Regency Week in Alton

Tindle News

As part of Alton Regency Week,. Jane Austen's family celebrated her 250th birthday at historic Chawton House. On Sunday 22nd June, the grounds of Chawton House came alive with celebration as Caroline Jane Knight, Jane Austen's fifth great-niece, hosted a special 250th birthday party for her famous ancestor. Caroline, who was the last of Jane Austen's family to grow up at Chawton House when it was still the Knight family residence, brought together the largest gathering of Austen descendants ever assembled for a public event.  Among the family members present was Adam Knight, the current heir to Chawton House, making this a truly historic reunion. The celebration attracted Jane Austen enthusiasts from around the world, including special guest Susannah Harker, a Jane Austen Literacy Foundation ambassador who famously played Jane Bennet in the beloved 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Harker has now written her own Austen-inspired screenplay, Jane Bennet's Second Spring, currently in development with the unique promise that fans worldwide will have opportunities to participate in and even appear in the film.

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00:00But I'm really a wildlife sculptor, travelling around the world, finding extraordinary animals

00:27in extraordinary difficult places. But to be asked to do Jane Austen was an absolute, a huge challenge but a huge honour too.

00:40250th year, what a thing. No one knows what Jane Austen really looks like other than that one sketch by Cassandra.

00:48But that sketch was so good. It gave so many features of Jane as she, I think she, it captured her features.

01:02And that I could get into the sculpture.

01:18I'm sitting here in Houlton because we've just unveiled a statue of Jane Austen. It's been a great turnout.

01:36People from Houlton and the surrounding areas. In fact, I've met several people who've come all the way from Japan and all the way from the US.

01:54So this is a big event in Houlton. We're very proud of Jane Austen here in Houlton.

02:00She lived many years in Chalkman and came into Houlton quite frequently for our normal shopping and banking.

02:07And we've really put Houlton on the map with regards to Jane Austen.

02:12And we look forward to many more visitors and great interest in people buying and reading her books.

02:30I'm so glad to see you.

02:31We're going to see each other one of our novices.

02:32We're going to see each other in the world.

02:33We're going to see these different books.

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