Jane Austen: Behind Closed Doors


Genre: History


Duration: 1 x 60’


Year of Production: 2016


Production Company: BBC Productions


Commissioned By: BBC2 UK


Definition: HD


Exploring the former homes and houses of Jane Austen

Esteemed author, historian and TV presenter, Lucy Worsley, unlocks the doors to explore the different houses in which renowned author Jane Austen lived and stayed. Jane Austen spent much of her life moving between riches and genteel poverty, and her experiences were very much tied up with the houses she lived in. From the imposing Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, whose chapel inspired the one in Mansfield Park, to a cottage at Chawton in Hampshire, now preserved as a museum. It was here that Jane wrote two of her most famous novels, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. On a journey that takes her across England, Lucy visits properties that still exist, from grand stately homes to seaside holiday apartments, and brings to life those that have disappeared. The result is a revealing insight into one of the world’s best-loved authors.