Events

Explore Jane Austen’s House with our fun Sense and Sensibility trail! In different rooms around the House you will discover a range of items left by characters in the novel – from Marianne’s sheet music to Elinor’s watercolours.

Pick up a free trail and enjoy reliving moments from the novel as you explore the House where it was revised and published.  

Details:
Dates: 1 May – 7 September 2025
Times: 10am – 5pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets: Free with House entry

‘the only literary pursuit which engaged Harriet at present, the only mental provision she was making for the evening of life, was the collecting and transcribing all the riddles of every sort that she could meet with, into a thin quarto of hot-pressed paper, made up by her friend, and ornamented with ciphers and trophies.’

Inspired by Harriet’s riddle book in Emma, we have created 8 new riddles and conundrums for you to solve! Pick up a free map and follow the trail of riddles around the garden and courtyard, solving them as you go!

The trail concludes in the Historic Kitchen where you will find a collection of riddles by Jane herself and her family on display.

Details:
Dates: 11 July – 7 September 2025
Times: 10am – 5pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets: Free with House entry

‘Yes, yes, we will have a Pianoforte, as good a one as can be got for 30 Guineas — & I will practise country dances, that we may have some amusement for our nephews & neices, when we have the pleasure of their company.’ 

Jane Austen, 28 December 1808  

Throughout our Emma Festival, we will welcome competent pianists who wish to practice on our 1813 Clementi square piano for an hour each morning – just as Jane Austen used to do. 

The first hour of the day will be devoted to piano practice in the Drawing Room. The House will be open to visitors, so if you wish to play, please be prepared for an appreciative audience!  

We will provide a selection of sheet music from the period, as well as printed copies of Jane Austen’s handwritten music books, so you can practice the songs that Jane herself played in this very room, should you wish to. We are also very happy for you to play from your own repertoire, although we do ask that you choose appropriate music to play. 

Find out more about our Clementi square piano.

Details:
Dates: 12-20 July 2025
Times: 10am – 11am daily
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us. 
Tickets: £17.50 (to include entry to Jane Austen’s House) / £5 if you have an annual pass

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

📖 This event is part of our Emma Festival, 12-20 July 2025.

Drop into a free, pop up talk celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Clueless! a brilliant reimagining of Emma set in the L.A. hills that is now a cult classic.

Details:
Dates: 12 – 20 July, daily
Time: 2pm – 2.15pm
Location: Historic Kitchen
Free, with House admission

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your tickets to enjoy this event.

📖 This event is part of our Emma Festival, running from 12 – 20 July 2025

‘the prospect of spending future summers by the Sea or in Wales is very delightful’
Jane Austen, Saturday 3 January 1801

Jane Austen loved going on holiday. In 1805 she wrote to her sister Cassandra ‘I dare say You are already the better for a change of place’ – showing that she understood how a change of location can benefit our happiness and wellbeing.

In this summery talk, we’ll explore Jane Austen’s relationship with the seaside, from Dawlish and Worthing to Lyme Regis and Brighton. We’ll follow her into the bathing machine, enjoy a bracing coastal walk, and visit the circulating library – there might even be a holiday romance!

DETAILS:
Date: Sunday 20 July
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Location: This event takes place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £25 (talk + House admission); £12 (talk only, for Annual Pass holders)

This event ticket includes access to Jane Austen’s House and garden on the event day only.

💐 This event is part of our Emma Festival running from 12 – 20 July

Join us for an entertaining and insightful talk by debut author Veronica Litt, as she discusses her new book on the classic 1995 Emma adaptation Clueless. Litt’s Ugh! As If! is a sweet and sly exploration of the Jane Austen-inspired teen movie and its evergreen imperative to be kind, do better, and find the activist within. Uncovering the complex layers beneath the glossy girly movie, Litt investigates the film’s deeper ethical questions about femininity, innocence, bias, and inequity—all while staying true to the film’s light, funny, optimistic register.

“Litt’s sparkling, highly original Ugh! As If! works like a rose-colored kaleidoscope, using the brilliant teen movie Clueless as a lens to examine the broader cultural landscape. With playfulness and depth, she makes a case for a more thoughtful approach to “feminine” art, shedding light on everything from the scourge of cinematic status anxiety to the nature of love.” – Emily Nussbaum, Pulitzer Prize winning critic and author of Cue the Sun!

Veronica Litt is a writer, reader, and teacher from southern Ontario. She holds a PhD in English and Book History from the University of Toronto and currently lives in Nova Scotia, where she teaches post-secondary classes on English literature. Ugh! As If! is her first book.

Details:
Date: Sunday 20 July
Time: 8pm – 9pm
Location: This event will take place online. Join us from the comfort of your own home!
Tickets: £7

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

This event will take place on Zoom. Please provide a valid email address, as you will be emailed a link to join the tour in the run up to the event. Please check your junk folders!

 If you are joining as a group or household, please buy one ticket for each person attending.  All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Museum. 

🎥 This event will be recorded so you can watch again later. All ticket-holders will be emailed a link to the recording after the event. The recording will be accessible for one month.

Timings are given in UK time (British Summertime) – please do check what the event time is in your territory, to ensure you log in at the right time. 

Please note that booking for this event will close at 5.00pm (BST) on Saturday 19 July 2025. This is to ensure that all attendees receive their link in good time. 

📖 This event is part of our Emma Festival, running from 12 – 20 July 2025

Explore Jane Austen’s House with our fun Sense and Sensibility trail! In different rooms around the House you will discover a range of items left by characters in the novel – from Marianne’s sheet music to Elinor’s watercolours.

Pick up a free trail and enjoy reliving moments from the novel as you explore the House where it was revised and published.  

Details:
Dates: 1 May – 7 September 2025
Times: 10am – 5pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets: Free with House entry

‘the only literary pursuit which engaged Harriet at present, the only mental provision she was making for the evening of life, was the collecting and transcribing all the riddles of every sort that she could meet with, into a thin quarto of hot-pressed paper, made up by her friend, and ornamented with ciphers and trophies.’

Inspired by Harriet’s riddle book in Emma, we have created 8 new riddles and conundrums for you to solve! Pick up a free map and follow the trail of riddles around the garden and courtyard, solving them as you go!

The trail concludes in the Historic Kitchen where you will find a collection of riddles by Jane herself and her family on display.

Details:
Dates: 11 July – 7 September 2025
Times: 10am – 5pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets: Free with House entry

‘I do not want any such pursuit to get me out of doors. The pleasure of walking and breathing fresh air is enough for me, and in fine weather I am out more than half my time. Mamma says I am never within.’
Northanger Abbey

This fun, relaxed guided walk will take you back in time, to discover the village Jane Austen knew and loved. Walk in Jane’s footsteps and learn about her love of nature, village life, houses and views she knew, and the importance of village life in shaping her writing.

