Laura Kirkley Popular Books

Laura Kirkley Biography & Facts

Chawton House is a Grade II* listed manor house in Hampshire on the South side of Chawton village, and the present building was started in 1580. In the late 18th century it was the home of the brother of Jane Austen, Edward Austen Knight. Into the late 20th century, it remained in private ownership. It was then purchased by a charitable trust, extensively restored, and opened as a research centre. The centre runs study programmes in association with the nearby University of Southampton. It incorporates a significant library, a collection of over 9000 books and related manuscripts. Currently, It also houses the research library of The Centre for the Study of Early Women's Writing, 1600–1830, using its connection with the English novelist Jane Austen. The house is open to visitors and library readers, for tours and during public events. The surrounding parkland to the south of the house is open at all times to walkers and nourishes a herd of sheep. The house The present Chawton House was built starting in 1580 by John Knight, based on an older manor house. The estate had been owned by the Knight family since 1551. Alterations to the house were made in the 18th and 19th centuries. The house is built of flint with stone dressings and a tiled roof. The South front has two main storeys with an attic and three gables that can be seen on the picture on the left. John Knight served as MP for Lymington from 1593 to 1597 and was High Sheriff of Hampshire for 1609–10. The house then passed down the family until the male line died out with the death of Sir Richard Knight. After this, it was passed to a relative by marriage, Richard Martin, who changed his name to Knight (possibly having to change his name to gain the inheritance). It then passed to Thomas Brodnax, a relative, who did the same. His son, Thomas Knight, died childless and bequeathed the house to his relative Edward Austen, the elder brother of Jane Austen, who also added Knight to his name. The estate then continued in the Knight family until inherited by Richard Knight in 1987. The house was then in poor condition and Richard Knight sold it in 1992. The house is in 275 acres (1.11 km2) of Hampshire countryside, and after extensive refurbishment is now open to visitors, for conferences, a venue for weddings, and has also been used for some films. The Church Between the house and the public road is St Nicholas church. The present building dates from 1872 but an inscription states that a church has been on this site since 1289. It also states that the main part of the present structure was funded by Sir Arthur Blomfield after a fire in 1871. In the churchyard are the graves of Cassandra Austen (elder sister of the novelist Jane Austen) and their mother. The Library In 1992 a 125-year lease on the house was purchased for £1.25 million by a foundation established by Sandra Lerner and Leonard Bosack, co-founders of Cisco Systems. The Library was opened in 2003 to specialist scholars. It has a collection of over 9,000 books together with related original manuscripts. The Library works in partnership with the University of Southampton, and provides an important resource for the university's MA in 18th Century Study. In 2015 the house opened to general visitors in addition to specialist scholars. In 2016 Lerner left the board and the foundation now includes other projects. The Library is now The Centre for the Study of Early Women's Writing, 1600–1830. Women Writers Chawton House Library is an independent research library and study centre which focuses on women's writing in English from 1600 to 1830. The library's main aim is to promote and facilitate study in the field of early women's writing. Below is a list of some of the female authors whose works are to be found at the Library. The full on-line catalogue is searchable, and can be accessed via the Chawton House website. Knight Collection The Library also houses the Knight Collection, a private collection of books belonging to the Knight family who owned and lived at Chawton House for 400 years. This collection of books was once owned by Edward Austen Knight, the brother of Jane Austen, and it is known that she used this collection of books. The library was started by Sandra Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems and philanthropist. Novels Online project The Novels Online ongoing project makes freely accessible the full-text transcripts of some of the rarest works in the Chawton House Library collection to stimulate interest in these works amongst a new generation of readers. These texts explore broad-ranging themes including satire, slavery, marriage, witchcraft and piracy. The texts are completely unedited, and have been copied from the originals as accurately as possible. Even printer errors have been retained. Chawton House Library: Women's Novels Routledge has published, to date, thirty-two novels from the Chawton Library collections as part of their Chawton House Library: Women's Novels series. [Anon.] Celia in Search of a Husband: By a Modern Antique. Ed. Caroline Franklin, 2022. ISBN 9780367758356 [Anon.] The Histories of Some of the Penitents in the Magdalen House. 1759. Ed. Jennie Batchelor and Megan Hiatt, 2016. ISBN 9781138235922 Marguerite Blessington. Marmaduke Herbert; or, the Fatal Error. 1847. Ed. Susanne Schmid, 2018. ISBN 9781848935884 Frances Brooke. The History of Lady Julia Mandeville. 1763. Ed. Enit Karafili Steiner, 2016. ISBN 9781138235403 Mary Brunton. Discipline. 1814. Ed. Olivia Murphy, 2018. ISBN 9781138629578 Mary Brunton. Self-Control. 1811. Ed. Anthony Mandal, 2016. ISBN 9781138235540 Sarah Harriet Burney. The Romance of Private Life. 1839. Ed. Lorna Clark, 2016. ISBN 9781138235953 Mary Charlton. Rosella, or Modern Occurrences. Ed. By Natalie Neill, 2023. ISBN 9781032007724 Sophie Cottin. Malvina. 1803. Ed. Marijn S. Kaplan, 2015. ISBN 9781848934603 Charlotte Dacre. Confessions of the Nun of St Omer. 1805. Ed. Lucy Cogan, 2016. ISBN 9781848935303 Dorothea Du Bois. Theodora, A Novel. 1770. Ed. Lucy Cogan, 2021. ISBN 9780367714215 Sarah Fielding. The History of the Countess of Dellwyn. 1759. Ed. Gillian Skinner, 2022. ISBN 9781138544482 E. M. Foster. The Corinna of England, or a Heroine in the Shade; A Modern Romance. Ed. Sylvia Bordoni, 2016. ISBN 9781138236028 Stephanie-Felicite De Genlis. Adelaide and Theodore. Ed. Gillian Dow, 2016. ISBN 9781138235946 Phebe Gibbes. The History of Lady Louisa Stroud, and the Honourable Miss Caroline Stretton. 1764. Ed. Mike Franklin, 2022. ISBN 9781032002279 Ann Gomersall. The Citizen. 1790. Ed. Margaret S. Yoon, 2016. ISBN 9781138235397 Sarah Green. The Private History of the Court of England. 1808. Ed. Fiona Price, 2016. ISBN 9781138235687 Sarah Green. Romance Readers and Romance Writers. 1810. Ed. Christopher Goulding, 2016. ISBN 9781138235717 Anna Maria Hall. Sketches of Irish Character. 1829; 1844. Ed. Marion Durnin, 2016. ISBN 9781138235489 Elizabeth Ham. The.... Discover the Laura Kirkley popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Laura Kirkley books.