Celebrate Jane Austen and meet the women writers who shaped—and were shaped by—her wit, words, and world in our JA250 anniversary exhibition.

Jane Austen’s genius did not emerge from nowhere. She grew up in a lively literary household that relished the satirical and the absurd. An avid reader from a young age, Austen followed—and often parodied—the popular trends of her time, from sentimental and Gothic novels to prim conduct books. When she published her first novel in 1811, she entered a thriving literary marketplace filled with accomplished women writers.

Austen’s creativity was also shaped by the stage. From just seven years old she became familiar with plays via private family theatricals put on by her older brothers at Steventon. In adulthood, she was a regular theatre-goer, drawing inspiration and technique from what she saw on the stage.

These experiences of reading, watching, acting, and laughing were crucial. United with close observation of social interactions and razor-sharp wit, they fed into Jane Austen’s unique style, giving us the memorable characters and scenes so beloved by modern readers.

This exhibition places Jane Austen amongst her sister artists—the novelists and playwrights who inspired her, and those who, in turn, took influence from her.

Meet familiar figures like Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth, and Ann Radcliffe, alongside lesser-known talents such as Jane West and Susan Ferrier. In our Circulating Library section, Austen’s novels are paired with literary counterparts from our collection. Meanwhile, Drama in the Drawing Room highlights the role of theatre in Austen’s world, tracing how drama moved stage to page, as well as from public theatres to private parlours.

The highlight of the exhibition is a unique treasure: a manuscript play adaptation of Samuel Richardson’s Sir Charles Grandison, written in Austen’s own hand as a collaboration with her niece.

Join us for the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth in celebrating the vibrant literary and theatrical world that shaped her.