Out and About with Jane Austen by Allison Symes

Image Credit:  The photos were taken by me, Allison Symes, at the wonderful Dorset Museum in Dorchester.

I recently had the joy of going out and about with editing colleagues to visit Jane Austen - Down To The Sea. This exhibition, held at The Dorset Museum, Dorchester, explored the author’s links with the sea. 

My initial reaction was to remember Lyme Regis, The Cobb, and the famous scene from her novel, Persuasion, which is my second favourite Austen book. Nothing can top Pride and Prejudice for me though Persuasion is close. I always think of the book when I visit that lovely part of Dorset.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover Jane Austen had many more links to the sea than I thought. The exhibition runs until 14th September 2025 so if you get a chance to go to it, do go. I found it fascinating. The exhibition also showed something of the society Jane lived in, as well as commemorating her work. Some items were on loan from Chawton where she lived for many years.

 

What made me almost laugh out loud though was seeing Jane’s witty review of a play. Critics are nothing new but witty ones can turn reviews into an art form and Miss Austen could have had an excellent career as a reviewer.  

Exhibitions like this are wonderful for commemorating an author and celebrating their works. They can encourage re-reading. No bad thing, that. This exhibition reminded me of why I love Jane Austen’s works with one exception. (It’s Mansfield Park. I find the heroine wishy-washy). 

So what, as writers, can we learn from going to things like this? 

Firstly, I think it does us good to step away from our desks for a bit. 

Secondly, I was reminded about what I love about Austen’s characters (with one exception!). Knowing that reminds me to make sure my characters are of the kind I would like to read about had they been invented by someone else. 

This is a good challenge to every writer. Can you see why your characters should appeal to other readers? Do they appeal to you?

These exhibitions remind me good writing is timeless. I’m sure Jane Austen would’ve been delighted to know how well her novels have gone down with so many (and continue to do so) over the centuries since her death. I expect she would’ve welcomed the royalties too! 

I can think of so many authors who continue to be inspired by her work. Pride and Prejudice was an eye-opening book because it showed me irony in fiction was a thing and it would be fine for other authors including yours truly to do it too.

The challenge to us as writers is can we make our characters grip potential readers the way Jane Austen did with the majority of hers? What does make our characters memorable for us, yet alone anyone else? 

If we can answer that, then we can know our potential readers are likely to feel the same way and they are more likely to be gripped by our stories.