‘a’ space arts: Jane Austen Exhibition at God’s House Tower

In Training for a Heroine celebrated Jane Austen as a young, ambitious writer at the beginning of her career, centring around her travelling writing desk – a treasured possession on loan from the British Library. Exhibited at God’s House Tower from November 2024 to February 2025, the desk symbolised a world of opportunity and imagination, with extracts from Austen’s letters offering insight into her life and time in Southampton. Supported by Southampton Forward, the exhibition was part of the Jane Austen at GHT programme, which also included a contemporary art commission, No Notion of Loving by Halves by Jocelyn McGregor, marking the start of a year-long celebration of Austen’s 250th birthday in Southampton and beyond.