JANE AUSTEN’S LAST WORDS: Persuasion and Sanditon with John Wiltshire

Hardly had Jane Austen finished writing (and re-writing) Persuasion than she started work on a new novel, known as Sanditon. They are amazingly different works.  John Wiltshire will talk about them and their manuscripts, which together tell us so much about Jane Austen’s genius and art.

John Wiltshire is an Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University. He has written extensively on Jane Austen, and is currently editing a collection of essays on Persuasion.  His most recent book is The Hidden Jane Austen.

image: Cassandra Austen (English, 1773-1845)
Jane Austen, circa 1810
pencil and watercolour on paper | 114 mm x 80 mm
© National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG 3630
purchased with help from The Friends of the National Libraries, 1948