200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen

This year is the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, the great English novelist whose works have been published to worldwide acclaim and continue to be enjoyed as plays, films, performances and of course, through the books themselves. The event will be especially commemorated in Hampshire – the rural county that Jane knew and loved – and in Bath. The anniversary is being marked with exhibitions, talks, walks and workshops and celebrated through costume, food and music – some of these events will no doubt be as part of the Jane Austen Annual Festival in Bath in September, whose special 2017 programme is still awaiting release.

Events will mainly be taking place at Winchester, because it was here that Jane Austen died aged 41, in rented lodgings close to the cathedral. Jane had come to Winchester from her Hampshire cottage at Chawton, accompanied by her beloved sister Cassandra, to seek medical help because of her failing health. royalcentral/royalty-and-jane-austen