Today is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and Janeites around the world are celebrating in a variety of ways. The Jane Austen Center in Bath is hosting a day-long "readathon" to commemorate "Pride and Prejudice" and the same novel is the subject of JASNA's (Jane Austen Society of North America) Annual General Meeting this fall.
This day brought me back to Chawton, one of Jane's residences where, just a year and a half ago, I visited along with my daughter, Rachel. In 2011, the museum was celebrating a 200th anniversary of another of Jane's novels, "Sense and Sensibility".
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| Rachel outside the Chawton House |
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| A copy of "Sense and Sensibility" written by "A Lady" |
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| Posters highlighting "Sense and Sensibility" were on display |
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| The dining room. The fireplace behind the table is where Jane would have heated the tea kettle. |
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| One of the items owned by Austen's - a quilt made by Jane, Cassandra and their mother |
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| Jane's bedroom with a costume worn for one of the Sense and Sensibility movies. |
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| A dining room chair owned by the Austen's |
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| Outside the Chawton home. The gardens overlook a tea room across the street. |
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| Appropriately named "Cassandra's Cup", we had afternoon tea at the Chawton tea room |
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| After our trip to Chawton, we visited Winchester and the famous cathedral |
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| A display of Austen history at the front of the cathedral |
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| Inside Winchester Cathedral. Jane Austen is buried here. |
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| Just a short distance from the cathedral is the last residence of Jane Austen, now a private home. |
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| Back to London, we stopped at the original Twinings tea room. Jane bought her tea here. So did I! |
This was a fantastic trip and a nice follow-up to our visit to Bath in 2006 (see previous blog story on The Jane Austen Center and the famous Pump Room). And, there's still more to see. Starting the countdown to England 2015!
Wishing all fans of Jane Austen - a great tea enthusiast I must add - much felicity and joy on Pride and Prejudice Day!
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