Scrambling for cash

Chawton House Library, the “Great House” once owned by Jane Austen's brother Edward, is seeking to raise around £150,000 over the next 18 months to stay open after a longtime backer withdrew support. (The £150,000 is just to keep the doors open while they apply for millions in capital grants. Clearly, keeping a space like this up and running ain't cheap.) Chawton House Library has been open to the public since 2015, and serves as a celebration of Austen's work—it features an original manuscript in Austen’s own hand, as well as first and early editions of her novels—and that of other female authors.