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Jane Austen Museum Bans Fans' Ashes

Devotees were using her garden as their final resting place

By Kristina Loew, Newser User

Posted Dec 3, 2008 6:10 PM CST

(Newser) – The caretakers of Jane Austen's estate in England have issued an unusual plea to her devoted fans: Please stop having your ashes scattered in her garden. Museum representatives say they understand the passion but can't allow the practice. “It is distressing for visitors to see mounds of human ash, particularly so for our gardener," a museum official wrote to the Jane Austen Society. "Also, it is of no benefit to the garden!”

Still, that same museum official admits Austen probably would have gotten a kick out of the controversy. “I think she would think it's hilarious and be thrilled she inspired such devotion.” The author wrote many of her most famous works at the estate's cottage, including Emma, Persuasion, and Pride and Prejudice.

[Images (5)]

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The home of novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817) in Chawton, near Alton, Hampshire, which is now a museum. (Getty Images)

English novelist Jane Austen from an original family portrait. (Getty Images)

English novelist Jane Austen. (Getty Images)

circa 1800: The signature of English novelist Jane Austen. (Getty Images)

Elinor Dashwood talking to Lucy Steele in a scene from Jane Austen's 'Sense And Sensibility'. (Getty Images)

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While we understand many admirers of Jane Austen would love to have ashes laid here, it is something we do not allow.
- Louise West, Collections Manager

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Jane Austen Museum Bans Fans' Ashes