– Chiswick to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with Gill Hornby, president of the Jane Austen Society and author of Miss Austen.
– ‘Jane Austen: Fact and Fiction’ will also feature the director and cast members of the hit BBC drama series Miss Austen on September 11th at Chiswick House & Gardens.
Xanthe Arvanitakis, Director of Chiswick House & Gardens Trust, and Torin Douglas, Director of the Chiswick Book Festival, are delighted to announce details of a sparkling event on Thursday September 11th, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen in the beautiful surroundings of Chiswick House & Gardens, where Austen’s characters would have felt at home.
Gill Hornby, the incoming President of the Jane Austen Society and the author of the novel Miss Austen, a fictionalised exploration of Austen and her sister Cassandra, alongside other works about the celebrated writer, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Chiswick Book Festival evening.
Beloved by Austenites, Hornby’s bestselling novel was turned into a four-part BBC drama this year, to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Jane’s birth. Gill will discuss ‘Jane Austen: Fact and Fiction’ in conversation with the director of the hit BBC drama series, Aisling Walsh, illustrated with clips from the programmes. Chiswick actors Phyllis Logan and Kevin McNally, who played Jane Austen’s parents, will read book extracts and the event will be chaired by Torin Douglas.
Xanthe Arvanitakis, Director of Chiswick House & Gardens Trust says: “We’re delighted to welcome local book lovers to Chiswick House & Gardens for the Chiswick Book Festival, and we can’t wait for this exciting Jane Austen-themed event, which we’ll sure will be a hit with Book Festival regulars and new attendees alike.
“The annual literary festival is part of a lively programme of events at Chiswick House & Gardens Trust, where we aim to provide something for everyone, from nature lovers, to families with small children – and, of course, history aficionados and literature lovers. As a charity that is 75% supporter funded we exist because of and for our community, and hosting the festival is part of our commitment to being a place and space that people enjoy all year round.”
Torin Douglas, Director of the Chiswick Book Festival, says: “The Festival’s Chiswick House evening is always a highlight for book lovers in west London but this year is particularly special. We’re honoured to be welcoming the new president of the Jane Austen Society, Gill Hornby, and from the BBC drama series Miss Austen, Aisling Walsh, Phyllis Logan and Kevin McNally, who all live in Chiswick and love Chiswick House”.
Notes for editors
Gill Hornby
Gill Hornby’s third Austen novel, after the Sunday Times best-sellers Miss Austen and Godmersham Park, is The Elopement which has just been published . Read more from her publisher
Gill Hornby will be speaking in the Garden Pavilion at Chiswick House & Gardens on the evening of Thursday 11 September 2025, with tickets for the event on sale from late June.
About Chiswick House & Gardens
Chiswick House & Gardens is a thriving 350 year old haven in West London, open for everyone every day. Teeming with nature, stories and activities, our spectacular Grade I listed gardens are completely free to roam thanks to our supporters. As a charity, our mission is to keep Chiswick House & Gardens flourishing today and for the next 350 years. Everyone and their dog can stroll, play, learn, relax and meet here and we’re also 75% visitor and supporter funded, so we wouldn’t exist without the community around us.
Internationally recognised and locally loved, the gardens are home to lots of wonderful wildlife and trees that clean and cool the air. At the centre of our 65 acres we run an open, working Kitchen Garden where everyone is invited to wander, taste what’s growing, or enjoy activities that we run with and for our local community. We’re proud to have a special place in design history as the first ever English landscape garden and rose garden. Memories have been made here since the mid-1700s, rooted deeply amongst the trees, architecture, lake and historic walls.
Chiswick House & Gardens, Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London W4 2RP
chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk
Instagram: @chiswick_house
Contact marketing@chgt.org.uk for further queries.
About the 17th Chiswick Book Festival, September 10th to 15th 2025
The Chiswick Book Festival brings together many of the country’s top authors and their readers in aid of charities. The 17th Festival will open on Wednesday September 10th with the Local Authors Showcase at the George IV pub, followed by the Chiswick House evening and a wide range of speakers at other venues. In 2025, a well as celebrating the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen, it is marking the 150th anniversary of Bedford Park, the pioneering Arts & Crafts colony of artists, writers and actors, and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Tickets will go on sale in late June at https://www.chiswickbookfestival.net. The Festival is a non-profit-making community event and all profits will be donated to four charities: St Michael & All Angels Church, which runs and hosts the festival, and three reading charities: Read for Good, Koestler Arts and Read Easy Ealing.
www.chiswickbookfestival.net. X: @W4bookfest Instagram:@chiswickbookfest Facebook: @chiswickbookfest