Neighbourhood Lectures: Jane Austen & the English Landscape

Join us in the stunning surroundings of Pennard House for a delicious 2-course lunch prepared using the very best local, seasonal ingredients. Then, after lunch, we’ll be joined by garden historian Laura Mayer for a fascinating lecture about arguably one of the most influential authors of all time and her deep relationship with the gardens of England.

2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth. Just like the English landscape garden, her novels have become one of Britain’s greatest cultural exports and made her one of the world’s most celebrated authors. Austen is justly famous for her sharp social satire, however, as this lecture will demonstrate, she was also highly attuned to the shifting sensibilities surrounding landscape.

Nature and landscape – whether real or imagined – and her characters response to these inform all of Austen’s novels, from Pride & Prejudice’s wickedly funny take on the Picturesque, to the lampooning of Humphry Repton in Mansfield Park. She was, after all, a writer who recognized that ‘to sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment’.

Come and discover more with us this September!

You may also like the following events from Neighbourhood Learning:

• Next month, 22nd September, 04:30 pm, Neighbourhood Stays: Concerto! in West Lydford
• Next month, 23rd September, 10:30 am, Neighbourhood Workshops: Willow Hare Crafting in West Lydford
• Next month, 23rd September, 10:30 am, Neighbourhood Workshops: Printing with Leaves in West Lydford

Also check out other Arts events in West Lydford, Literary Art events in West Lydford, Workshops in West Lydford.