Throughout the walk, short readings from Austen’s letters and novels will bring her world to life.

Your event ticket also includes House admission so you can explore the House that Jane knew and loved, and enjoy the pretty cottage garden, vintage garden games and family activities.

After the walk, why not enjoy a well-earned cup of tea at Cassandra’s Cup, opposite the Museum? (Bookings must be made separately, visit Cassandra’s Cup website)

Details:
Date: Friday 1 August 2025
Time: 11am – 12pm
Location: This event starts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £25, or £15 for annual pass holders

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

The guided walk will depart from Jane Austen’s House at 11.30am promptly. Please make sure you arrive in good time to join the group.

 The walk is suitable for all abilities, but please wear sturdy, sensible footwear and bring a bottle of water and sun cream or an umbrella – depending on the weather!

This event ticket includes access to Jane Austen’s House and garden on the event day. 

Accessibility: This walk is primarily along pavements, however there are some uneven areas and one stop is on grass. It may not be suitable for wheelchairs or mobility scooters. If you would like more information about the accessibility of the route, please contact us at enquiries@janeaustens.house

*SOLD OUT* Back by popular demand! In 2025 our Virtual Book Club will run monthly from February – November, covering all of Jane Austen’s novels as well as her teenage works and letters. Bring your thoughts, ideas and observations… bring tea and quotes and questions… expect stimulating discussion and debate!

Join us for our Virtual Book Club – a lively online space in which we will discuss all things Jane Austen!

Our seventh session will focus on Jane’s beautiful and moving novel Persuasion.

We’ll get the ball rolling with questions, ideas and provocations about the novel and then it’s over to you – as a group we’ll share thoughts, theories, favourites and best-bits.

Whether you love the book, audiobook or a film or stage adaptation, join us to share your love of this internationally beloved story. Why does it matter to you? What have you learned from it? Which bits always make you cry? Which characters do you adore, admire or despise?

Grab a cup of tea and join us for an hour of blissful Persuasion discussion with fellow Jane Austen fans around the world!

Details:
Date: Tuesday 5 August
Time: 7pm – 8pm (GMT)
Location: This event will take place online. Join us from the comfort of your own home!
Tickets: £6.50 

 This event will take place on Zoom. Please provide a valid email address, as you will be emailed a link to join the tour in the run up to the event. 

 If you are joining as a group or household, please buy one ticket for each person attending.  All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Museum. 

 Timings are given in UK time (GMT) – please do check what the event time is in your territory, to ensure you log in at the right time. 

Please note – ticket sales for this event will close at 5.00pm GMT the day before.

Join author and biographer Dr Christopher Herbert for a free, pop-up talk on Henry Austen, Jane Austen’s favourite brother.

Henry shared much of Jane’s mischievous wit and facility with words and his support enabled the publication of her novels.

This talk celebrates Dr Herbert’s new book: Jane Austen’s Favourite Brother, Henry published by Pen & Sword UK. This new and important study examines both Henry’s relationships within the Austen family and the many social milieux in which he worked, which, through his recounting of his experiences, may have provided inspiration for some of Jane’s plots and characters.

Dr Christopher Herbert is a former Bishop of St Albans, member of the House of Lords and Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey, and an experienced and widely read author. His interest in Henry Austen began with the chance discovery of a curious note written in a church Register. The biography grew from there…

Details:
Date: Saturday 9 August 2025
Time: 12.30 – 12.45pm
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us.
Tickets: Free with House admission – book general admission here – please make sure you select 19 April!

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your general admission ticket to enjoy this event.

‘I do not want any such pursuit to get me out of doors. The pleasure of walking and breathing fresh air is enough for me, and in fine weather I am out more than half my time. Mamma says I am never within.’
Northanger Abbey

This fun, relaxed guided walk will take you back in time, to discover the village Jane Austen knew and loved. Walk in Jane’s footsteps and learn about her love of nature, village life, houses and views she knew, and the importance of village life in shaping her writing.

Throughout the walk, short readings from Austen’s letters and novels will bring her world to life.

Your event ticket also includes House admission so you can explore the House that Jane knew and loved, and enjoy the pretty cottage garden, vintage garden games and family activities.

After the walk, why not enjoy a well-earned cup of tea at Cassandra’s Cup, opposite the Museum? (Bookings must be made separately, visit Cassandra’s Cup website)

Details:
Date: Saturday 9 August 2025
Time: 2pm – 3pm
Location: This event starts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £25, or £15 for annual pass holders

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

The guided walk will depart from Jane Austen’s House at 2pm promptly. Please make sure you arrive in good time to join the group.

This event ticket includes access to Jane Austen’s House and garden on the event day. 

 The walk is suitable for all abilities, but please wear sturdy, sensible footwear and bring a bottle of water and sun cream or an umbrella – depending on the weather!

Accessibility: This walk is primarily along pavements, however there are some uneven areas and one stop is on grass. It may not be suitable for wheelchairs or mobility scooters. If you would like more information about the accessibility of the route, please contact us at enquiries@janeaustens.house

*SOLD OUT* Join us for an exclusive, early-morning tour of the house Jane Austen knew and loved.

In this exclusive, early-morning tour, we’ll be unlocking doors, opening shutters and letting sunshine into the darkened rooms. Join us for a curatorial journey as we dust, polish and check that everything is in order to start the day. Along the way, we’ll share secrets and stories of this extraordinary house through the ages.

After the tour, you’ll enjoy a light breakfast of tea and English muffins – just as Jane used to do!

Details:
Date: Saturday 16 August 2025
Time: 9am – 10:30am
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us.
Tickets: £25.00

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

🎫 Your ticket includes a House tour, followed by a light breakfast of English muffins, butter and preserves, and a choice of tea or coffee. If you have any dietary requirements, please let us know after booking.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Capacity for this event will be kept very low to make it a truly special experience.

Join us for a very special guided tour of Jane Austen’s House. As part of a small group, you will enjoy an early evening tour of the House when it is closed to the public.

Explore the House, walking in Jane Austen’s footsteps through rooms that she knew and loved. In each room, you’ll discover precious objects from Jane Austen’s life, from her father’s Mahogany bookcase to her sister Cassandra’s hand-stitched sampler and the topaz crosses belonging to Jane and Cassandra, to first editions of her novels and her own hand-written music books.

With plenty of opportunities to chat and ask questions along the way, this unique tour will transport you back in time to get a sense of Regency life and to experience the House in a new way.

Details:
Date: Saturday 16 August 2025
Time: 5pm – 6pm
Location: This event takes place at Jane Austen’s House. Find us
Tickets: £19.50

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Capacity for this event will be kept very low to make it a truly special experience.

Explore Jane Austen’s House with our fun Sense and Sensibility trail! In different rooms around the House you will discover a range of items left by characters in the novel – from Marianne’s sheet music to Elinor’s watercolours.

