Jane Austen and “a most beloved sister”

York Georgian Society Lecture

Every full novel of Austen’ – and much of her other writing, features sisterhood and female friendship – whether to good or bad effect. It is hard not to see this separately from her relationship with her own sister Cassandra. This bond has received more attention than ever in Austen’s 250th birthday year, with the adaptation of Gill Hornby’s novel Miss Austen. Using Austen’s fictional writings, letters and period drama adaptation, this talk will explore the sisters’ relationship, how the support between Jane and Cassandra can be seen on the page, as much in history, and the way the two siblings have been portrayed since their deaths.

Biography:
Dr Lizzie Rogers is an historian, curator and writer who specialises in women, collecting and historic houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and their depiction in popular culture. Her work has appeared in academic and popular presses; she is a regular contributor to BBC HistoryExtra on the subjects of Jane Austen and Regency England.

Contact the York Georgian Society

Image: Jane Austen, Unknown engraver after Cassandra Austen (about 1810), published by Richard Bentley, 1870, Stipple engraving on paper, Bequeathed by (Frederick) Leverton Harris, 1927; NPG D13873, © The National Portrait Gallery