Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250

June 6 through September 14, 2025

A Lively Mind immerses viewers in the inspiring story of Jane Austen’s authorship and her gradual rise to international fame. Iconic artifacts from Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, England join manuscripts, books, and artworks from the Morgan, as well as from a dozen institutional and private collections, to present compelling new perspectives on Austen’s literary achievement, her personal style, and her global legacy.

Beginning as a teenager, Austen cultivated her imaginative powers and her ambition to publish. Encouraged by her family, especially her father and her sister Cassandra, she persevered through years of uncertainty. Her creativity found expression in a range of artistic pursuits, from music-making to a delight in fashion. The story of how Americans first encountered and responded to Austen’s novels, unbeknownst to her, emerges from four surviving copies of an unauthorized edition of Emma published during her lifetime. Following Austen’s death, family members preserved their memories of her, while carefully guarding what was publicly revealed. Austen’s audience continued to grow as those who loved her novels helped new generations of readers to appreciate them. In addition to celebrating Austen, A Lively Mind commemorates the landmark gift of Austen manuscripts to the Morgan in 1975 by Alberta H. Burke and draws extensively on the extraordinary collection she bequeathed to Goucher College in Baltimore.

Inspired by A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250, the Morgan is hosting a Summer Reading Challenge for teens.

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Organized by Dale Stinchcomb, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, and Juliette Wells, Professor of Literary Studies at Goucher College.

A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250 is made possible by generous support from the Drue Heinz Exhibitions and Programs Fund, Cynthia H. Polsky, Martha J. Fleischman, the Caroline Morgan Macomber Fund, and the Lucy Ricciardi Family Exhibition Fund, with assistance from the Morgan's Literary and Historical Manuscripts Committee, Alyce Williams Toonk, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and Susan Jaffe Tane.

Anonymous, Miniature portrait of Jane Austen, 19th century. The Morgan Library & Museum, AZ078.

Selected Images

Anonymous, Miniature portrait of Jane Austen, 19th century. The Morgan Library & Museum, AZ078.

Silhouettes of Rev. George Austen and Cassandra Leigh Austen, early nineteenth century, on loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton.

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Juvinile songs & lessons for young beginners who don’t know enough to practise
Autograph manuscript, late eighteenth century
On loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton; CHWJA:JAH19.2

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Juvinile songs & lessons for young beginners who don’t know enough to practise
Autograph manuscript, late eighteenth century
On loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton; CHWJA:JAH19.2

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Lady Susan
Autograph manuscript, ca. 1805–17
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased in 1947; MA 1226, p.1
Images provided by DIAMM on behalf of Jane Austen’s Holograph Fiction MSS: A Digital and Print Edition.

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Autograph memorandum of personal accounts, [December 1807]
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Alberta H. Burke, 1975; MA 2911.2

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Autograph letter to Cassandra Austen, Godmersham, June 20–22, 1808
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. P. Morgan Jr., 1920; MA 977.16

Martha Lloyd (1765–1843)
Household book
Autograph manuscript, ca. 1796–1830
On loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton; CHWJA:JAHB34

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Sense and Sensibility, volume 3 of 3.
London: printed for the author by C. Roworth and published by T. Egerton, 1811
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987; PML 130099, pp. 216-. 217.

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Pride and Prejudice, volume 1 of 3.
London: printed for T. Egerton, 1813
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987; PML 130100, pp. 132- 133

William Blake (1757–1827)
Portrait of Mrs. Q [Harriet Quentin], 1820
Stipple etching/engraving with mezzotint
The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Charles Ryskamp in memory of Michael S. Currier; 1998.36:4

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Autograph letter to Cassandra Austen, Bath, June 2, 1799
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. P. Morgan Jr., 1920; MA 977.4

Jane Austen’s silk pelisse, detail view
Reconstruction created by Hilary Davidson, 2018
On loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton
Photography by Luke Shear

Jane Austen’s silk pelisse
Reconstruction created by Hilary Davidson, 2018
On loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton
Photography by Jessica Halmshaw

Jane Austen’s ring, ca. 1760–80
Gold and turquoise
On loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton; CHWJA:JAH356.
Photography by Peter Smith

Morning dresses from Gallery of Fashion (London: N. Heideloff, 1798), fig. 198.
The Morgan Library & Museum; PML 5680.

