Justin Smith, Professor of Cinema and Television History at De Montfort University added: “In the history of Jane Austen adaptations 1995 was an annus mirabilis which captivated screen audiences worldwide and introduced new generations to her work through vivid, contemporary interpretations and compelling performances."
Austenmania! is the second exhibition opened by Jane Austen’s House to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth. In October 2024, the House unveiled a new permanent exhibition, Jane Austen and the Art of Writing, which explores Austen’s creative writing process, features objects that directly inspired her writing and displays a rare collection of first editions of all six of her novels, on display together for the first time at the house where she wrote them.
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. The Pride and Prejudice Festival will build on the success of the museum’s annual Pride and Prejudice Day on January 28, the novel’s publication, and will run January 23-28.
Events include:
- a re-enactment of the first ever reading of Pride and Prejudice, in the very room in which Jane Austen read aloud from a published copy for the first time
- a performance of the music from the BBC adaptation
- a live in house P&P edition of the museum’s popular virtual Book Club
- talks, house tours and virtual events including the online release of a talk from Dinah Collin, the award-winning costume designer who designed the costumes for the 1995 BBC adaptation
Additional festivals will follow throughout the year with a Sense and Sensibility Festival running May 1 - 11, an Emma Festival running July 12 - 20, a Persuasion and Poetry Festival running September 12 - 21, and Jane Austen’s Birthday Celebration Week running December 13-21.
A Jane Austen Year: Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen will be published by Jane Austen’s House and Batsford Books in March. The book charts the life, works and legacy of Jane Austen through the seasons of a year at Jane Austen’s House. A podcast accompanying the book was launched earlier this month.
