The sparkling prose of Nancy Mitford is the perfect antidote to a dose of shingles.

This drawing shows Jane Austen and her big sister Cassandra gathering greenery to decorate their father's church and their home at Steventon Rectory for Christmas.

Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra, shown in this illustration here waving off their cousin Eliza.

We know that Jane Austen liked to tantalise her family with extra snippets of information about her creations, and she searched for likenesses of Lizzy and Jane Bennet at a portait exhibition in London.

This wonderful Wedgwood plate dates from around 1810. It is a perfect example of the restrained elegance and charm of Wedgwood’s designs. I lifted it down very carefully from the corner cupboard where it lives, and took it out into the garden for an airing.

When Jane Austen visited Bath with her brother Edward and sister-in-law Elizabeth in June 1799 she was as excited as most young women in their early twenties would be at the prospect of shopping.

In the spring of 1801 Jane Austen was coming to terms with the imminent loss of her home at Steventon Rectory and the dispersal of her father’s library

This is my dream house. An early 18th-century Georgian property in Gloucestershire.

For those of us who have had a wintry week instead of a taste of spring, it’s reassuring to know that early March was unpredictable in Jane Austen’s time also.