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Jane Austen's Worthing Echoes: Unfinished Novel's Seaside Roots
7 Dec
Summary
- Jane Austen visited Worthing in 1805, staying at Stanford's Cottage.
- Her visit to the coastal town inspired her final unfinished novel, Sanditon.
- Austen engaged with local life, winning a raffle and attending church.
Jane Austen's profound connection to Worthing, West Sussex, is being highlighted as the world celebrates her 250th birth anniversary. In September 1805, Austen resided at Stanford's Cottage, now the site of a Pizza Express, during a period of significant development for the coastal town. This immersion in Worthing's evolving seaside culture is recognized as a key inspiration for her last, incomplete novel, 'Sanditon'.
During her eight-month stay, Austen, accompanied by her mother, sister Cassandra, and friend Martha Lloyd, actively participated in local life. Records indicate her involvement in a raffle, attendance at Broadwater Church, and witnessing an affidavit. She also encountered Edward Ogle, a property developer whose vision for Worthing as a fashionable resort likely informed Austen's literary depictions.
