Jane Austen: Newly discovered letter to be displayed in her home

Austen lived in her Chawton home for the last eight years of her life and is the place where she wrote and published her novels.

She wrote the letter from Steventon to her sister Cassandra who was staying with their elder brother, Edward Austen Knight, at Godmersham Park in Kent, on 27-28 October 1798.

The letter came to Cheffins Auctioneers from the estate of a Cambridge resident, who had acquired it in 2000. It is one of only approximately 160 letters to survive and is one of the earliest in existence. 

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Martin Millard, director at Cheffins said: “We are delighted to have assisted in ensuring that this important letter by Jane Austen is now in its rightful home at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. The letter had come to Cheffins Auctioneers from the estate of a local Cambridge resident, who had acquired it in 2000 to add to a small but deftly invested collection. Dated 1798, and written to her sister Cassandra, this letter is one of the earliest to survive of Jane Austen’s correspondence and is typical in its domestic style: it is lively, vivid, funny and a brilliant window into her personality. Many of Jane’s letters to her sister were destroyed by Cassandra two or three years before her own death, making survivals rare."

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It will be on display from Wednesday, March 22 as part of a new exhibition, My dear Cassandra which explores Jane’s special relationship with her sister.

Professor Kathryn Sutherland, Jane Austen’s House trustee, added: “As domestic art, Austen’s letters hold a special appeal for visitors to Jane Austen’s House. We are thrilled with the allocation to us through Cheffins and by Arts Council England of this rare early example. It will be a bright jewel in our growing collection, and we look forward to celebrating its arrival in this display.”