Chawton House Library
Chawton House Library is located at Chawton House,[1] Chawton, Hampshire.
The Library is now The Centre for the Study of Early Women's Writing, 1600–1830.
Opened in 2003, it has a collection of over 9,000 books together with related original manuscripts. It is set in 275 acres (1.11 km2) of Hampshire countryside, and is used for conferences, filming and more recently as a venue for weddings. The Library works in partnership with the University of Southampton, and provides an important resource for the university's MA in 18th Century Study.[2]
Women Writers
Below is a list of some of the female authors whose works are to be found at the Library.
- Jane Austen (1775–1817)
- Penelope Aubin (1679–1738)
- Aphra Behn (1640–1689)
- Frances Brooke (1724–1789)
- Mary Brunton (1778–1818)
- Frances Burney (1752–1840)
- Sarah Burney (1772–1844)
- Isabelle de Charrière (1740–1805)
- Maria Edgeworth (1768–1849)
- Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)
- Mary Hays (1760–1824)
- Eliza Haywood (1693–1756)
- Elizabeth Inchbald (1753–1821)
- Sophia Lee (1750–1824)
- Harriet Lee (1757–1851)
- Charlotte Lennox (1729–1804)
- Delarivier Manley (1663–1724)
- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu(1689–1762)
- Sydney Owenson,Lady Morgan(1783–1859)
- Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823)
- Mary Darby Robinson (1758–1800)
- Anna Seward (1742–1809)
- Mary Shelley(1797–1851)
- Charlotte Turner Smith (1749–1806)
- Elizabeth Byron Strutt (1805–1863)
- Melesina Chenevix St. George Trench (1768–1827)
- Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
Novels on-line project
The Novels On Line project [3] makes freely accessible the full-text transcripts of some of the rarest works in the Chawton House Library collection. These texts explore broad-ranging themes as satire, slavery, marriage, witchcraft and piracy. In bringing these little-known novels to a wider audience, it is hoped to stimulate interest in these works amongst a new generation of readers. The texts are completely unedited, and have been copied from the originals as accurately as possible. Even printer errors have been retained. This is an ongoing project with more novels and texts being made available on line.
Events
Events are held regularly at the library; these include Open Days, Fellows Lectures and Heritage Open Days.[4]
Knight Collection
The Library also houses the Knight Collection, a private collection of books belonging to the Knight family who owned and lived at Chawton House for 400 years. This collection of books was once owned by Edward Austen Knight, the brother of Jane Austen, and it is known that she used this collection of books. The library was started by Sandra Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems and philanthropist.[5]
Visiting the Library
The house and Library can be visited by the public by prior appointment. Tours of the house are undertaken Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 2.30pm.
The Library can be visited at any time, by appointment. However, first-time visitors are required to bring some form of identification.[6]
References
- ↑ Chawton House Website
- ↑ Chawton House Website Southampton Section
- ↑ Chawton House Website Novels Section
- ↑ Chawton House Library Website
- ↑ Julian Guthrie, "Cisco founder pens sequel to 'Pride and Prejudice'", San Francisco Chronicle, May 30, 2012 . Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ↑ Entry form
External links
- Chawton House Library
- Hampshire County Council: "Chawton – Jane's literary home"
- Jane Austen Society of North America
- Jane Austen Society of the United Kingdom
- Soil Association
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Coordinates: 51°07′42″N 0°59′19″W / 51.1282°N 0.9885°W