(Photo credit for title image: Maquette of Jane Austen statue by Martin Jennings. Courtesy the artist/Steve Russell Studios)
In December of 2025, Jane Austen will turn 250 years old! To commemorate the event, Winchester Cathedral has commissioned a £100,000 ($128,000) life-sized statue of the author.
Austen lived the last years of her life in Winchester and is buried in the cathedral, and the statue will stand near her memorial gravestone.
The 5 foot statue will depict Austen, looking off into the distance, her fingers grazing the table that holds her paper, quill, and ink pot.
Martin Jennings, the artist, has sculpted many authors, including Charles Dickens and George Orwell. Jennings also recently created the portrait of King Charles III used on commemorative coins. Jennings notes that the statue of Austen will be “a work of imagination.” He adds, “We don’t know very much at all about what she looked like. I want the sculpture to express her spirit.”
Winchester Cathedral probably thought people would love this idea—or at least not care much about it—but it has sparked a wealth of controversy. Here’s why:
This site is ending, so I’ve moved this post. Read the rest here and find out why Winchester and even some Austenites are against it.
17 responses to “What’s So Controversial About the New Statue of Jane Austen?”
I don’t understand the point of controversy
People do seem to like to argue about things.
Wouldn’t it be great if people got along
You make LOTS of good points here. However, I’ve seen the statue and it’s ugly, is why I’m against it. It doesn’t – to me – convey Austen’s wonderful spirit in the least.
No objection to the idea of a statue of her at ALL, and one statue does NOT a Disney World make… It’s just that this one’s rubbish, unfortunately.
I’m also reminded of my grandfather, General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who led the 101st Airborne by parachute on D-Day.
He was asked if he wanted a statue of himself at West Point (which he attended, and also, in later years, led). He said, ‘No, no. I’d much rather have people ask, “Why isn’t there a statue of General Taylor?” than ask why there is one.”
Your grandfather sounds like a wise man.
It’s an interesting point. What do you do if you commission a statue by a renowned artist and then don’t like it? Must be a tough conversation to have.
I love your grandfather’s comment, Alice. 🙂
I’ve been to Winchester, seen the plaque in the cathedral, walked to the house where she died. But no selfies. I’m not a selfie person.
A lot of those arguments are, to me, nonsense. One statue does not Disneyland make, and there are certainly plenty of statues to other people (King Alfred, anyone????). Further, for people complaining about the money, that money would not otherwise be used for other things. If not for the statue, the money would not be there. It’s not being diverted from the roof fund. That’s not how directed donations work.
If people think there should be a statue to Mr Walker, they are welcome to raise the funds for it. It would be a worthy thing. But it’s not a case of one or the other.
My only objection is the statue itself. It’s not very nice, is it? Hmmmm…. Surely the artist could have come up with something a bit more visually attractive. Surely!!!
And maybe that’s the real reason people are against it, but no one wants to say it?
FYI, the image you included is NOT “Water color of Jane Austen by sister Cassandra Austen”. The one here has been ‘prettified’. In Cassandra’s painting, Jane looks like she has a headache.
It has been, yes. I tried really hard to find a picture of the original without violating any rights. I thought it’d be easy because that must be in the public domain by now, but I had trouble and gave up. I gave it a good go, though. Sometimes finding the pictures is a bit of a headache.
I found it! I replaced it.
It’s not the prettiest statue. I agree something more visually attractive. The pics of her gravesite and plaque are good and the house.
Those are all beautiful. If we saw the statue in the courtyard of the cathedral, would we be touched by it and think it was beautiful to see in person (instead of in a photograph)? Definitely worth a trip to England to find out…
I actually found the statue interesting, Kirstin. And I’m sure it looks better in person than in a photo. I’ve always wished we had a good painting of Jane Austen. It’s a shame that we don’t know exactly what she looked like. Would also like to know if she ever fell in love.
I thought the statue was kind of interesting too!
Yes to both of those. Sometimes I think her real love story was with her sister Cassandra. They seemed to have a very special bond.
I took one today as a “loud and obnoxious” Americanized Asian living <1 hour away from Winchester, though my friend was the one snapping the photo for me! I felt like the statue looked nothing like any of the paintings of Jane Austen, hence my happening upon your post to see what others think about the statue.
That is interesting that you got to see it in person! Glad you got a photo.