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Emma, 3 vols.
London: printed for John Murray, 1816
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. P. Morgan Jr., 1928; PML 25476–78

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Opinions of Emma
Autograph manuscript, ca. 1816
British Library, London; Add MSS 41253A, fol. 9. From the British Library archive / Bridgeman Images

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Mansfield Park, volume 1 of 4.
London: printed for T. Egerton, 1814
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987; PML 130103, pp. 132- 133

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Plan of a novel, according to hints from various quarters 
Autograph manuscript, ca. 1815
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. P. Morgan Jr., 1925; MA 1034.1
Images provided by DIAMM on behalf of Jane Austen’s Holograph Fiction MSS: A Digital and Print Edition.

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Autograph letter to her niece Cassandra Austen, Notwahc [Chawton], January 8, [1817]
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. P. Morgan Jr., 1925; MA 1034.6.
Photography by Schecter Lee.

Jane Austen (1775–1817)
Emma, volume 2.
Philadelphia: M. Carey, 1816
Courtesy of Goucher College Special
Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

William Home Lizars (1788–1859), after James Andrews (1807–1875)
Jane Austen
Steel engraving
London: Richard Bentley, 1870
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. P. Morgan Jr., 1925; MA 1034.12

J. Austen: after an original family portrait
Steel engraving
[New York: 1873]
The Morgan Library & Museum, purchased by J. P. Morgan Jr., 1920; MA 977.43

Lock of Jane Austen’s hair, 1817
On loan from Jane Austen’s House, Chawton; CHWJA:JAH28

見偏与樱傲 (Ao man you bian chiene).
Hong Kong, 1961
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

Stolthet och fördom. Uddevalla, Sweden: Forum, 1968
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

De gezusters Bennet. Amsterdam: L. J. Veen, ca. 1950s
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

Orgueil et pré ugé . Paris: Fernand Hazan, 1948
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

Orgoglio e pregiudizio. Milan: Fratelli Fabbri, 1959
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

Orgoglio e pregiudizio. Milan: Editrice Piccoli, 1969
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

Gordost i predrasuda. Belgrade: Knjiga za Svakoga, 1964
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

Más fuerte que el orgullo. Barcelona: M. Arimany, Editor, 1944
Courtesy of Goucher College Special Collections & Archives, Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Collection.

Illustrations for Sense and Sensibility, 1898–99, Willoughby assists the injured Marianne Dashwood
Pen and ink on bristol board
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Alberta H. Burke; 1975.61:1

Illustrations for Sense and Sensibility, 1898–99, Mrs. Jennings’s lady’s maid seeks information from Willoughby’s groom about where Willoughby and Marianne travel while unchaperoned
Pen and ink on bristol board
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Alberta H. Burke; 1975.61:2

Illustrations for Sense and Sensibility, 1898–99, Mrs. Jennings attempts to overhear Col. Brandon’s conversation with Elinor Dashwood, in which he offers a clergyman’s living to Edward
Pen and ink on bristol board
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Alberta H. Burke; 1975.61:5

Illustrations for Sense and Sensibility, 1898–99, Charlotte Palmer, taking Elinor around her estate, laughs at everything, even her dairymaid’s frustration at losses within the poultry flock
Pen and ink on bristol board
The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Alberta H. Burke; 1975.61:6

Amy Sherald (b. 1973)
A Single Man in Possession of a Good Fortune, 2019
Oil on canvas
Collection of Lizbeth and George Krupp © Amy Sherald. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Joseph Hyde

Gallery Images