Today is Jane Austen’s birthday, 248 years ago!
To quote her father George Austen in a letter to his sister Mrs. Walter on Dec 17, 1775:
“You have doubtless been for some time in expectation of hearing from Hampshire, and perhaps wondered a little we were in our old age grown such bad reckoners but so it was, for Cassey certainly expected to have been brought to bed a month ago: however last night the time came, and without a great deal of warning, everything was soon happily over. We have now another girl, a present plaything for her sister Cassy and a future companion. She is to be Jenny, and seems to me as if she would be as like Henry, as Cassy is to Neddy. Your sister thank God is pure well after it, and sends her love to you and my brother…” (Austen Papers, 32-3)
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And looking ahead to 2025 and Austen’s 250th birthday celebrations, here is an interesting article from Winchester Cathedral about a proposed Jane Austen statue by sculptor Martin Jennings [they want your feedback!]: https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/news/hampshire-celebrates-250-years-of-jane-austen/
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In honor of Austen’s birthday, think about donating to JASNA and / or renew your membership – you can find information here: https://jasna.org/join/
A usual every year on Jane’s birthday, JASNA publishes Persuasions-OnLine – you can see the latest edition [Vol. 44, No. 1], filled with several essays from the Pride and Prejudice AGM in Denver, along with other goodies, here: https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/volume-44-no-1/
It is also a perfect time to donate to Chawton House, via the North American Friends of Chawton House: Please visit the website at https://www.nafch.org/ and read about their endeavors. You can donate here: https://www.nafch.org/give-join
What better way to honor Jane Austen on her birthday than to give a little something in support of the “Great House” she visited often:
‘Let me thank you again and again’
Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice (1813)
Jane Austen in Vermont 