THIS GENERATION’S FAMILY VOICE FROM JANE AUSTEN’S CHAWTON
Jane Austen's 5th Great-Niece
150+ International Events | Author & Heritage Preservationist | Foundation Founder
For eighteen years, I didn't study Jane Austen's world—I lived in it.
I'm Caroline Jane Knight, Jane Austen's fifth great-niece and the last of her nieces to grow up at Chawton House—the ancestral estate where Jane herself lived, wrote, and published her greatest works.
For eighteen years, I lived in the same rooms Jane knew. We shared the same furniture, walks, and family traditions. I browsed the family library looking at books she read and welcomed thousands of visitors who made the pilgrimage to her literary home.
The details of daily life at Chawton 'Great' House, as Jane called it—photographs, artifacts, heirlooms, and family stories passed down through generations—exist nowhere but in our memories and personal collections.
Now I'm sharing and preserving this irreplaceable heritage through international speaking, writing, and archival work—before it's lost forever.
Founder and Chair of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation
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Author of Jane & Me: My Austen Heritage
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Creator of Jane Austen's Niece
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Director of The Austen Knights of Chawton - A Family Archive
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Patron of Jane Austen Regency Week
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Founder and Chair of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation 〰️ Author of Jane & Me: My Austen Heritage 〰️ Creator of Jane Austen's Niece 〰️ Director of The Austen Knights of Chawton - A Family Archive 〰️ Patron of Jane Austen Regency Week 〰️
From Jane Austen to Me
I grew up at Chawton House because of an extraordinary 18th-century decision: In 1783, childless cousins Thomas and Catherine Knight chose Jane's fifteen-year-old brother Edward as their heir—on the condition he change his name from Austen to Knight.
Edward's inheritance eventually included the Chawton estate. In 1809, he offered his mother and sisters a home of their own. They chose Chawton Cottage, a short walk from Chawton House.
Jane arrived an unpublished author. In the eight years she lived in Chawton, she wrote and published her greatest works.
I am Edward's fourth great-granddaughter. Chawton House remained in our family until 1988, when I was eighteen—the last of Jane's nieces to call it home.
Childhood at Chawton House
My childhood was steeped in Jane's world. I ran through the same halls Jane knew, sat at the same dining table, and ate from the Wedgwood service she'd written about after visiting the London showroom with Edward and his daughter Fanny.
Summer weekends, I worked in the tearoom my grandmother ran from the Great Hall, meeting Jane Austen enthusiasts from around the world. I learned family stories and traditions—passed from one generation to the next.
At eighteen, inspired by Jane's spirit of independence, I left Chawton to build my own path. I spent twenty-five years as a marketing executive and CEO, leading organizations with over 2,000 employees and earning recognition including Telstra Businesswoman of the Year finalist and Honorary Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.
But Jane's legacy called me home.
Sharing and Preserving Austen Family Legacy
Following a successful business career, I returned to my Austen heritage in 2013—the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice. I now dedicate myself to sharing and preserving Jane’s legacy and authentic family story.
International Speaker & Presenter
I've presented at over 150 events worldwide—from Jane Austen Regency Week in Chawton to Colonial Williamsburg, from Melbourne to New York. I bring Jane's world to life through family stories, childhood memories, and authentic artifacts including antique Regency fashion and 19th-century editions of Pride and Prejudice.
Author of Jane & Me: My Austen Heritage
My personal memoir of my experience of growing up in Chawton—a perspective only her Chawton family can give.
Creator of Jane Austen's Niece
Weekly stories invite readers to step into Jane's world through the eyes of her family—sharing photographs, artifacts, recipes, and memories that exist nowhere else.
Director, The Austen Knights of Chawton: A Family Archive
Preserving my family's collective knowledge for Janeites, historians and future generations—digitizing photographs, recording oral histories, documenting memories across the remaining generations that knew Chawton House as our family home. We are the last to hold these memories. When we're gone, they disappear forever. That's why this preservation work matters.
Founder & Chair, Jane Austen Literacy Foundation
Since 2014, the Foundation has supported literacy programs in developing communities worldwide in Asia, Africa, Europe and Australasia, in honour of Jane—connecting through literacy, just as Jane connected with readers across centuries.
Founder, Jane Austen Literacy Foundation North American Friends
Launched in 2025, enabling Americans to directly support our literacy mission.
Patron, Jane Austen Regency Week
An annual 10-day festival in Chawton and neighbouring Alton, bringing Jane's home to life each June.
Step Into Jane’s World
Whether you want to experience Jane's family heritage in person, follow our weekly stories, or support the vital work of preserving this irreplaceable Austen and Chawton family heritage, I invite you to join me.
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