details. I was quite intrigued by the items and information I had missed during my visits over the years and from my searches online. For those who have not yet visited JAHM, this is the perfect book for your shelves! It gives Jane Austen fans a wonderful glimpse into the collection of objects often on display there, collecting them all in on place.
This book provides the perfect “virtual tour” because there’s so much more in the book than you can find online or in person. This book is also much more thorough in its explanation of and historic information about each of the 41 objects than anything I have seen. For instance, reading about the Jane Austen plate was brand-new to me.
What’s more, I believe that this book provides information about objects that may not currently be on view at the museum. I don’t think all 41 objects are always available to the public in one place. If memory serves, some objects move here and there to other exhibits, so again, seeing it all in one place is quite impressive and educational.
Jane Ausen’s Writing Desk
Book Description
Jane Austen in 41 Objects by Kathryn Sutherland is a new kind of biography on Jane Austen examining the objects she encountered during her life alongside newer memorabilia inspired by the life she lived.
More than two hundred years after Jane Austen’s death at the age of just forty-one, we are still looking for clues about this extraordinary writer’s life. What might we learn if we take a glimpse inside the biographies of objects that crossed her path in life and afterward: things that she cherished or cast aside, that furnished the world in which she moved, or that have themselves been inspired by her legacy?
Among objects described in this book are a teenage notebook, a muslin shawl, a wallpaper fragment, a tea caddy, the theatrical poster for a play she attended, and the dining-room grate at Chawton Cottage where she lived. Poignantly, the last manuscript page of her unfinished novel and a lock of hair, kept by her devoted sister, Cassandra, are also featured. Objects contributing to Austen’s rich cultural legacy include a dinner plate decorated by Bloomsbury artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, Grayson Perry’s commemorative pot from 2009, and even Mr Darcy’s wet shirt, worn by Colin Firth in the 1995 BBC adaptation.
This is a different kind of biography, in which objects with their own histories offer shifting entry points into Jane Austen’s life. Each object, illustrated in color, invites us to meet Austen at a particular moment when her life intersects with theirs, speaking eloquently of past lives and shedding new light on one of our best-loved authors.
Featured Objects
Sutherland provides a tour of all 41 objects with photographs and information about each one. This truly does gives the reader more time to examine and take a thorough look at each object. Though one could find many of these objects online, it’s much easier to study them in a book format.
Marianne Knight’s Dancing Slippers
About the Author
Kathryn Sutherland is a trustee of Jane Austen’s House and Professor of English and Senior Research Fellow, St. Anne’s College, Oxford. Her publications include Jane Austen’s Textual Lives: from Aeschylus to Bollywood (2005), the online edition of Jane Austen’s Fiction Manuscripts (2010), and Jane Austen’s Fiction Manuscripts (5 vols, 2018). Other edited works include: James Edward Austen-Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections (2002) and Jane Austen, Teenage Writings (2017).
During the 200th anniversary year of Austen’s death, she curated two major exhibitions: “The Mysterious Miss Austen,” in Winchester, Hampshire, and “Which Jane Austen?” at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She wrote essays for and edited the accompanying exhibition book, Jane Austen: Writer in the World (2017).
Celebrating 250 Years
This collection is another wonderful product of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and the celebrations happening worldwide all year long. I’m thankful that Kathryn Sutherland, Jane Austen’s House, and Bodleian Library Publishing, Oxford made it possible for Jane Austen fans to have access to these artifacts in book form. If you really want to “geek out,” this is the book for you!
Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen's England is now available! By JAW contributor Brenda S. Cox. See Review. Available from Amazon and Jane Austen Books.
Available through December 31st, 2025. Click on image for details, and share this poster with other teachers and students!
The Obituary of Charlotte Collins by Andrew Capes
Click on image to read the story.
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Project Gutenberg: eBook of Stage-coach and Mail in Days of Yore, Volume 2 (of 2), by Charles G. Harper
STAGE-COACH AND MAIL IN DAYS OF YORE: A PICTURESQUE HISTORY
OF THE COACHING AGE, VOL. II, By CHARLES G. HARPER. 1903. Click on this link.
Jane Austen's World 