Pick up a free trail and enjoy reliving moments from the novel as you explore the House where it was revised and published.  

Details:
Dates: 1 May – 7 September 2025
Times: 10am – 5pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets: Free with House entry

‘the only literary pursuit which engaged Harriet at present, the only mental provision she was making for the evening of life, was the collecting and transcribing all the riddles of every sort that she could meet with, into a thin quarto of hot-pressed paper, made up by her friend, and ornamented with ciphers and trophies.’

Inspired by Harriet’s riddle book in Emma, we have created 8 new riddles and conundrums for you to solve! Pick up a free map and follow the trail of riddles around the garden and courtyard, solving them as you go!

The trail concludes in the Historic Kitchen where you will find a collection of riddles by Jane herself and her family on display.

Details:
Dates: 11 July – 7 September 2025
Times: 10am – 5pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets: Free with House entry

Back by popular demand! In 2025 our Virtual Book Club will run monthly from February – November, covering all of Jane Austen’s novels as well as her teenage works and letters. Bring your thoughts, ideas and observations… bring tea and quotes and questions… expect stimulating discussion and debate!

Join us for our Virtual Book Club – a lively online space in which we will discuss all things Jane Austen!

This session will focus on Jane Austen’s youthful, spoof-Gothic novel, Northanger Abbey.

We’ll get the ball rolling with questions, ideas and provocations about the novel and then it’s over to you – as a group we’ll share thoughts, theories, favourites and best-bits.

Whether you love the book, audiobook or a film or stage adaptation, join us to share your love of this internationally beloved story. Why does it matter to you? What have you learned from it? Which bits always make you cry? Which characters do you adore, admire or despise?

Grab a cup of tea and join us for an hour of blissful discussion with fellow Jane Austen fans around the world!

Details:
Date: Tuesday 2 September 2025
Time: 7pm – 8pm (BST)
Location: This event will take place online. Join us from the comfort of your own home!
Tickets: £6.50 

 This event will take place on Zoom. Please provide a valid email address, as you will be emailed a link to join the tour in the run up to the event. 

 If you are joining as a group or household, please buy one ticket for each person attending.  All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Museum. 

Timings are given in UK time (BST) – please do check what the event time is in your territory, to ensure you log in at the right time. 

Please note – ticket sales for this event will close at 5.00pm BST the day before.

‘Yes, yes, we will have a Pianoforte, as good a one as can be got for 30 Guineas — & I will practise country dances, that we may have some amusement for our nephews & neices, when we have the pleasure of their company.’ 

Jane Austen, 28 December 1808  

Throughout our Persuasion Festival, we will welcome competent pianists who wish to practice on our 1813 Clementi square piano for an hour each morning – just as Jane Austen used to do. 

The first hour of the day will be devoted to piano practice in the Drawing Room. The House will be open to visitors, so if you wish to play, please be prepared for an appreciative audience!  

We will provide a selection of sheet music from the period, as well as printed copies of Jane Austen’s handwritten music books, so you can practice the songs that Jane herself played in this very room, should you wish to. We are also very happy for you to play from your own repertoire, although we do ask that you choose appropriate music to play. 

Find out more about our Clementi square piano.

Details:
Dates: 12-20 September 2025
Times: 10am – 11am daily
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us. 
Tickets: £17.50 (to include entry to Jane Austen’s House) / £5 if you have an annual pass

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

📖 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, 12-21 September 2025.

Mindful Painting, Meditation and Nature Explorations

Join inspiring watercolour artist Kristina Kivu for a day of playful explorations of art, nature and mindfulness. This workshop is a gentle invitation to slow down, relax your nervous system and nurture your creativity.

We’ll begin the day with a peaceful, grounding meditation to ease into a relaxed mindset. The meditation is followed by some simple mindful art activities in the studio, exploring how making art is a process, focusing on how it feels in your body rather than how it looks. Through each slow brushstroke, you’ll connect with the power of mindfulness, allowing yourself to let go and enjoy the creative flow.

Next, we’ll step into the beautiful cottage garden for an immersive experience in nature. You can either choose to do some simple sketches or just simply be present in the environment. What excites you, what draws you in? Sounds, smells, colours, shapes, textures? You will learn the art of noticing, breathing it all in and responding to what surrounds you. Another fun part of the day will be gathering some materials that we will later use in the studio for playful mark making or for painting inspiration.

Returning indoors, we’ll continue our mindful art explorations, working with memories and impressions from our time in nature. There are no rules, just pure creative play. You might create something that resembles a natural form, or just make abstract art, shapes, marks. The important aspect is to remain grounded in the present moment, always coming back to how making art feels in your body.

We will end the session with time to share reflections and experiences, along with a Q&A to address any thoughts that arise.

Who is this for?
This workshop is open to everyone – whether you’re an artist, a creative soul, or simply seeking a day of relaxation and reconnection. No prior art experience is needed.

What’s included?
All art materials are included, including a watercolor painting kit for you to take home.

• A peaceful and inspiring environment to explore creativity in the grounds of Jane Austen’s House
• Gentle guidance in meditation, mindfulness and intuitive art-making
• Time in nature to inspire your artistic process

Refreshments:
Refreshments will be provided, including morning tea/coffee and biscuits, and afternoon tea and cake. There will also be a lunchbreak when you can eat your own packed lunch or adjourn to get lunch elsewhere (we suggest the village cafe, Cassandra’s Cup, which is very close!)

About Kristina:
Kristina is an intuitive watercolor artist with a deep commitment to mindfulness and meditation. She is passionate about art as a process of self-expression, play, and inner connection. Her workshops provide a space to relax, play, explore, and restore – blending creativity with mindfulness to create a truly unique experience. Find out more.

“Art is more than something we make – it’s something we feel. It’s movement, energy, calm, presence and the ultimate self expression.”

Details:
Date: Friday 12 September
Time: 10.30am – 4.30pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £95

 This event includes refreshments, please let us know on booking if you have any dietary requirements.

 Tickets for this event include House entry for this day only. 

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Drop into a free, pop up talk celebrating Jane Austen’s last completed novel, Persuasion.

Details:
Dates: 12 – 21 September, daily
Time: 2pm – 2.15pm
Location: Historic Kitchen
Free, with House admission

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your tickets to enjoy this event.

📖 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

We’re kicking off our Persuasion & Poetry Festival in style with another fabulous event at Goldfinch Books – our local independent bookshop, café, bar and event space – and produced in partnership with Winchester Poetry Festival.

Join us for an evening of scintillating poetry, hosted by award winning local poet and Austen aficionado Ellora Sutton, and featuring readings by our star guest poet Rachel Long, as well as readings by local poets.

Join us for drinks and merriment, a glimpse into Jane Austen’s writing process and some of her own poetry, as well as poems inspired by her work and themes.

