ONE woman's dream to restore a historic Hampshire mansion that once belonged to Jane Austen's brother is close to realisation.
When Sandy Lerner, an American businesswoman, leased Chawton House at Chawton, near Alton, in the early 1990s it was in poor repair.
Now restored, Chawton House Library and Study Centre is to open as a centre for the study of women writers from the 17th to 19th century.
The house opens on July 16 with a conference attracting more than 200 scholars from around the world.
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