PRICELESS Jane Austen artefacts are going on display in Hampshire.
The Willis Museum in Basingstoke will show off the famous author’s writing desk, spectacles and a manuscript of one of her early works.
Hampshire Cultural Trust has been working with the British Library and Basingstoke MP Maria Miller on a deal to secure the loan of the items, which will go on display in January 2016.
The exhibition will also launch Jane Austen 200, Hampshire’s theme for 2017, commemorating the 200th anniversary of her death with a variety of activities across museums and arts venues in the county.
Janet Owen, chief executive of Hampshire Cultural Trust, said: “It will be a fantastic coup for Hampshire, to bring some of Jane Austen’s most important possessions back to the place where she lived and worked. Our aim is to bring the best items and exhibits from across the world to Hampshire, complementing the amazing home-grown arts and culture we have on our doorstep."
Maria Miller, MP for Basingstoke, added: "Jane Austen was born in the Borough in Steventon and lived here for more than 25 years. Jane's friends and family lived in Basingstoke and the surrounding villages - it is here where she danced, shopped and met the people who, some think, influenced the characters she wrote about in her books.
“In the run up to 2017, 200 years since her death, Basingstoke should celebrate its most famous daughter, the world's foremost and finest novelist."
For more details visit hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk.
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