If you’d like to read a poem – either your own, one of Jane’s or a poem that Jane knew and loved – get in touch to book a slot!

**Poetry rules: readers are invited to read one poem, or an extract of a longer poem, max one side of A4. Each slot will be 3 mins max. For info on poets Jane Austen knew and loved, start here **

If you want to listen – grab a drink from the bar and sit back to enjoy an evening of delightful company and inspiring writing!

Rachel Long is a hugely talented poet – shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, The Costa Book Award, The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, The Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Jhalak Prize Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour), is widely published (The Guardian, Poetry, Granta, The Poetry Review, and The White Review) and works as a tutor and mentor (The Arvon Foundation, Faber Academy, The Poetry School, and The Irish Writers Centre), a curator and has judged multiple poetry and literature competitions.

Ellora Sutton is a poet and PhD student based in Hampshire. She was the Poetry Book Society Spring 2023 Pamphlet Choice with Antonyms for Burial (Fourteen Poems), and her most recent pamphlet, Artisanal Slush is out now from Verve Poetry Press. She has been poet-in-residence at Jane Austen’s House and Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery, as well as being the poetry reviewer for Mslexia. Her PhD research uses poetry as a means of assessing the impact of gender bias in urban planning.

Details:
Date: Friday 12 September
Time: 7:30pm – 8.30pm
Location: Goldfinch Books, 21 High Street, Alton
Tickets: £6.50 per person

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

✍️ This event is supported by Winchester Poetry Festival

Welcoming new and experienced poets, Maura Dooley will lead an inspiring workshop in which lines and phrases from Jane Austen’s novels and poems will be used as starting points for new work of our own.

Maura Dooley’s most recent collection of poetry is Five Fifty-Five (Bloodaxe). Anthologies she has edited include The Honey Gatherers: Love Poems and How Novelists Work. In 2016 she was Poet-in-Residence at Jane Austen’s House. Her own poems from the residency are published as A Quire of Paper . She also edited an anthology of poems by other contemporary poets responding to Austen’s work,  All My Important Nothings. In 2018 she published versions (with Elhum Shakerifa) of work by the exiled Iranian poet Azita Ghahreman, Negative of a Group Photograph (Bloodaxe) which received a PEN Translation Award. She has twice been short-listed for the T.S. Eliot Award and also for the Forward Single Poem Award. Her work has received an Eric Gregory Award and a Cholmondeley Award and she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Details:
Date: Saturday 13 September
Times: 10.30am – 1pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £35

☕ This event includes refreshments, please let us know on booking if you have any dietary requirements.

🏠 This event includes House admission on this day only.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

✍️ This event is supported by Winchester Poetry Festival

“Rooms concise, or rooms distended: Jane Austen’s love of poetry”

The title is from a poem Jane Austen wrote to her brother Frank, congratulating him on the birth of a son and expressing her excitement in contemplating a move from Southampton to her new home at Chawton.

Our Chawton home, how much we find
Already in it, to our mind;
And how convinced, that when complete
It will all other Houses beat
That ever have been made or mended,
With rooms concise, or rooms distended.

In this informal talk Maura Dooley will read from and discuss some of the poets Jane Austen loved, some of Jane Austen’s own poems and poetry written by Maura Dooley herself, in response to time spent at Austen’s home in Chawton.

Maura Dooley’s most recent collection of poetry is Five Fifty-Five (Bloodaxe). Anthologies she has edited include The Honey Gatherers: Love Poems and How Novelists Work. In 2016 she was Poet-in-Residence at Jane Austen’s House. Her own poems from the residency are published as A Quire of Paper . She also edited an anthology of poems by other contemporary poets responding to Austen’s work,  All My Important Nothings. In 2018 she published versions (with Elhum Shakerifa) of work by the exiled Iranian poet Azita Ghahreman, Negative of a Group Photograph (Bloodaxe) which received a PEN Translation Award. She has twice been short-listed for the T.S. Eliot Award and also for the Forward Single Poem Award. Her work has received an Eric Gregory Award and a Cholmondeley Award and she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Details:
Date: Saturday 13 September
Times: 3pm – 4pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15

🏠 This event does not include House admission. Please purchase admission separately or use your Annual Pass if you wish to explore the House.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

✍️ This event is supported by Winchester Poetry Festival

“The Difficult Miss Austen”

We are delighted to welcome the acclaimed novelist and Esteemed Patron of Jane Austen’s House Salley Vickers for a fascinating and intimate evening talk in the Drawing Room of Jane Austen’s House, examining some of the dangers and difficulties that Jane Austen explores in her last three novels.

Jane Austen’s novels remain perennially popular not least because of their enthusiastic adaptations as films in which the romantic is inevitably emphasised at the expense of more subversive, socially critical elements in her writing.

This talk will consider some of the themes in the last three great novels, Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion, in which Jane Austen explores the dangers and difficulties, particularly for women, of living within the constraints of a socially conservative and potentially punitive society.

Salley Vickers published her first novel, the word-of-mouth bestseller, Miss Garnet’s Angel, in 2000 and now writes full time. Before that she worked as a tutor in adult education, a university teacher of literature and a psychoanalyst. She is proud to be a Patron of Jane Austen’s House.

~

This event will be filmed for an online audience (watch this space for details!), but a small number of tickets are also available for the live event! As our live audience you will enjoy special access, you’ll be invited to ask questions, and you’ll enjoy the unique atmosphere of Jane Austen’s House out of normal opening hours.

After the talk, join us for drinks in the Historic Kitchen and raise a glass to our favourite authoress!

Details:
Saturday 13 September
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £35
*This event is now fully booked*

🍷 This event will include a glass of wine or non-alcoholic alternative. Please let us know of any dietary requirements upon booking.

🎥 Capacity for this event is very limited, to allow for the event to be filmed in our historic Drawing Room. Seating will be arranged around the filming equipment.

🕓 As this event will be filmed, unfortunately latecomers cannot be admitted. Please arrive in good time to take your seat.

🏠 The House will be closed for this event so access will be restricted to the Drawing Room, where the talk takes place. General House entry is not included with the event ticket.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Talk: Bringing Jane Austen’s Garden to Life: A Conversation with Molly Williams

Join author Molly Williams for an in-depth look at the creative journey behind Jane Austen’s Garden: A Botanical Tour of the Classic Novels. In this engaging lecture, Molly will discuss her research and writing processes—uncovering how she blended literature and history to bring Austen’s botanical world to life. From archival discoveries to artistic inspiration, this behind-the-scenes conversation offers a fascinating glimpse into the making of the book. Following the discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to meet Molly during a book signing.

Molly Williams is the author of Jane Austen’s Garden: A Botanical Tour of the Classic Novels; The Junior Plant Lover’s Handbook: A Green-Thumb Guide for Kids; How to Speak Flower; Taming the Potted Beast: The Strange and Sensational History of the Not-So-Humble Houseplant; and Killer Plants: Growing and Caring for Flytraps, Pitcher Plants and Other Deadly Flora.

