Name: Life Lessons from Women in Jane Austen’s World - workshop
Start: 2026-03-21T14:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-03-21T15:00:00+00:00
Location: Brompton Library

$Life Lessons from Women in Jane Austen\u2019s World - workshop$

Come and discover the remarkable women who lived in Jane Austen’s world - and the life lessons they still offer us.
About this Event

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, join us for an engaging and experiental workshop exploring the lives of women who shaped — and challenged — the world of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

What can we learn from the women who lived during the time of Jane Austen?

Joan Grant starts with the life of Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra, contrasting their experiences with those of their brothers - including Jane’s brother Frank, a naval officer who sailed to China escorting tea ships and was called upon to help suppress a vast pirate fleet led by a formidable female commander.

From there, we journey into the lives of extraordinary female contemporaries - among them Marie Antoinette, the Wiltshire heiress, the self-styled Princess Caraboo, Anne Lister, and Dr James Barry. Some were born into privilege, others reinvented themselves entirely; some lived quietly radical lives, while others caused scandal or rewrote the rules altogether. Through their stories, we explore the different ways women negotiated power, identity and survival in a world that rarely made space for them.

This is not a lecture, but an interactive workshop. Together we’ll reflect on these women’s lives and consider what they can teach us about resilience, courage, identity and personal growth today.

Please note: women’s lives during this period were often shaped by hardship, limitation and injustice. Some stories may touch on challenging themes, so do consider whether this feels right for you at this time.

About the speaker:

Joan Grant has lived in W10 for over 35 years. She studied Politics and Social Administration at Edinburgh University before working as a welfare rights worker and later qualifying as a solicitor.

Her first book, on the history of Ladbroke Grove, led to an appearance on BBC Radio London. Her latest book, Jane Austen’s World, was written to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.

Joan’s true passions are women’s history and personal growth. In recent years she has trained as a tour guide as a way of bringing history vividly to life. She currently leads three local tours: This is Ladbroke Grove, The Real Notting Hill, and The Rich Lesbians of Campden Hill, W8.