English

Four scholars of Austen discussed her best-loved novel, with a variety of talks focusing on her style, on reception and legacy, on her life and times, and on 20th and 21st century adaptations. Dr Shelley Cobb, Lecturer of English and Film at the University of Southampton, spoke about how Pride and Prejudice had been portrayed on film and TV, from conventional treatments to the adoption of its themes in Bridget Jones Diary; her talk included amusing and illuminating video clips. The day was organised by Dr Gillian Dow, Director of Research at Chawton House Library and Southampton lecturer. It ended at Jane Austen's House Museum, with a selection of readings from the novel by Elizabeth Garvie, the actress who played Elizabeth Bennet in the 1980 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. Dr Bharat Tandon from the University of East Anglia, is the author of Jane Austen and the Morality of Conversation (2003) and a judge for the 2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. He was one of the speakers at the study day. Listen to his talk: I do not write for such dull Elves: Finding Voices in Pride and Prejudice.

As part of the Chawton House Library Seminar Series; Dr Gillian Dow discusses Chawton House Library; and the eighteenth century women writers connected to the library

Eighteenth century poet, novelist, translator, orator and playwright Mrs Penelope Aubin was thre subject of the latest evening lecture at Chawton House Library. Dr Debbie Welham of the University of Winchester spoke about Mrs Aubin's life and times and described her fascination with her. She also describes her research into this absorbing character which took her to the Caribbean and the west coast of the United States. Click here to listen to the full lecture

"Observe her Heedfully": Family, Friendship and a Lady's Life of Reading Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in the practice of reading. One keen reader who kept notes on her favourite books was Elizabeth Rose of Kilravock, the self-styled Queen of eighteenth-century Nairnshire in Scotland. Her letters and notebooks provide a rare insight into the reading habits of a female reader who lived in rural isolation. Historian Dr Mark Towsey from the University of Liverpool is interested in her life and times. Click here to hear an interview with Mark:

Author Rana Dasgupta presents a seminar on migration and writing; and reads extracts from his novel: Tokyo Cancelled.