Molly is thrilled to announce that she has been chosen for the 2025 Gates Cambridge cohort, and she will begin her PhD studies in October at the University of Cambridge.

She is an avid houseplant collector, gardener, florist, and teacher of many things, including writing.

Details:

Date: Sunday 14th September 2025

Time: 11am – 12pm

Location: This event takes place at Jane Austen’s House. Find us

Tickets: £15 per person

🏠 This event does not include House admission. Please purchase admission separately or use your Annual Pass if you wish to explore the House.

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

*SOLD OUT* Botanicals of the Regency: Crafting with Nature in Jane Austen’s World

‘There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.’
Mansfield Park

In this gentle and immersive workshop, we invite you to step into the world of Jane Austen — not the ballroom, but the stillroom: the quiet heart of the home, where fragrant herbs and garden blooms were transformed into remedies, comforts, and delights.

Together we shall explore the botanical traditions of the Regency era, drawing upon the herbs and flowers that graced cottage gardens and manor estates alike. You will craft a trio of elegant preparations to take home:
– a silky herbal body butter, scented with the delicate notes of rose, lavender, or geranium;
– a softly glowing beeswax candle, enriched with the aromas that once perfumed parlours and dressing tables;
– and a refreshing infused botanical water, reminiscent of the tonics and floral waters used for complexion, calm, and cordial conversation.

Amid the crafting, you’ll discover stories of Regency herbal wisdom — from rosemary for remembrance to the soothing virtues of chamomile — and how such preparations offered both pleasure and practicality in the daily lives of Austen’s contemporaries.

Geanina Grigore is a living historian and educator with a passion for bringing history to life through hands-on craft. Growing up in a rural village kindled her appreciation for traditional skills and a deep connection to the natural world. Specialising in the historical practices of herbal remedies and stillroom life, Geanina draws inspiration from the 15th to 17th centuries, inviting modern audiences to experience the simplicity and beauty of creating herbal and aromatic items as they were once made. Based on the edge of the picturesque Surrey Hills, she runs workshops on natural skincare and herbal crafts inspired by historical texts, sharing her passion for nature and timeless knowledge with those who seek to reconnect with old-world traditions.

Details:
Date: Sunday 14 September
Time: 2pm – 5pm
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House.  Find us. 
Tickets: £65

☕ This event includes refreshments, please let us know on booking if you have any dietary requirements.

 Tickets for this event include House entry for this day only. 

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

This very special virtual tour uses objects from our collection and the House itself to examine and celebrate Jane Austen’s beautiful autumnal novel Persuasion.

Following in Jane’s footsteps, you’ll discover the rooms where Jane wrote Persuasion in 1815-1816 – the last of her novels to be completed before her death in 1817.

Moving from room to room, you’ll discover how the House itself can help us understand the novel better, and objects in the collection that help the story come to life.

This light-hearted and enjoyable event uses our beautiful virtual tour to tease out stories and objects that relate to Jane Austen’s classic work, and offers the opportunity to enjoy, examine and discuss Persuasion, and to experience Jane Austen’s House in a new way.

Details:
Date: Sunday 14 September 2025
Time: 7pm – 8pm (BST)
Location: This event will take place online. Join us from the comfort of your own home!
Tickets: £7

 This event will take place on Zoom. Please provide a valid email address, as you will be emailed a link to join the tour in the run up to the event. 

 If you are joining as a group or household, please buy one ticket for each person attending.  All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Museum. 

🎥 This event will be recorded so you can watch again later. All ticket-holders will be emailed a link to the recording after the event. The recording will be accessible for one month.

Timings are given in UK time (British Summertime) – please do check what the event time is in your territory, to ensure you log in at the right time.

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

Please note that booking for this event will close at 5.00pm (BST) on Saturday 13 September 2025. This is to ensure that all attendees receive their link in good time.

Join local historian Martin Caddick for a fascinating talk about the Austen family and their rich relations, the Knights. The story follows Jane’s older brother Edward, and examines details of his inheritance of the Knight family fortunes – without which Jane, Cassandra and their mother would never have moved to Chawton.

This is a popular topic for visitors to Jane Austen House. Many have heard the story of how Jane Austen’s brother Edward was adopted by the Knights – rich relations who met him on their honeymoon. But this is a story that raises as many questions as it answers. Did the Knights know they would have no children?  Why did they choose Edward to be their heir? How did the Austen family feel about his adoption?  How rich were the Knights, really?  Why didn’t Edward act sooner to help his own mother and sisters after his father died? And was he not a little like John Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility? There are quite a few common misconceptions surrounding the story that even scholars fall into.

Martin Caddick has been digging deeply into this subject for many years, and has undertaken new research into the Knight family bank accounts that cast some new light onto matters and provide us with some of the answers. Martin is the House Historian at Chawton House and the author of a number of articles and booklets relating to Jane Austen and the Knight family.

Details:
Date: Monday 15 September
Time: 11am – 12pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: Free with House admission – book general admission here – please make sure you select 15 September!

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗ Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your general admission ticket to enjoy this event.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

‘I do not want any such pursuit to get me out of doors. The pleasure of walking and breathing fresh air is enough for me, and in fine weather I am out more than half my time. Mamma says I am never within.’
Northanger Abbey

This fun, relaxed guided walk will take you back in time, to discover the village Jane Austen knew and loved. Walk in Jane’s footsteps and learn about her love of nature, village life, houses and views she knew, and the importance of village life in shaping her writing.

Throughout the walk, short readings from Austen’s letters and novels will bring her world to life.

After the walk, why not enjoy a well-earned cup of tea at Cassandra’s Cup, opposite the Museum? (Bookings must be made separately, visit Cassandra’s Cup website)

Details:
Date: Monday 15 September 2025
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Location: This event starts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15 

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

The guided walk will depart from Jane Austen’s House at 3pm promptly. Please make sure you arrive in good time to join the group.

This event ticket does not include entry to Jane Austen’s House, if you wish to enter the House before or after your walk please buy an admission ticket here.

 The walk is suitable for all abilities, but please wear sturdy, sensible footwear and bring a bottle of water and sun cream or an umbrella – depending on the weather!

Accessibility: This walk is primarily along pavements, however there are some uneven areas and one stop is on grass. It may not be suitable for wheelchairs or mobility scooters. If you would like more information about the accessibility of the route, please contact us at enquiries@janeaustens.house

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

Join us for a morning of your own sewing, knitting or embroidery in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, this session is open to all. 

Bring along your own project or dive into our work basket and help us with the museum’s mending.  

This session will take place in the cosy Learning Centre tucked behind Jane Austen’s House. We’ll provide fortifying tea and coffee to keep you going! 

