Annotation and Inscription, by Francesca Kavanagh
This talk explores the inscriptions and annotations made by unmarried women of the Austen-Knight family in books from their family library, now on loan to Chawton House. It examines the books and inscriptions of Jane Austen’s niece Marianne Knight (1801–96) to show how unmarried women used books to carve out a space for themselves within the patriarchal household.
Marianne managed her father’s house and then spent the remainder of her long life at the homes of brothers and nephews. Her books remain in the Austen-Knight library as a record of her claim to the family home and the relationships between the women that supported it.