Jane Austen lived in a great many places throughout her life. She spent the last eight years of her life in Chawton, roughly 60 miles southwest of London. Her father's death left Jane, her dear sister Cassandra and her mother in a great state of financial insecurity. Jane's brothers made annual contributions to help support the Austen women. Jane's brother, Edward, came upon great fortune inheriting the great estate of Chawton left to him by his adopted Knight family. He offered Jane, her mother and sister the use of a large cottage on his Chawton estate. It was here in Chawton that Jane completed the majority of her greatest works. Our visit to Chawton included Jane's cottage as well as Edward's massive manor house.
Chawton Manor gate
Chawton Manor
Chawton Manor
Chawton Manor
Chawton Manor
Chawton Manor
Chawton Manor
Chawton Manor
Jane's cottage, just a short walk from the manor
The actual table where Jane penned her masterpieces; I was really struck by how tiny it was and it is difficult to imagine anyone sitting there hunched over this table writing for hours on end
The view Jane had as she wrote, minus the cars; Jane could watch the village go by from her writing window
Monday, March 1, 2010
Chawton
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6 comments:
Loved seeing these photos and imagining her being so wonderfully productive at such in unsuitable workspace. So the cottage was not so small relative to the manor as to make one doubt her brother Edwards' consideration for his mother and sisters? Or maybe the ladies preferred the autonomy that it offered relative to residing at the manor.
That's so great! We love Jane Austen!!
Fascinating! Please keep these history lessons coming. I am going to e-mail Kenneth right now and tell him to look at this because he will LOVE it!
Oh Shannon, I love this post! What a thrill it must have been for you to go there. That desk is remarkable. I think it's so great that you've been taking this literature class while in London and been able to go on such great "field trips." Do you feel like you're on a Study Abroad again?
No exaggeration, this post is somewhat of a "spiritual experience." I have the utmost literary reverence for Ms. Austen. Thanks for sharing, I had never heard of Chawton before.
I, too, need to add a big thank you for your wonderful photos & bits of info about your literature class. Loving all things Austen, I have really enjoyed reading your blog! thanks from across the pond- Diedra
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