Jane Austen in London

Whilst Jane Austen lived in Hampshire for most of her life, she greatly enjoyed visiting London where she revelled in the luxuries that a big city had to offer.

This display is centred around our new acquisition: a letter written from Jane to Cassandra on 15-16 September 1813, from their brother Henry’s house in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. It is a long, chatty letter in which she reveals the details of everyday life, from shopping trips and visits to the theatre, to visiting the theatre and a painful trip to the dentist.

Letter 87, as it is known in Deirdre Le Faye’s Jane Austen’s Letters, is part of the Blavatnik-Honresfield Collection of books and manuscripts. The letter will be shared between Jane Austen’s House and the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

This display will run from 8 September 2022 to 19 March 2023 and is free with House entry!

If you can’t make it to Chawton, you can view an online version of the exhibition here 💻