Bring along your work in progress or start something new! 

Details:
Date: Tuesday 16 September
Time: 11am – 1pm
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us.
Tickets: Free with House admission – book general admission here – please make sure you select 16 September!

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your general admission ticket to enjoy this event.

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

Virtual Talk: Molly Williams and Jessica Roux in Conversation

Join us for an engaging In Conversation event with author Molly Williams as she discusses her latest book, Jane Austen’s Garden: A Botanical Tour of the Classic Novels, alongside illustrator Jessica Roux. This moderated Q&A will explore the intersection of literature and horticulture, uncovering how Austen’s world was shaped by the gardens of her time.

Molly Williams is the author of Jane Austen’s Garden: A Botanical Tour of the Classic Novels; The Junior Plant Lover’s Handbook: A Green-Thumb Guide for Kids; How to Speak Flower; Taming the Potted Beast: The Strange and Sensational History of the Not-So-Humble Houseplant; and Killer Plants: Growing and Caring for Flytraps, Pitcher Plants and Other Deadly Flora.

Molly is thrilled to announce that she has been chosen for the 2025 Gates Cambridge cohort, and she will begin her PhD studies in October at the University of Cambridge.

She is an avid houseplant collector, gardener, florist, and teacher of many things, including writing.

Jessica Roux is a Nashville-based freelance illustrator and plant and animal enthusiast. She loves exploring in her own backyard and being surrounded by an abundance of nature. Using subdued colours and rhythmic shapes, she renders flora and fauna with intricate detail reminiscent of old-world beauty. She is the author and illustrator behind Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers, Ornithography: An Illustrated Guide to Bird Lore & Symbolism, and the Woodland Wardens Oracle Deck & Guidebook.

Details:
Date: Tuesday 16 September
Time: 8pm – 9pm (BST)
Location: This event will take place online. Join us from the comfort of your own home!
Tickets: £7

This event will take place on Zoom. Please provide a valid email address, as you will be emailed a link to join the tour in the run up to the event. Please check your junk folders!

 If you are joining as a group or household, please buy one ticket for each person attending.  All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Museum. 

🎥 This event will be recorded so you can watch again later. All ticket-holders will be emailed a link to the recording after the event. The recording will be accessible for one month.

Timings are given in UK time (British Summertime) – please do check what the event time is in your territory, to ensure you log in at the right time. 

Please note that booking for this event will close at 5.00pm (BST) on Monday 15 September 2025. This is to ensure that all attendees receive their link in good time. 

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

Join us for a quiet and inspiring creative writing session in the beautiful grounds of Jane Austen’s House. No need to book – just drop in and write!   

This session will take place in the cosy Learning Centre tucked behind Jane Austen’s House. We’ll provide a quiet space in which to write, pens and paper, access to our extensive reference library, and fortifying tea and coffee. 

Bring along your work in progress or start something new! 

Details:
Date: Wednesday 17 September
Time: 11am – 1pm
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us.
Tickets: Free with House admission – book general admission here – please make sure you select 17 September!

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗ Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your general admission ticket to enjoy this event

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

‘each of them was busy in arranging their particular concerns, and endeavoring, by placing around them books and other possessions, to form themselves a home. Marianne’s pianoforte was unpacked and properly disposed of; and Elinor’s drawings were affixed to the walls of their sitting room.’ ~ Sense and Sensibility

Join us for a quiet and creative drawing session in the beautiful grounds of Jane Austen’s House. Bring your own project or just start sketching!

This session will take place in the cosy Learning Centre tucked behind Jane Austen’s House. We’ll provide a quiet space in which to draw, pencils and cartridge paper, summer flowers from the garden to sketch if you are so inspired, and fortifying tea and coffee. 

Bring along your work in progress or start something new! 

Details:
Date: Thursday 18 September
Time: 11am – 1pm
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us.
Tickets: Free with House admission – book general admission here – please make sure you select 18 September!

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your general admission ticket to enjoy this event.

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

Join acclaimed scholar Collins Hemingway for a fascinating virtual talk canvassing all of Jane Austen’s novels and unpublished manuscripts, exploring how her craft as a novelist evolved throughout her two decades of writing. We’ll cover the structural issues in Northanger Abbey, the origin of Sense and Sensibility as an epistolary novel, and Jane Austen’s fresh start stylistically with Pride and Prejudice. We’ll go on to see how Jane Austen applies the lessons of her apprenticeship in her mature Chawton novels, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion, and explore how she increasingly delves into the minds of her characters using innovative writing techniques through the last three books.

This fascinating talk sits alongside our permanent exhibition Jane Austen and the Art of Writing – celebrating Jane Austen as a brilliant and ambitious writer throughout her life.

~

Collins Hemingway is the author of the newly published Jane Austen and the Creation of Modern Fiction: Six Novels in “a Style Entirely New” (McFarland). The book investigates Austen’s development as a writer and shows how her innovations as a prose stylist set the course for modern fiction. He has written historical fiction based on Austen’s life as well as five books of nonfiction on subjects including business, technology, ethics, and cognitive psychology. He regularly addresses Jane Austen societies around the world and is a regular contributor to the magazine Jane Austen’s Regency World, and the academic journals of JASNA and the Jane Austen Society of Australia.

DETAILS:
Date: Thursday 18 September 2025
Time: 8pm – 9pm (BST)
Location: This event will take place online. Join us from the comfort of your own home!
Tickets: £7

This event will take place on Zoom. Please provide a valid email address, as you will be emailed a link to join the tour in the run up to the event. Please check your junk folders!

 If you are joining as a group or household, please buy one ticket for each person attending.  All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Museum. 

🎥 This event will be recorded so you can watch again later. All ticket-holders will be emailed a link to the recording after the event. The recording will be accessible for one month.

Timings are given in UK time (British Summertime) – please do check what the event time is in your territory, to ensure you log in at the right time. 

Please note that booking for this event will close at 5.00pm (BST) on Wednesday 17 September 2025. This is to ensure that all attendees receive their link in good time. 

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

Join our Head Gardener for a fascinating guided tour of our lovely cottage garden, learning about the planting scheme, layout, and how the garden is cared for.

Details:
Date: Friday 19 September
Time: 1pm – 1.30pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: Free with House admission – book general admission here – please make sure you select 15 July!

🎫 No event ticket required, this event is free with House entry.

❗ Please select the correct date and time slot when booking your general admission ticket to enjoy this event.

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival running from 12 – 21 September

‘I do not want any such pursuit to get me out of doors. The pleasure of walking and breathing fresh air is enough for me, and in fine weather I am out more than half my time. Mamma says I am never within.’
Northanger Abbey

This fun, relaxed guided walk will take you back in time, to discover the village Jane Austen knew and loved. Walk in Jane’s footsteps and learn about her love of nature, village life, houses and views she knew, and the importance of village life in shaping her writing.

