News for Austen Enthusiasts: January 2026

Here's all the Jane Austen news and updates you might have missed in January 2026.

Jane Austen podcast answers all of your tricky Austen questions

At the end of 2025, The Conversation launched their new Jane Austen podcast, Jane Austen's Paper Trail. Each episode discusses a different aspect of Jane Austen's life, building a narrative using the surprisingly scant information we have. In the most recent episode, the host discusses and debates some of the hottest contested questions about Jane Austen's life, from her religious beliefs to what she might have thought about social media. 

Listen at The Conversation >>

Two Jane Austen exhibitions come to Greenwich

It's quite amazing how many different approaches you can take to Jane Austen's life and works. In his new post, Ian Mansfield looks at two very different exhibitions currently on display in Greenwich, London. The first is at the Greenwich Fan Museum (I know, I didn't know this one existed either!), charting the social importance of fans as an accessory. The exhibition, titled 'Fans in the Age of Jane Austen', gives visitors a fascinating look into the fan's political importance in Jane Austen's lifetime. Then, along the road at the National Maritime Museum, you can see a display about the naval lives of Jane Austen's brothers, Francis and Charles. A grand day out if you're in the capital!

Charity buys phone box with Jane Austen link

The Bath Preservation Trust has acquired a derelict phone box on Gravel Walk for the princely sum of £1. Why? Well, the street was immortalised in Jane Austen's Persuasion, and the charity is hoping to restore it to its former glory, with some information about the area's historical significance inside. This is part of a growing trend for installing micromuseums in disused red phone boxes! 

Jane Austen was surprisingly tall

Dress historian Hilary Davidson has studied the proportions of a pelisse belonging to Jane Austen, and her findings are quite remarkable. By looking at the measurements, she has found that it's likely Jane Austen may have been as tall as 5ft8. Now, that's pretty tall for a woman even nowadays, but, with average heights for women at the start of the nineteenth century falling around the five-foot mark, Jane Austen may have towered over her peers. Does that change your mental image of her?

Regency-themed balls are booming!

It's not just Jane Austen's 250th - Regency balls are all the rage. A growing community of Regency enthusiasts, spurred on by Jane Austen and the popularity of Bridgerton, is building around the Regency reenactment ball. Events are springing up all over the place, bringing together dance enthusiasts, budding seamstresses, and voracious readers. The Guardian has written a lengthy feature on this phenomenon, full of pictures of fans in all kinds of Regency costume. 

Bridgerton is back!

Season 4 of Bridgerton is here, and it's raunchy as ever. This season, it's the rakish Benedict Bridgerton's turn to fall in love. His love interest is Sophie Baek, played by Australian actress Yerin Ha. We're promised a Cinderella twist to Sophie's story. The first half of the season has already arrived on Netflix, but binge-watchers will have to wait until February 26th to find out what happens at the end of season 4.

Read more at The Guardian >>

Jane Austen-themed Airbnbs to spice up your holiday plans for 2026

If you're looking to book your holidays for 2026, a Jane Austen-themed tour of England is a classic. Purewow has aggregated the best Airbnb properties and hotels available for Jane Austen fans who want to stay in Regency style. The list includes properties in Bath, Chawton, and London, as well as one in New York City for our friends across the pond.

Read more at Purewow >>