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Jane Austen and Somerville
We are delighted to welcome a range of writers and academics to our celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary, and to invite you to join us!
Our keynote speaker, Professor Kathryn Sutherland, shows how closely linked the College is to Austen, and the day will explore the novelist’s significance both at Somerville and more widely, and to do this we are joined by a range of expert alumnae and guests.
As the day focuses both on literary critical work and on Austen’s inspiration for later writers, we are very pleased to welcome novelist Salley Vickers, whose work will be known already to many.
Somerville alumna and former lecturer at King’s College, London, Dr Jane Darcy, will begin the day with a bracing talk about Austen and seabathing, before Kathryn Sutherland explores the wide connections between Somerville and Austen.
In this special year, there are many new publications. Professor Sutherland’s own contribution is the fascinating Jane Austen in 41 Objects. As the Patron of Jane Austen’s House Museum, our keynote speaker presents Austen’s life through a perceptive reading of objects associated with her.
Edward Whatley‘s latest book, Jane Austen and George Eliot: the Lady and the Radical, examines the surprising connections between two authors who, on the surface, appear to be very different. He will be in conversation with Somerville Fellow, Professor Fiona Stafford, Austen editor and writer of the 2017 biographical work, Jane Austen: A Brief Life.
The programme of the day is below.
Programme
10.00 am Arrival and tea/coffee
10.15 am Dr Jane Darcy
11.15 am Tea/coffee
11.30 am Prof. Kathryn Sutherland
1.00 pm Lunch
2.00 pm Salley Vickers
3.00 pm Tea/coffee
3.15 pm A conversation between Edward Whitley and Prof. Fiona Stafford
4.15 pm Finish
Date:
8 November 2025, 10:00
Venue:
Somerville College, Woodstock Road OX2 6HD
Venue Details:
Flora Anderson Hall (accessible venue)
Speakers:
Prof. Kathryn Sutherland (University of Oxford),
Prof Fiona Stafford (University of Oxford),
Salley Vickers,
Edward Whitley,
Dr Jane Darcy
Organising department:
Somerville College
Organiser:
Dr Jackie Watson (Somerville College)
Organiser contact email address:
jacqueline.watson@some.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Professor Fiona Stafford
Booking required?:
Required
Booking url:
https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/news-events/event/jane-austen-and-somerville/
Cost:
£40 adults/£5 for students (includes lunch)
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Jackie Watson
