Austen talk for creative costumed storyteller

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth and her books have given us characters we've fallen in love with, as well as a glimpse into a different era.

- GILLIAN ADAMS

There's more to the novelist's life than her writing, and costumed interpreter, Emma Hughes, will be delving into the past and giving a talk on Jane Austen at The Poly in Falmouth on August 14.

Emma, who is based in Cornwall, said: "A lot of people think of Jane Austen and picture the Regency period that's depicted in her novels, but I was really interested to look at what life was like in Great Britain in 1775, the year that she was born.

"There were enormous changes happening in politics, science and industry, and these all had a huge impact on everyday life. The society Jane was born into was very different from the one she would write about 30 years later, and I wanted to explore how those changes shape her life and her work. There will of course be historic clothing, but it won't be Regency!"

The stories that Jane told have an enduring appeal and give us an insight into the relationships and society of the day. Emma said: "Her stories are very human; her observations about people and society are sharp and witty. She can make the reader both laugh and cry.

"Like Shakespeare, she taps into the kind of emotions that we all feel from time to time, and even though her works are now 200 years old there's still plenty we can identify with in the modern world. Underneath the changing fashions, human beings don't really change very much."