Join us for the Harewood Jane Austen Book Club! Whether you're a first time Austen reader or coming back to her, come along for a relaxed conversation about Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

This book club will be led by Jennie Batchelor, Head and Professor of English at the University of York.

We recommend that you have read Pride and Prejudice in advance so that you can get the most out of this informal and lively chat led by one of the curators of Austen & Turner: A Country House Encounter.

Pride and Prejudice, 1813

Originally entitled ‘First Impressions’, Pride and Prejudice is a novel in which knowledge of oneself and others comes with time and context. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy dislike each other on first meeting. By the time Lizzy visits Pemberley, Darcy’s estate, her mindset is shifting. Approaching the house through its impressive grounds, she realises ‘to be mistress of Pemberley might be something’, a feeling that intensifies when she views a portrait of Darcy and sees him and herself anew.

Blackie House Library and Museum, first edition of Pride and Prejudice is on display in Watercolour Room I.

About Jennie Batchelor

Jennie Batchelor, Head and Professor of English at the University of York, is an academic, author and speaker who has written and edited several books on women’s writing, dress, fashion and early women’s magazines. Her most recent books include The Lady’s Magazine (1770-1832) and the Making of Literary History (Edinburgh University Press, 2022) and the popular history and craft book Jane Austen Embroidery (Pavillion 2020) on which she worked with Alison Larkin.