Photographs by Stephen Lewis
18th - 26th June
Most people in the area will know that Jane Austen, widely accepted as the most famous female novelist in the world, lived in Chawton. She is so well known that many people in the locality tend not to think about her legacy to the area as well as her contribution to writing. You can travel the world and find people who know all about Jane Austen - where she lived, what she wrote, the music of the age and what people ate. In fact, there is a whole industry catering for the many people who revere and celebrate Jane Austen's work.
When you enter Hampshire, the sign reads, "Welcome Jane Austen Country". Over 30,000 people visit Jane Austen's former house in Chawton, and an increasing number to her brother's former home, Chawton House. Yet despite Chawton being so well known, Alton is often bypassed by the
This year the theme of the week is Jane's "Sense and Sensibility" work because 2011 is the 200th anniversary of its authorship. At the time the book was sold to a publisher who did nothing with it, so we have to thank Jane's brother for buying it back and for getting it published after Jane's passing. There are 13 events this year, covering singing, drama, music, film, talks, open house and garden days, Unusual Plants Fair, Regency Day and Victorian Cricket.
The week of events is run by a group of volunteers, largely drawn from the organisations that run the individual events. This year, there are events in Chawton, Alton and Selborne. Although Gilbert White (in Selborne) pre-dated Jane's time in Chawton, they were contemporaries in Jane's earlier life.
We invite you to enjoy and experience the events on offer, to perhaps learn more about Jane Austen and her works, and to sample the range of interesting things associated with the period. If we have got you interested, you can read more about the week's events on the dedicated website www.
JaneAustenRegencyWeek.co.uk or, if you are local to the area, you can pick up printed programmes in various shops, public buildings and attractions.
coaches and people visiting places
related to Jane Austen. It is also surprising to note that until recently, Alton has been rather slow to make anything of our connection with Jane Austen.
In 2005, Alton Chamber of Commerce & Industry decided to rectify the situation; firstly by teaming up with AIM to hold a theatrical performance of Persuasion, put on by the Phoenix Theatre. This lead to further events in the following years, but in 2008 ACCI launched Jane Austen Regency Week. The week is now promoted by the Chamber's trading arm, Alton Chamber Enterprises Ltd., a 'not-for- profit' company limited by guarantee. The festival has been a great success and it continues to grow each year.
Page 20 Tickets are available from Alton Community Centre
or from the individual event organisers - details are on the website and in the programme. Most events charge a moderate entrance fee, but some are free such as the Regency Day and the Choral Evensong. Above all, we want people locally, and those from further afield, to make the most of the literary heritage this area has to offer and to celebrate the time Jane Austen spent in Chawton and Alton.
www.thisisalton.co.uk
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