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                        UID:ce6ac648912b6180ffe8d1889be37c94https://godshousetower.org.uk
                        DTSTAMP:20260520T110748
                        DTSTART:TZID=20241115T100000
                        DTEND:TZID=20241222T160000
                        SUMMARY:Exhibition: In Training for a Heroine, Jane Austen's Travelling Writing Desk 
                        DESCRIPTION:<strong>Friday 15th November 2024 - Sunday 23rd February 2025</strong>

From November 2024 – February 2025, Jane Austen’s travelling writing desk was exhibited at God’s House Tower, on loan from the British Library.

Gifted to the author around the time of her 19th birthday by her farther George Austen, the portable, mahogany desk was designed to fold into a case for ease of traveling and has a secret draw where Austen stored her most treasured possessions – her letters and manuscripts.

<em>In Training for a Heroine</em> told the story Jane Austen as a young, ambitious writer at the beginning of her career, the travelling writing desk symbolising a world of opportunity and possibility. Extracts from Austen’s letters provide an insight into her life and her time in Southampton where she lived briefly in 1783 and from 1806-1809.

Jane Austen’s travelling writing desk is at the heart of a year-long celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in Southampton, and across the world.

This exhibition was part of the <em>Jane Austen at GHT</em> programme, which also included a contemporary art commission, <em>No Notion of Loving by Halves</em> by Jocelyn McGregor. You can read more about the commission <a href="https://godshousetower.org.uk/eventer/exhibition-no-notion-of-loving-by-halves-by-jocelyn-mcgregor-2/">here.</a>

This exhibition was free to attend.
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