News for Austen Enthusiasts: November 2025

It's finally here - the month of Jane Austen's 250th birthday. All of this year, we have been finding ways to celebrate a quarter millennium of Jane Austen, from hosting balls to excellent exhibitions to our biggest annual Jane Austen Festival yet. Though the year is coming to a close, we're not done yet. Next weekend will mark our grand finale - the Yuletide Jane Austen Birthday Ball. Although it is indeed completely sold out and the waitlist is full, we can't wait to see all the pictures from next weekend's event. 

Anyway, for those of us who can't be there, Christmas approaches. For me, that means queuing up the 1995 Pride and Prejudice boxset for a big rewatch. What are your Jane Austen Christmas traditions?

Here's all the Jane Austen news and updates you might have missed in November! 

80-year-old author aims to fight poverty with Austen-inspired novella

Many have attempted to write a Jane Austen spin-off, with varying degrees of success. What the founder and editor-in-chief of The Big Issue, John Bird, sets out to do differently, is use his story to raise money to end poverty. His novella Dirty Austen adds grit and raunch to the lives of two minor characters from Pride and Prejudice, with half of the sales proceeds going to fight poverty and homelessness.

Read more at the Big Issue >>

Jane Austen slate to dominate Radio 4 in December

The BBC are committing to all things Austen this Christmas season with a slate of programming all about Jane. Starting on December 6th, dramatised audio versions of all of her novels will be available on BBC Sounds, alongside her juvenilia and factual programming. The programming will feature a gallery of familiar faces, including Emma Thompson, Tamsin Greig, and Colm Tóibín.

Read the press release from the BBC >>

UK MPs to debate cultural significance of Jane Austen

On December 18th, UK parliamentarians will debate the cultural significance of Jane Austen, in a discussion put forward by Labour Party MP Luke Murphy. The debate will be undertaken by the Backbench Business Committee and will be available to stream online, with a transcript made available shortly after. 

Read more on the UK Parliament website >>

Esquire encourages men to pick up a Jane Austen novel

Historically, Jane Austen has always been considered a woman's author. Though her undeniable talent has gained the respect of the male-dominated literary establishment over the decades, her fans remain overwhelmingly female. I personally believe that men could have a lot to gain from giving her a short - Henry Wong from Esquire agrees. In this article, he argues for the continuing cultural relevance of our favourite author for men and women alike. 

Read the Esquire article >>

'Gowns and Gore' films to turn up the scare factor on Brontë and Austen

With all the hype surrounding Emerald Fennell's upcoming Wuthering Heights, Rebecca J Matthews' Wuthering Heights - The House of the Damned has flown under the radar. Munich and Los Angeles-based company ScaryContent has commissioned it as the first in a series of 'Gowns and Gore' horror adaptations of classics, with Emily Brontë's novel to be followed up by Pride And Prejudice: Serial Killers. What do we think? Do these ideas have horror potential, or is this a disaster in the making?

Read more at Screen Daily >> 

Austentatious marks 250 years of Austen with celebrity guests

Austentatious, the improvised Jane Austen show, has become a forum for improvisers both fresh and seasoned to try their hand at something new - period improv. The show's reputation has grown over the years, with many recognisable faces joining the cast. However, this festive season, they're to be joined by a rotating cast of comedy heavyweights, including Peep Show's Paterson Joseph, Stephen Mangan and Mel Giedroyc. Sounds like a great time to grab your tickets for a fun and festive night out.

Read more at Beyond the Joke >>

Meet your new Bridgerton leading lady

As we await the release of Bridgerton's fourth season in the new year, we've been devouring all the tidbits of info we can. As with every preceding season, we've got a new leading lady on the cards. This season, we can expect to see lots of Yerin Ha, the Australian-Korean actress who will play Benedict Bridgerton's new love interest Sophie Baek. It looks to be quite the Cinderella story...

Read more in Tatler >>

AS ALWAYS, WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW IF WE HAVE MISSED ANYTHING, AS WELL AS ALL YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEWS!