More famous than Jane Austen in their day, discover the fascinating lives of the now little-known novelists, the Porter sisters, who feature in our current exhibition, 'Quills and Characters'. Described as "the most famous sister novelists before the Brontës" the [...]
On this day in 1823, seminal Gothic writer Ann Radcliffe died. Described as ‘the great enchantress of that generation’, her influence on Gothic literature cannot be overstated. To mark the day, we are sharing an article written on a unique [...]
. Izzie Warwick (15) was on work experience at Chawton House in June 2022. Alongside working across different areas of the house, she undertook an independent research project to write about one of the objects she came across at Chawton [...]
Today We’re Celebrating Edward Knight II’s Birthday! On this day in 1794, Edward Knight II was born Edward Austen in Godmersham, Kent. The nephew of Jane Austen, Edward Knight was the first son of Edward Austen Knight and [...]
This Summer, we were delighted with the response to our international creative writing competition, which attracted many talented young writers from the UK and much further afield, but which is also influencing teachers too. These pictures were sent in by [...]
Over the Summer, we launched a creative writing competition for young people, based on our 2020-21 exhibition, Man Up! Participants were tasked with creating a poem or short story inspired by women who stepped into male roles. Thank you to [...]
. On this day in 1817, Jane Austen died. To commemorate her life, we are sharing the title article from our latest issue of The Female Spectator, written by Curator and Collections Manager Emma Yandle, about one of our [...]
Please note this competition is now closed. Are you 15-25, and an aspiring writer? Last week was the final week of our Man Up! exhibition. To mark its end, we are inviting young writers to take part in a [...]
Closing this week, it's your last chance to catch Man Up! When Chawton House's daring exhibition opened in March 2020, it was swiftly forced to close a mere three weeks later following the nationwide Lockdown. We attempted to adapt to [...]
by Cassandra Austen, drawing, 1810 © National Portrait Gallery Michael D Sanders, Emeritus Consultant, St Thomas’ Hospital, London, UK, has lived in sight of Jane Austen’s House for over twenty years and has a life-long interest in [...]