New Exhibition Celebrating Jane Austen 250th Anniversary at The Morgan
Anonymous, miniature portrait of Jane Austen, 19th century
A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250 focusing on the life and legacy of the novelist will run at The Morgan Library & Museum from June 6 through September 14.
The story of her authorship and her gradual rise to international fame will feature iconic artifacts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, England, will join manuscripts, books, and artworks from the Morgan, as well as from a dozen other institutional and private collections.
Drawing significantly on Austen’s correspondence with Cassandra, her sister and lifelong confidante, A Lively Mind paints a picture of Austen’s life through her own words. Contemporary prints and drawings evoke sights familiar to her, while first edition copies of her six major novels, from Sense and Sensibility to Persuasion, demonstrate how her identity as author was concealed from her earliest readers.
“A Lively Mind examines how it was possible for Austen to publish her now-beloved novels when women generally were not permitted to become writers, much less encouraged to be,” said Dale Stinchcomb, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts at the Morgan Library & Museum. “In addition to her own brilliance, many people includng friends, family, and readers, made her who she is today.”
Among notable editions and letters that highlight Austen’s influence in America, the exhibition brings together four of the six known surviving copies of the first American edition of Emma, printed in Philadelphia in 1816. Each copy bears markings left by its past owners and readers.
“It’s exciting to share books and artworks, many of which have never been exhibited before, to bring to light how American readers first encountered and responded to Austen’s novels,” said Juliette Wells, co-curator of the exhibition and Professor of Literary Studies at Goucher College, “as well as to show how American advocates broadened Austen’s readership later in the 19 th century.”
Highlights of the exhibition include:
- Austen’s only surviving complete fiction manuscript, Lady Susan, her short epistolary
novel - Austen’s gold and turquoise ring
- a playful letter to her niece, with every word spelled backwards
The Morgan is home to nearly a third of Jane Austen’s surviving letters, the largest collection of her letters anywhere in the world. Alongside the opening of the exhibition, the Morgan will publish digital facsimiles of all 51 letters on its website.
