This year will mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Events are being organised up and down the country to celebrate the publication of this seminal work and Kent, a county with considerable connections to the eighteenth century author, is no exception.
The Centre for Studies in the Long Eighteenth Century (one of the school’s many active research centres) is organising and supporting a variety of events in the local area. On Saturday 7 September Godmersham Park Heritage Centre will be hosting a series of talks and an exhibition to commemorate the anniversary. Talks will include Andrew Higson (University of York), Sandy Lerner (Chair of the Trustees of Chawton House Library) and Jennie Batchelor (Reader in Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of Kent) who will be giving a paper entitled [T]ruth: in his looks: Pride and Prejudice and Physiognomy. Godmersham Park, a stunning house once owned by Austen’s brother Edward Austen Knight and where Jane Austen spent a good deal of her time, is not routinely open to the public. Both the gardens and the nearby village of Godmersham were inspiration for several of her novels.
Jane Austen’s reputation is currently the topic of national debate and recent media coverage has suggested that she may be immortalised on the next printed bank note. Her reputation as one of Britain’s greatest authors, however, has never really been in doubt and this year is an excellent opportunity to commemorate this great author and celebrate one of her greatest works.