Jane Austen's novels are remarkable for the truthfulness and
charm with which they reproduce the everyday life of the upper middle
classes in England in her time, and for delicate and yet distinct
insight into every variety of the human character. Miss Austen's first
four novels, _Sense and Sensibility_, _Pride and Prejudice_, _Mansfield
Park_, and _Emma_, were published anonymously.
A short distance along the Gosport road is Chawton Park, a remarkably
fine Elizabethan mansion, occupied in Miss Austen's time by Edward
Knight, the lord of the manor. This country seat, which is not
accessible to visitors, was most probably the original of _Mansfield
Park_, and in the little church close by are several monuments to the
Knight family. Miss Austen died at Winchester on July 24, 1817, and is
buried in the cathedral. The brass to her memory is in the north aisle.
Within easy walking distance is Gilbert White's home at Selborne, which
is treated under a separate heading (p. 70).
[Illustration: JANE AUSTEN'S COTTAGE AT CHAWTON.
_Sense and Sensibility_, _Pride and Prejudice_, and _Northanger Abbey_
were revised and partly rewritten here; and _Emma_, _Mansfield Park_,
and _Persuasion_ were entirely produced at the cottage.]
SELBORNE
THE HOME OF GILBERT WHITE
=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. L. and S.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Alton (4 miles from Selborne).
=Distance from London.=--46-1/2 miles. East Tisted, 2 miles from Selborne,
shortly to be available.
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