Throughout the walk, short readings from Austen’s letters and novels will bring her world to life.

After the walk, why not enjoy a well-earned cup of tea at Cassandra’s Cup, opposite the Museum? (Bookings must be made separately, visit Cassandra’s Cup website)

Details:
Date: Friday 19 September 2025
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Location: This event starts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15 

❗ Please click through the calendar and select the correct date when booking this event.

The guided walk will depart from Jane Austen’s House at 3pm promptly. Please make sure you arrive in good time to join the group.

This event ticket does not include entry to Jane Austen’s House, if you wish to enter the House before or after your walk please buy an admission ticket here.

 The walk is suitable for all abilities, but please wear sturdy, sensible footwear and bring a bottle of water and sun cream or an umbrella – depending on the weather!

Accessibility: This walk is primarily along pavements, however there are some uneven areas and one stop is on grass. It may not be suitable for wheelchairs or mobility scooters. If you would like more information about the accessibility of the route, please contact us at enquiries@janeaustens.house

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025

‘How eloquent could Anne Elliot have been! how eloquent, at least, were her wishes on the side of early warm attachment, and a cheerful confidence in futurity, against that over-anxious caution which seems to insult exertion and distrust Providence! She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.’

Our popular ‘Reading Aloud’ evenings take inspiration from Jane Austen’s own habit of reading her own works to family and friends in the Drawing Room of Jane Austen’s House.

 This event will focus on Jane’s quiet and autumnal novel, Persuasion. As part of a small and exclusive audience, you’ll settle down for a sensitive and acute reading by actors Hollie Hales and Adam Cunis – bringing Jane Austen’s beloved story to life.

As a master of dialogue, Jane Austen’s works are best enjoyed out loud, and this delightful performance will bring the characters alive in the very room in which Jane gave voice to them herself.

After the reading, we’ll enjoy a drinks in the Historic Kitchen and toast our inimitable and extraordinary authoress.

Details:
Date: 19 September
Performance times: 6pm – 7pm OR 7.45pm – 8.45pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £35

☕ This event includes refreshments, please let us know on booking if you have any dietary requirements.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

About the performers:

Hollie Hales trained at RADA. Her recent audio work includes Tales of a Monstrous Heart by Jennifer Delaney, Bookishly Ever After by Mia Page (Audible) and Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire “The Gordon Riots” podcast.

Adam Cunis’s recent work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bridge Theatre), Macbeth Storytelling (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) and The Woman in the Moon (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse).

Join historical dress expert Mark Wallis for a fascinating exploration of the darker side of Jane Austen’s world… This swashbuckling talk will range from naval history and piracy to press-gangs, smugglers and the threat of invasion. As an expert on historical dress, Mark offers a unique viewpoint on Georgian crime and punishment, illustrated with his extensive collection of original menswear and accessories.

Mark Wallis is considered one of the foremost authorities on men’s historical dress working today. After studying Theatre Design and History at UAL and Pittsburgh University he created Past Pleasures Ltd in 1987, the first professional Historical Interpretation company in the UK. With a client list that included Historic Royal Palaces, English Heritage and National Trust, Past Pleasures Ltd held the largest contract in Europe, providing live interpretation on a daily basis at the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace. During this period Mark continued to collect historic menswear and accessories, which is thought by the V&A museum to be the largest British collection in private hands.

DETAILS:
Date: Saturday 20 September
Time: 11.30 – 12.30
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15

🏠 This event does not include House admission. Please purchase admission separately or use your Annual Pass if you wish to explore the House.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Join fine artist Stephanie Smart for a fascinating talk about the creation of The Regency Wardrobe, on display throughout Jane Austen’s House from 9 September to 16 November 2025.

Stephanie will introduce the exhibition and discuss how each piece was designed and created – it’s inspiration, period and place, history and story. She will explain how she developed her use of paper as a medium for garment construction, with embroidered and applied decoration, and how her latest collection variously reinterprets the Regency era. By working closely with volunteers from The Regency Town House Heritage Centre, Hove, Stephanie has created a collection that’s broader in scope in terms of its relationship to a particular area, and historical era, than any she has worked on previously.

DETAILS:
Date: Saturday 20 September
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15

🏠 This event does not include House admission. Please purchase admission separately or use your Annual Pass if you wish to explore the House.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Join fine artist Stephanie Smart for a fascinating tour of her exhibition The Regency Wardrobe, on display from 9 September to 16 November throughout Jane Austen’s House.

Stephanie will introduce the exhibition and discuss how some of her favourite pieces were designed and created, as you view them up close.

This is a fascinating new way to explore Jane Austen’s House, brought to life through exquisite fashion pieces inspired by real people, places and stories from the Regency era.

DETAILS:
Date: Saturday 20 September
Time: 4.30pm – 5.30pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £20
*This event is now fully booked*

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Join us for a full day of talks on the last day of the Persuasion Festival!

This ticket includes four events on 21 September and House entry for the day. If you wish to attend all of these events, this ticket bundle is the best option!

Persuasion Salon with Lucinda Hawksley
Times: 10am – 11am

In Conversation: Emily Howes
Times: 12pm – 1pm

Talk: The Nature of Persuasion
Times: 1.45pm – 2.45pm

Talk: ‘She was only Anne’: The Letters and Ephemera in Persuasion
Times: 3.30pm – 4.30pm

Details
Date: Sunday 21 September
Times: 10am – 5pm (House entry)
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £60

☕ This event ticket includes refreshments, please let us know on booking if you have any dietary requirements.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Join the inspiring author and historian Lucinda Hawksley for an intimate salon, discussing all things Persuasion!

Over tea and cake, Lucinda will share some of her favourite scenes, characters and moments from the novel, and lead a discussion on everything from long engagements to hedgerow rambles, romantic letters and seaside ramparts.

Photo by John Quintero

Lucinda Hawksley is an author and broadcaster for TV and radio. In addition to her biographies of the artists Kate Perugini (née Dickens), Princess Louise and Lizzie Siddal, her books include Victorian Christmas, Dickens and Travel, Letters of Great Women, Dickens and Christmas, The Writer Abroad, Bitten by Witch Fever, Charles Dickens and his Circle, and March, Women, March. Lucinda lectures on literature and art history, and she teaches Life Writing for the University of Cambridge.

Lucinda’s literary antecedents come from being a great great great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens – she is the current President of the International Dickens Fellowship – however she also has a passion for the works of Jane Austen. Her absolute favourite is Persuasion, the love of which she is very eager to share with us in this anniversary year.

Details:
Sunday 21 September
Time: 10am – 11am
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
*This event is now fully booked*

☕ This event ticket includes refreshments, please let us know on booking if you have any dietary requirements.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

‘Loving longest’: Women, constancy and care in Persuasion. 

