The works of Jane Austen have continued to enjoy immense popularity. It is always a romantic love story but embedded with socio-political and socio-critical themes. Jane Austen is one of the most famous and popular writers in English literature. It is quite an achievement for the younger daughter of a country vicar who completed her education at the age of eleven and was never publicly recognised as a writer during her lifetime.

Jane lived in this house for the last eight years of her life. Today Jane Austen's House is a museum and one of the most important literary sites in the world. The museum houses significant items associated with Jane Austen, including her jewellery, first editions of her books, furniture, textiles and the table at which she wrote her popular novels. Jane Austen's House is a registered charity that receives no regular public funding and is therefore grateful to visitors and audiences around the world for any support.

Lizzie Dunford has been the museum's director since April 2020 and gave an interview about the difficult Corona period but also good prospects for the future.

January 22, 2022

Interview Directory 

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Name: Lizzie Dunford

Occupation: Director - Jane Austen's House Museum

Jane Austen house: The final home of the author and the birthplace of all six novels.

"I want the House to be alive. I want every room to shout Austen’s genius, humour and emotional understanding."

What was it like for you when you first entered the museum?

I have loved Jane Austen’s writing since I was a very young woman and all through my career working in museums a job at Jane Austen’s House had been the goal, so to walk through the door as Director was a moment of great pride, but also one with an almost overwhelming sense of responsibility. This is one of the most important, as well as most beloved, literary sites in the world; the birthplace and cradle of all of Austen’s novels and the home of the real, living, breathing woman who wrote them. So, while it was utterly exhilerating, and mostly a lot of fun, looking after this special house is something I take very seriously. 

What is one of your favourite tasks in your museum?

I love opening the shutters and letting the sunlight stream into the museum. When I first started, in April 2020 (and indeed for a large part of my first year) the house was closed due to the pandemic, and those shutters had to remain closed. When the time did come to open them when visitors were allowed to return, it felt like a highly symbolic act. Now, I love it for the sheer tactiel nature of it. They’re tall and heavy, very Georgian, and with a solid bar across the back, and they fold back into place at the edge of the windows with a very satisfying thunk. My favourite shutters are in the Drawing Room, which when opened, reveal the beauty of the garden. 

Are there strong emotional reactions from Jane Austen fans when they enter her home?

Jane Austen’s novels – and their adaptions – mean so much to so many people around the world. They are works of genius, yes – funny, deep and brilliantly written, but they’ve also been important for many, many readers as works of escapsism, and reassurance in troubled times. Austen’s novels and characters get under your skin and into your psyche, so to come to the place where she created them is very powerful for many of our visitors. The writing table sees lots of tears!

Your museum, like all museums, has suffered greatly in the crisis, although you have provided excellent virtual engagement. What would you like to see happen to your museum in future?

I would like to see us maintaining a balance between online and in person visits. Welcoming people to Jane Austen’s House, so they can follow in Austen’s footsteps and soak up the inspiring atmosphere of her home will always be at the heart of what we do – it’s the very reason the museum exisits. However, the pandemic has shown us that there are other ways to do things, other ways to open the museum. People can now explore the rooms and our collections from their own homes 24 hours a day; you can come to an event celebrating Austen with other Janeites from Berlin to Buenos Ares, London to New York, without leaving the sofa. I am incredibly proud of our digital engagment, and the ways that it has hugely increased access – especially for those who couldn’t easily get to our little village of Chawton. It has been transformational, and will continue post-pandemic, alongside an exciting and innovative programme of events at exhibitions at the House itself. 

"I want it to be a place were individuals are value and recognised, and where universal truths are always acknowledged."

What is your dream and vision for the museum?

I want the House to be alive. I want every room to shout Austen’s genius, humour and emotional understanding. I want it to be a place of inspiration for today’s and tomorrow’s creatives, whislt at the same time accurately and authentically communicating the lived experience of Jane Austen and those who shared the house with her through the tumultuous and complex years of Regency Britain. I want it to be a place were individuals are value and recognised, and where universal truths are always acknowledged. 

Jane Austen's Houses House Drawing Room 2017 ©Peter Smith - Jane Austen's House

The desk of Jane Austen ©Jane Austen's House

Jane Austen's ring ©Peter Smith - Jane Austen's House

Ring by Jane Austen

Date: Estimated 1760 -1780

The ring is a plain 9 carat gold band holding a light blue oval turquoise stone. It is in a ring box made by T West, a goldsmith in London, who enclosed a provenance letter stating that this ring originally belonged to Jane Austen. There are several provenance letters about this ring, the most important being from Eleanor Jackson Austen (Henry Austen's second wife) and dated November 1863. The following is quoted "My dear Caroline, the enclosed ring once belonged to your Aunt Jane. It was given to me by your Aunt Cassandra as soon as she knew I was engaged to your uncle. I bequeath it to you".  The ring has had an exciting history. In 2012 it was auctioned off and bought by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson for £152,450. But a national campaign initated by then Culture Minister Ed Vaizey achieved an export stay until there were sufficient funds to keep in it as a National Heritage item in the country. Donations were received to buy the ring back; an anonymous donation of £100,000 was even received and so the ring was returned to Jane Austen's House (source www.bbc.com). Kelly Clarkson wears a copy of the ring today.

©Jane Austen House