Mr Sunak, you have delighted us long enough (as Jane Austen might say)

As we move towards the 250th anniversary of the beloved novelist’s birth, Dr Gabrielle Malcolm writes on the modern lessons in Austen’s work: from the election to ‘cancel culture’ to toxic relationships...

Austen, too, witnessed the clamour of ‘cancel culture’ and so-called ‘culture wars’ and division (PA Wire)

The more I see of the world; the more I am dissatisfied with it …”

So says Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Austen’s most famous “obstinate, headstrong” and outspoken heroine.

She’s right – for we are living in interesting times, to say the least. It is a year of elections around the world. “Loyalty”, “tradition” and “common sense” are well-worn catchphrases and used to gain purchase in the popularity stakes. Voices are being raised in judgement and calls are constantly being made for “cancellation”. It is easy to view the whole thing with distaste and cynicism.

With this turbulence in mind, what relevance does Jane Austen still have today, if any?

We are moving towards the 250th anniversary of the beloved novelist’s birth, in 2025. Yet, far from being old-fashioned, ornate and overtaken by the more youthful, sexy Bridgerton, Austen actually did it all first: 200 years ago she skewered toxic relationships and masculinity; conquered the wellbeing mindset; and managed a pathway through austerity when hit hard by circumstances beyond her control. In her novels, letters and legacy she offers a guide and gentle reminders of how to weather the storm we are currently living through.

I believe we should heed the lessons she taught us and make a celebration of her life. That is why I’m curating two weeks of events (in April and October) for 2025, to try to show how relevant she is today – and reflect how her work can be a guide for us all in these unsettled modern times. (Austen, too, witnessed the clamour of “cancel culture” and so-called “culture wars” and division).

Austen was also no stranger to the idea of “toxic relationships” and what that meant in families and love affairs. She skewered these for what they were – difficult, uneven and exploitative. She created characters that come to life off the page in the reader’s mind and in adaptations for stage and screen. She reminded us that cheaters rarely prosper and fidelity is rewarded.

We might see modern-day figures in Fanny Price in Mansfield Park, who defies the treatment meted out to her by Aunt Norris and is a fixed point in the story; remaining true to her principles and values. Happiness is her reward. This does not make her the most popular of Austen’s characters, but she is convincing and effective.

Meanwhile, Anne Elliot navigates the disappointment of her vain father and sister with such quiet intelligence and determination she demands our admiration as a “rational creature”. This mature, sensible figure in Austen’s final complete novel Persuasion, represents a quietly revolutionary character from a time when agency was denied to so many women – as is exemplified in so many trailblazing women today.

The wellbeing mindset was also something that Austen conquered convincingly. She knew the benefits of reading, walking, spending time in solitude or among company, according to your needs. That is why I want to curate an experience allowing people to literally walk in the writer’s footsteps. Inspiration can be found on the routes that Austen took, to Sion Hill, along the Royal Crescent or around the Sydney Gardens.

The structure and intensity of her novels, and the power of her characters, have created a body of work that brings comfort and therapeutic benefits to readers. The first “Janeites” appear in Rudyard Kipling’s 1923 short story of that name. They are First World War veterans who read Austen’s novels and developed an abiding appreciation of them as a way of combatting the trauma of warfare and its aftermath. Austen was a comfort and offered a sense of home and security.

We are living through a cost of living crisis and age of austerity – Austen also knew what it was to face austerity and hard times beyond her control. When dealing with the death of her father and the family’s downward spiral on the social scale, she had little agency and needed to rely on the patronage of relatives and friends. Her achievements as a novelist are the more significant for that. She was an early feminist; resisting the pull of marriage (to the charmingly named Harris Bigg-Wither), in order to eventually enjoy the life of a writer, however short-lived.

To celebrate her, I want to delve into the breadth of her appeal, signify what the city of Bath meant to her and her fiction – and illuminate and celebrate her life and times. I want to emphasise the importance of textiles, embroidery and fashion; to look at the influence of gambling and gaming in the “stupefying” atmosphere of the Assembly Rooms where lives and fortunes could be ruined overnight.

Austen’s power and talent means that, according to Professor Cornel West, she can both “transcend her age” and be “a child of her age”. She is the role model we need.

Dr Gabrielle Malcolm writes and lectures about Jane Austen in popular culture and the global fan phenomena surrounding Austen’s work. Strictly Jane Austen Tours’ 250th-anniversary celebrations will be held at the Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel in 2025