9 d. ago Owners of £17m Jane Austen country house granted permission to demolish it despite objections from residents

Historic England said there was no evidence the house had ‘any direct influence on Jane Austen’s literary output’

Economics

1 week ago Owners of £17m Jane Austen Hampshire country house are granted permission to demolish it despite objections from neighbours

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has approved plans to demolish Ashe Park House, Hampshire, and replace it with a 'traditional country house' in the Queen Anne style.

Economics

2 w. ago King and Queen host reception to unveil national reading medal

A star-studded event at Clarence House saw the launch of the Queen’s Reading Room Medal.

Politics

2 w. ago People living in coastal communities deserve longer, healthier lives, says MP

Steff Aquarone said wealthy people treat coastal villages like a ‘Jane Austen-era summer jaunt’.

Society

3 w. ago ‘Everybody does it’: Why we all love a good gossip, from The White Lotus, to books and podcasts

Sharing secrets is a natural human instinct – and the boom in audio is providing new platforms for the juiciest storiesIn the latest series of The White Lotus, childhood best friends Laurie, Kate and Jaclyn arrive at a luxury Thai hotel for a girls’ ­holiday. The trio appears to have a perfect dynamic, but on the first night, two friends descend into a gossiping session about the third, crystallising unspoken tensions in the group.Gossip drives all kinds of dramas – it’s the central force behind every series of Bridgerton, the beating heart of teen drama Gossip Girl. Where would Jane Austen’s characters, or even Hilary Mantel’s imagining of Thomas Cromwell, be without insider secrets? Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Much darker than Pride and Prejudice!’: authors pick their favourite Jane Austen novel

Colm Tóibín, Katherine Rundell, Rebecca Kuang and other leading novelists celebrate the author in her 250th yearChosen by Colm Tóibín Continue reading...

Culture