“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad,” famously wrote British author Jane Austen. As 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth (1775), celebrations are planned throughout the year in the various locations in England where she lived, wrote, and found inspiration for her globally acclaimed novels.
Imagine yourself dancing at a ball, sitting at her writing desk, strolling through lush green valleys hoping to stumble upon Mr Darcy, playing the pianoforte, or gathering for tea and gossip with your family while crocheting? With a little planning, you can experience the Austen magic beyond the pages of her novels.
The festivities began in January with a grand ball in Bath, capturing the essence of her novels. If you missed it, do not worry, more balls are planned throughout spring and summer, for as Catherine Morland remarked in Northanger Abbey, “Oh! Who can be ever tired of Bath?” or, indeed, of balls. The Jane Austen Festival in Bath, scheduled for September, will feature a Grand Regency Costumed Promenade and theatrical performances.
She began to curl her hair and long for balls.
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
The real Austen was more of a homebird herself, “Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” So, you will want to start your Austen journey by visiting Chawton House, described by Austen to her sister Cassandra, “Everybody is acquainted with Chawton and speaks of it as a remarkably pretty village & everybody knows the House we describe.” Travel by train and discover the emerald-green valleys of the English countryside, the very same landscapes Austen has herself admired during her carriage journeys and vividly described in her writings. The cottage, given by her brother to their mother in 1809, is now the Jane Austen House Museum and will host festivals throughout 2025. Pride and Prejudice has already been honoured, but events celebrating Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion are forthcoming.
Get inspired by Austen’s writing desk, given by her father, which has returned to Southampton for the first time in 200 years. But do hurry, as it will only be on display at God’s House Tower – just a block from her former home – until 21 February 2025. You may combine this visit with an evening at the theatre to see Pride and Prejudice (sort of), an Olivier Award-winning comedy adaptation, which will be playing in June at the Criterion Theatre. Thankfully, not in Southampton’s long-gone theatre, which Austen dismissed in a letter to her sister Cassandra: “Martha ought to see the inside of the Theatre once while she lives in Southampton & I hardly think she will wish to take a second view.”
Austen wrote her first drafts Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey while in Steventon. The village will honour her with events including a flower festival and a historical exhibition in the village hall. Her love for nature is reflected in the Overton Jane Austen Trails, echoing Emma’s description: “It was a sweet view – sweet to the eye and the mind. English verdure, English culture, English comfort, seen under a sun bright, without being oppressive.” The Vyne and Willis Museum will host special events.
Winchester, where Austen spent her final years, will hold theatre performances, tours, and services, including the unveiling of a Jane Austen statue in Winchester Cathedral. The city’s museum will feature a permanent display marking her final days and her house will open to the public from 8 June 2025. Hopefully, the sun will have received its invitation, but if not, Austen’s concluding line of her humorous poem about Winchester Races, written in her final days, will resonate even more: “The curse upon Venta is July in showers.”
Beyond these major events, themed literary festivals throughout the year will celebrate Austen’s works with readings, performances, and workshops. Whether you are a devoted fan or new to her works, these celebrations offer a chance to step into Austen’s world and experience her genius firsthand.
