CAROLINE
JANE KNIGHT
Step into Jane Austen’s world, through the eyes of her family.
Jane Austen’s fifth great-niece
The last of Jane Austen’s nieces to grow up at Chawton House on the ancestral estate where Jane herself lived, wrote and published her most famous novels.
Through the Eyes of Her Family
Caroline Jane Knight, Jane Austen's fifth great-niece
I'm Caroline Jane Knight, Jane Austen's fifth great-niece — and I grew up in Jane Austen’s Chawton, not as a scholar or researcher, but as a member of her family.
For eighteen years, Chawton House was my home. I shared the same rooms Jane knew, browsed the same family library, heard the same family stories passed down through generations, and ate from the same Wedgwood dinner service she accompanied my fourth great-grandfather Edward to choose in London in 1813. My summers were spent working in Granny's tearoom in the Great Hall, meeting Jane Austen lovers who had made the pilgrimage from every corner of the world to her literary home in our village.
It is my mission to share and preserve my Austen family heritage for Janeites, historians and future generations. Every week, I share Jane Austen family stories — childhood memories from Chawton House, family heirlooms Jane herself knew, photographs and insights from our private family archive that exist nowhere else.
This is Jane Austen's world through the eyes of her family.
Jane Austen's Niece — Weekly Stories
Every week, I share Jane Austen family stories that exist nowhere else — childhood memories from Chawton House, photographs from our private collection, recipes from the Knight Family Cookbook, heirlooms Jane herself knew, and insights into her life and world that only her family can give.
Join readers in 30 countries who step into Jane's world through her family's eyes. Your subscription directly supports the preservation of Jane Austen's family heritage for future generations.
Free monthly stories or subscribe for weekly access from US$10 per month.
Experience Jane Austen’s World In Person
In Person and Virtual Events
From state libraries and literary festivals to private gatherings and Jane Austen societies, I bring Jane's world to life through family stories, childhood memories of Chawton House, antique Regency fashion and authentic artifacts from our private collection — including the Wedgwood dinner service Jane herself ate from.
I've presented at over 150 events across four continents — from Jane Austen Regency Week in Chawton to Colonial Williamsburg, from Melbourne to Delhi — in person and virtually. Whether you're planning a live event or a virtual gathering, I'd love to bring this unique Austen family perspective to your audience.
Featured in:
‘We four sweet Brothers & Sisters dine today at the Great House. Is not that quite natural?’
Jane Austen wrote to her niece Caroline Austen on March 2, 1815.
The Wedgwood dinner set Jane Austen wrote about and ate from, owned by my family and used throughout my childhood. It was last used for my parent’s 60th wedding anniversary, in 2025.
“We then went to Wedgwood's where my brother and Fanny chose a Dinner Set...the pattern is a small Lozenge in purple, between Lines of narrow Gold; - and it is to have the Crest.”
Jane wrote to Cassandra on September 16, 1813
These Stories Will Be Lost Forever—Unless We Preserve Them Now
The Austen Knights of Chawton - A Family Archive
My family are the last to have lived at Chawton House. We hold irreplaceable memories, stories, photographs, artifacts and insights that exist nowhere else on earth.
My parents still own the Wedgwood dinner set chosen when Jane visited the London showroom with her brother Edward. We carry memories of what it was like to live in the ancestral home of the Austen Knight family—the sounds of the fire roaring in the Great Hall, the delights of Snap-Dragon on Christmas Eve, the weight of 400 years of family history in every corner.
When my generation is gone, these first-hand Austen family insights disappear.
That's why I'm preserving my family's collective knowledge—documenting memories, traditions, family stories and artifacts, digitizing hundreds of photographs, and creating what will become the most comprehensive archive of life at Chawton House ever assembled. Every subscription and membership supports this vital heritage preservation work.
What's Being Preserved:
Hundreds of photographs spanning multiple generations at Chawton
Family memories from those who lived in Chawton ‘Great’ House, as Jane called it
Oral histories and recorded voices before they're lost
Artifacts and heirlooms Jane herself would have known
Stories that bring her world to life in ways only her family can share
This isn't just about enjoying Jane Austen today. It's about ensuring her family's voice survives for tomorrow.
We're the last generation to hold these memories. Some family members have already passed, taking their memories with them. Join us in preserving what remains.
Click for more information about the archive and how to become a Jane Austen family heritage supporter:
Welcome To The Family
Whether you're a devoted Janeite or just discovering Austen's world, you'll find a warm welcome here.
This is an invitation into Jane's family, where her stories live on through the memories, artifacts, and voices of those who knew her world firsthand.
I'm delighted you've found your way here, and I hope you'll join me in preserving these precious stories.
I'm pictured here on the right with (L to R) my brother Paul, my mother Carol, and my father Jeremy Knight at the South door of Chawton House in 1987, when it was still our family home.
Please Join Me:
Membership Subscription for Weekly Stories — US$100/year (or $10 per month) Full access to the last 6 months of Jane Austen’s Niece articles and exclusive new weekly content from Jane Austen’s family. Your subscription supports our heritage preservation work.
Become a Sustaining Member — US$250/year Everything above plus signed book, private Chawton gatherings, annual virtual events, and recognition as one of the first 100 heritage supporters.
Or begin with Free Monthly Updates Monthly glimpses into Jane's world delivered to your inbox.
Bring Jane's world to life through family stories, artifacts, heritage.
Weekly stories, family heritage, memories, photos and artifacts
