LETTER OF THE DAY: I cannot envisage any author today being celebrated in this way

It is interesting to contemplate the reaction of Jane Austen had she been able to look into the future and learn that 200 years after her death she was to be honoured by a bank note bearing her image and commemorating her life.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Sep 2017, 01:00 BST
Dutch tourists visiting the house where Jane Austen died in Winchester inspect the new note. © Solent News & Photo AgencyDutch tourists visiting the house where Jane Austen died in Winchester inspect the new note. © Solent News & Photo Agency
Dutch tourists visiting the house where Jane Austen died in Winchester inspect the new note. © Solent News & Photo Agency

To quote a 21st century expression she would have been gobsmacked (although I hardly think she would have endorsed the word) to see how her life today is celebrated with greater veracity than it ever has been.

I cannot envisage any author today being celebrated even after 100 years despite the proliferation of them in recent times.

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Alongside Charles Dickens whose lifetime crossed with Jane Austen for only five years they must be considered, after Shakespeare, as the two greatest authors this country has ever produced.

NJ Anderson

Melrose Close, Milton

Related topics:Charles DickensShakespeare