Tea at Edward'

This is Chawton House - owned by Jane Austen's brother Edward who was adopted by an uncle and aunt and inherited all their wealth in exchange for changing his name from Austen to Knight. This was only one of his houses, and not the largest, but it took some time before he eventually offered a tiny (well, relatively) cottage in Chawton village as a home for his Mum and spinster sisters Jane and Cassandra. He only made this offer once he was on to his second wife, so some blame his first wife as being stingy. I blame him.

It was at Chawton Cottage that Jane was at her happiest and most productive, and visited this house and her not-as-generous-as-he-could-have-been brother often. Chawton Cottage has become a museum to Jane.

Chawton House has become a library for the study of early English women's writing, and it is here I attend my bookgroup each month. It is rather specialised as it only covers women's writing from 1600-1820. We always have afternoon tea and cakes and have our discussions in the room behind the middle window.

Today we discussed The Rover - a play written in 1640 by the first professional woman writer in England, Aphra Behn.

A possibly slightly eccentric highlight of each month.