Jane Austen

After a somewhat precarious life as an unmarried woman and stressed author, in 1809 Jane Austen finally found security in the Hampshire town of Chawton. Her rich brother bought her a home in this village, and she lived here with her sister. The home at Chawton is now a museum to Jane Austen. Her writing table is on exhibit, along with other items related to Jane and her family. The bookcase contains first edition of her novels.

The home has a very feminine air. Mannequins display the fashions that Jane and her friends would have worn. The writing table was small; the tables top only the size of a small drinks tray. This was no power desk. It was here that Jane Austen produced writing that puncture pomposity, and found unexpected importance in apparently small lives.