WILLIAMSBURG — Caroline Jane Knight, Jane Austen’s fifth great-niece, will be visiting Colonial Williamsburg on Oct. 15 at a public event and launch to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.
According to the announcement, this visit marks the first time a member of Jane Austen’s Chawton family has undertaken public speaking engagements in America. Knight is the last of Jane Austen’s nieces to grow up at Chawton House. She is not only Jane Austen’s fifth great-niece, but also an international business leader, author and literacy advocate.
“I’ve spent my entire life surrounded by Jane’s legacy, sitting at the very table where she sat, walking the same halls she knew, even eating from the same Wedgwood dinner service she wrote about in her letters,” said Knight. “Now I’m thrilled to share that intimate family perspective with audiences in America.”
During Knight’s visit to the States, two launches will happen:
- Commemorative “Pride and Prejudice” Edition: A special 250th anniversary edition of Jane Austen’s novel, the first publication of an Austen work since 1833 to feature an introduction by a family member. Available in all formats, proceeds from this historic edition will support literacy projects worldwide through the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation.
- Jane Austen Literacy Foundation North American Friends: The U.S. launch of the Foundation’s North American organisation, allowing Americans to join Austen’s family in directly supporting literacy initiatives both domestically and internationally. Founded by Knight in 2014, the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation supports literacy projects in developing communities around the world.
According to the announcement, Knight will bring family artifacts never before displayed in the United States, including pieces from the historic Wedgwood dinner service that Jane Austen ate from and wrote about in a letter to her sister Cassandra on Sept. 16, 1813. The service, passed down through generations, was still used for special occasions during Knight’s childhood at Chawton House.
“When Jane accompanied my fourth great-grandfather Edward to Wedgwood’s showroom in 1813, she couldn’t have imagined that centuries later, a niece from her Chawton home would be bringing pieces of that very dinner service to America,” Knight reflected.
“The collection of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, which stretches into the 1840s, encompasses objects that speak to the same global and cultural world that shaped Jane Austen’s life and work,” said Michelle Smith, Manager of the Hennage Auditorium. “Hosting this event allows us to draw connections between the objects Austen herself would have known and used to those in our own collection, offering guests a unique window into the material culture of her time and impact it’s had on her family through the years.”
According to organizers, the event at Colonial Williamsburg will explore Jane’s world through family stories and historical insights. There will also be activities after the event, including as Crafting Jane Austen and Touring Jane Austen.
The event takes place Wednesday, Oct. 15, in the Hennage Auditorium at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. The event is free and open to the public and will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
More information about the event and other Jane Austen-related offerings at Colonial Williamsburg can be found on its official website.
