The Watsons
Jane Austen
We shall enjoy a unique stay in Oxford to view one of Jane Austen’s few remaining original manuscripts – The Watsons, which lay unfinished at her untimely death at the age of 41.
Jane spent much of 1783 in Oxford staying with Mrs. Cawley, who was married to Ralph Cawley,
principal of Brasenose College. Jane was seven years old at the time.
She began work on an untitled novel in about 1803, while she was living in Bath, and probably abandoned it after her father's death in January 1805. It had no formal chapters and was approximately 7,500 words long. The fragment was given the title of The Watsons and published in 1871 by her nephew,
James Edward Austen-Leigh, in the revised edition of his A Memoir of Jane Austen.
On her death in 1817, the original manuscript covered 80 pages and was inherited by her sister, Cassandra.
It then passed to other family relations until it was divided up in 1915 - the smaller part was acquired by the Morgan Library in New York in 1925 and the remaining larger section was bought by the Bodleian Library in Oxford in 2011.
We have access to the Bodleian portion for a unique Private Viewing.
SCHEDULE
DAY ONE
All day: Assemble at Old Bank Hotel, Oxford
15:00 - Welcome and start of Event at Hotel
16:00 - Jane Austen and her family - Lecture by Gill Hornby, author of "Miss Austen" (book and TV series)
17:30 - Jane Austen and The Watsons - Lecture
20:00 - Supper and Stay at Hotel
DAY TWO
from 07:00 - Breakfast
10:00 - Walk to Brasenose College
10:30 - Jane Austen and Oxford - Lecture at Brasenose
12:00 - Welcome at Bodleian Library
12:15 - Tour of Bodleian and Private View of THE WATSONS original manuscript
14:15 - Afternoon Tea at the Bodleian
15:00 - Free time in Oxford
18:00 - Evensong at Worcester College Chapel (optional)
21:00 - Compline at Magdalen College Chapel (optional)
Stay at Hotel
DAY THREE
from 07:00 - Breakfast
10:00 - Group Photograph and end of event
(Please note this schedule may change)
Booking is now open…….no need to pay now.
There are 30 places available for this special two-night event.
The cost of the Event and sharing a double/twin room in the Old Bank Hotel is £4,975 per person.
The cost of the Event and a single room is £5,575.
UK VAT at 20% will be added for all Guests.
A payment will be made to the Bodleian Library to assist with the preservation of this document
for future generations.
No need to pay now - just register your interest in joining us by sending an email to