Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, where the author spent the last eight years of her life, will start the festivities with the unveiling of Austenmania! on Wednesday, January 22.
This exhibition, supported by the BBC and De Montfort University, takes a nostalgic look back at 1995, the year when various film and TV adaptations reshaped the Austen landscape.
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Visitors can leaf through a facsimile of all the Pride and Prejudice scripts (Image: Jane Austen’s House) Jane Austen’s House will pay homage to the four landmark adaptations from 1995: Andrew Davies’ BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle; Emma Thompson and Ang Lee’s big-screen rendition of Sense and Sensibility; the BBC’s adaptation of Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds; and Clueless, a modern-day retelling of Emma.
The exhibition will showcase two original Pride and Prejudice scripts and handwritten production notes from the Andrew Davies and Sue Birtwistle archives, loaned by De Montfort University in Leicester.
There will also be production shots, original cinema posters, merchandise and press cuttings.
Visitors can leaf through a facsimile of all the Pride and Prejudice scripts, with the original BBC Pride and Prejudice soundtrack playing in the background.
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The house is celebrating the 250th year of the Jane Austen’s birth (Image: Jane Austen’s House) Sophie Reynolds, head of collections, interpretation, and events at Jane Austen’s House, said: “1995 was an amazing year for Jane Austen.
“The whole country tuned in to watch Pride and Prejudice and fell in love with Lizzy Bennet and Mr Darcy.
“I remember the buzz around that production – everyone was watching it.
“It was a huge moment for Jane Austen’s House too – visitor numbers went through the roof and have stayed high ever since, so it really feels as though the house is part of the story.
“It’s been great fun to revisit all four of the brilliant adaptations that came out that year, and I hope the exhibition will inspire visitors to watch them all again in this special anniversary year – 250 years after Jane Austen’s birth.”
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Austenmania! is the second exhibition opened by Jane Austen’s House to mark the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth.
In October last year, the house unveiled a new permanent exhibition, Jane Austen and the Art of Writing, which explores Austen’s creative writing process and features first editions of all six of her novels.
Austenmania! opens just ahead of the museum’s Pride and Prejudice Festival, the first of five festivals running at Jane Austen’s House throughout 2025 to celebrate the anniversary of Austen’s birth.