Jane Austen’s House is delighted to present a YouTube Premiere of our mini-documentary: ‘Spotlight on The Watsons‘.

The Watsons is the earliest surviving manuscript of a novel by Jane Austen in the process of development. Looking at it in depth can teach us a lot about the way Jane wrote. This film examines the manuscript itself and offers insights into Jane Austen’s creative process.

This short film accompanies our new permanent exhibition: ‘Jane Austen and the Art of Writing’. Like the exhibition, it uses objects as a way in to explore what we can learn about Jane Austen’s life as a writer. A short clip of the film is on display in the exhibition itself – this longer edit allows us to explore more details about the manuscript itself and what we can learn from it.

Watch it freely on YouTube from Thursday 28 November, 8pm GMT: WATCH HERE!

With thanks to The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, where The Watsons manuscript is held and where this film was made.