Thursday, March 18, 2010

Jane Austen in Berkshire

It's a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen was Hampshire born and bred ... Jane, her sister Cassandra and her cousin, also called Jane, were educated in Reading following unsuccessful stints at schools in Oxford and Southampton.

Basildon Park

"The Reading Ladies Boarding School, also known as the Abbey School, which overlooked the Forbury Gardens, taught the girls the usual 18th century accomplishments such as sewing, dancing, spelling, French and music. "

Abbey School was located to the left of Reading Abbey (Above)

"She did three years there," says local historian Jane Walton, from Sonning, "and it was probably the school that she used to get the ideas for the Mrs Goddard School in Emma" - Berkshires Jane Austen






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