200 years of Pride and Prejudice

Dr Gillian Dow from English, who is partly based at Chawton House Library, the former home of Jane’s brother Edward, is already in demand for expert comment by journalists around the world including reporters from the BBC, Meridian TV, Al Jazeera and the Washington Post.

A study day for anyone interested in the novel will take place on Saturday 9 February at Chawton House Library to mark the bicentennial. Leading experts will give talks on various aspects of Pride and Prejudice, Southampton’s Dr Shelley Cobb will explore Jane Austen’s style, reception and legacy, her life and times, and 20th and 21st century adaptations and the day will end with tea and readings at the nearby Jane Austen House Museum.

Meanwhile, music staff are working on a TV documentary to be aired on BBC 2 in March to celebrate the anniversary. The filmmakers are aiming to reconstruct a Regency evening entertainment complete with a ball, and the Southampton team led by Professor Jeanice Brooks and Dr Wiebke Thormählen is researching and performing the music.

Also in the spring, novelist, Teaching Fellow, and author of Jane Austen’s Guide to Modern Life’s Dilemmas, Rebecca Smith will run writing workshops on themes from Pride and Prejudice at the Jane Austen House Museum in Chawton, Hampshire, in March and April 2013 . Rebecca (who also happens to be Jane’s five-times great niece) will also judge the Jane Austen’s House Museum’s annual competition for young writers.