Join acclaimed author Emily Howes for a fascinating conversation about Persuasion and how it deals with women’s relationships, the intricacies of class and social mobility, and the expectations around caring and care.

Emily will consider comparison points in Persuasion and her novel The Painter’s Daughters which tells the story of Peggy and Molly Gainsborough and explores sisterhood, sex, control and individuality.

Emily will be in conversation with author, broadcaster and biographer Lucinda Hawksley.

Photo by Katrina Campbell

Emily Howes has worked as a storyteller, theatre maker, performer, writer and director in stage, television and radio. Her first novel, The Painter’s Daughters, won the Mslexia Novel Award judged by Hilary Mantel, and was named as one of the Sunday Times ten best historical fiction novels from 2024. Her second novel, Mrs Dickens, will be published in 2026. In addition to her writing work, Emily has a Masters in Existential Psychotherapy and works as a psychotherapist in private practice. She lives in London with her children.

Details:
Date: Sunday 21 September
Time: 12pm – 1pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15

🏠 This event does not include House admission. Please purchase admission separately or use your Annual Pass if you wish to explore the House.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Charlotte Brontë famously grumbles that there is “no open country – no fresh air” in Jane Austen’s fiction. Is there any truth in this allegation? And would it even matter if Austen were primarily a novelist of the drawing-room rather than the windswept moor?

This talk will pose these questions in relation to Austen’s last full-length work of fiction, Persuasion, an autumnal novel whose subtle evocations of the natural world resonate with the Romantic poetry of Wordsworth and Keats.

Michael Greaney is Professor in English Literature at Lancaster University, where his research focuses on nineteenth-century British fiction, and where he teaches a third-year option on Austen’s six major novels. He has published articles on Austen and community, Austen and friendship, and Austen and death, and his most recent book is entitled An A-Z of Jane Austen (2022).

Details:
Date: Sunday 21 September
Time: 1.45pm – 2.45pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15

🏠 This event does not include House admission. Please purchase admission separately or use your Annual Pass if you wish to explore the House.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

‘She was only Anne’: Letters & Ephemera in Persuasion

Barbara Heller’s special edition of Persuasion includes reproductions of the handwritten letters and ephemera cited in the novel. What did The Baronetage and the Navy List actually look like? What did the Bath newspaper print that tipped the Elliots off to the arrival of their cousins? Why does Austen tell us that Elizabeth Elliot had her “at home” card specially made? How do these tactile elements further our understanding of Anne?

In this fascinating talk, Barbara will share insights and images from her research, discuss the creation of Captain Wentworth’s famous letter, and explain the intricacies of the Regency postal system. It’s a new way to connect to a favourite novel.

Barbara Heller was inspired to create the letters and ephemera in Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Persuasion, and Anne of Green Gables by a desire to hold the characters’ letters in her own hands. Her career in film and television encompasses finding furnishings for many shows including Blue Bloods, The Good Fight, The Americans, and When They See Us; location managing films for Francis Coppola, Nancy Meyers, and Barbet Schroeder; and directing award-winning short films. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in English Literature and lives in New York City.

Details:
Date: Sunday 21 September
Time: 3.30pm – 4.30pm
Location: This event is at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us
Tickets: £15

🏠 This event does not include House admission. Please purchase admission separately or use your Annual Pass if you wish to explore the House.

 This event is part of our Persuasion Festival, running from 12 – 21 September 2025

Join us for a fascinating talk as specialist hand embroiderer Jenny Adin-Christie leads us through the journey of her now 25 year career, discussing her unique approach to stitch, which marries tradition with innovation.

This is a unique chance to see behind the scenes of her work on a hugely varied range of commissions, many of national significance, such as designing altar frontals for Canterbury Cathedral, playing a key role in the RSN team which produced the applied lace panels for HRH The Princess of Wales’ famed royal wedding dress, restoring the Herald’s tabards for the Coronation of HM King Charles III and creating a new four-poster bed for Beulieu.

After the talk, join us for tea and cake and enjoy chatting with fellow embroidery afficionados! Your ticket also includes House entry for the day, so you can explore the House before or after the talk at your leisure.

Jenny Adin-Christie is originally from Derbyshire. She has been practising her love of embroidery since childhood, learning from a family with an inherent passion for a broad range of craft skills.

Jenny was exhaustively trained as a professional embroiderer on the prestigious three year Apprenticeship at the Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court Palace, graduating with distinction in 1999.

Following this intensive training, Jenny remained at the RSN to work full time for a further ten years, as a member of the teaching team and commercial Studio staff, becoming Assistant Head of Studio, but left to pursue a freelance career in 2008. She now works from her home studio in Surrey, working to commission and creating unique embroidery designs and kits, whilst also teaching in the UK and worldwide.

Details:
Date: Saturday 27 September
Time: 11am – 12pm
Location: This event will take place at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Find us.
Tickets: £25

☕ This event includes refreshments, please let us know on booking if you have any dietary requirements.

 Tickets for this event include House entry for this day only.

Jane Austen’s House will host a series of festivals throughout 2025 to celebrate Jane Austen’s special anniversary year.

Our Birthday Celebration will see the House dressed for Christmas with traditional Georgian decorations, scents and recipes, and offering visitors the chance to explore the House by candlelight.

Special festivities on 16 December will celebrate Jane’s 250th birthday – visit the House for pop up talks, music and performances throughout the day, or join us online in the evening for our Virtual Birthday Party – a popular annual event that is regularly attended by hundreds of guests from around the world who gather at the virtual event to toast the author.

We’re looking forward to events that offer the chance to slow down and escape the hustle and bustle of the outside world – retreat to the beautiful cottage that Jane Austen knew and loved for candle-lit tours, mindful creative workshops, and gentle social activities such as our popular Sewing Circle or Drop in and Write sessions. There will also be some winter treats such as our popular ‘Reading Aloud’ performances in the Drawing Room, free pop up talks on Jane Austen’s Life and Legacy, and the chance to view objects from our collection up close.

The festival programme will also include plenty of online events so you can join in from wherever you are in the world!

The full programme and tickets will go on sale soon!

In January 2026, our beloved Pride and Prejudice Festival will return featuring a programme of special events, including themed tours, pop up talks and unique performances. As usual there will be free events to drop into, and exclusive intimate ticketed events that you won’t want to miss!

The full programme and tickets will go on sale in autumn 2025. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to see the programme!

In January 2026 we will host a Virtual Pride and Prejudice Festival featuring an array of special events, talks and tours.

Join us from around the world to share your love of this extraordinary novel and join in the festivities!

The full programme and tickets will go on sale in autumn 2025. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to see the programme!

In January 2026 we will host a Virtual Pride and Prejudice Festival featuring an array of special events, talks and tours.

Join us from around the world to share your love of this extraordinary novel and join in the festivities!

The full programme and tickets will go on sale in autumn 2025. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to see the programme!