By Moosa Saeed
It is no myth that Jane Austen is well-known for being one of the leading novelists in the English language. She is primarily known for books such as “Pride and Prejudice”, “Sense and Sensibility”, “Mansfield Park” and others.
Exactly 200 years after her death on the 18th of July, 1817, Jane Austen is being honored with a life-size bronze statue situated in her birthplace of Steventon, in southern England.
The statue was created by sculptor Adam Roud and took him five months to complete.
“It is my own interpretation of her,” says the sculptor.
The only confirmed portrait of the author, a watercolor sketch drawn by her sister Cassandra, hangs in the UK’s National Portrait Gallery in London. Roud said he was aware of the image: “That has been hovering in the back of my mind,” he said, “but really I’d have preferred if that painting hadn’t existed at all.”
A flower festival and a series of exhibitions will also be in the area to mark the bicentenary of her death.
The brain behind the celebration was that of local Parliament member, Maria Miller, who said that she wanted to do something memorable for the esteemed author’s death anniversary.
