An Interview with Mary Guyatt, Curator at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton

This week we have the pleasure of featuring an exclusive interview with Mary Guyatt, Curator at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, Hampshire. It was here that Jane Austen wrote her last three novels (Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion) as well as where she revised her first three novels, including Pride and Prejudice.

York Notes: Could you tell us about what Jane Austen’s House Museum does, and what your role is within the museum.
Mary Guyatt: I am Mary Guyatt and my role is Curator. I work with our trustees, staff and a large team of volunteers to maintain and develop this unique literary site, and to increase public appreciation of Jane Austen’s life, work and times.

YN: What does Jane Austen’s House Museum do?
MG: The Museum welcomes visitors from around the world to see the house where Jane Austen lived with her mother and sister for the last eight years of her life. The Museum is a charity and it has been open to the public since 1948. We are open 330 days a year and located in the village of Chawton, in Hampshire. As well as looking around the house, we have hands-on activities and a programme of events.
Read more: yorknotes/an-interview-with-jane-austens-house-museum-pride-and-prejudice/