We are giving three illustrated talks in July. The first one is at the Ways With Words festival at Dartington in Devon. Our talk is “Why Jane Austen Loves a Sailor”, concentrating on the themes of Mansfield Park (which is 200 years old this year), in particular the Royal Navy. The talk is on Monday 7th July 2014 in the Barn, 10am, tickets £10. See www.wayswithwords.co.uk.

The next talk is on “Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England” at the Penzance Literary Festival on Thursday 17th July, at 2.30pm, in the gorgeous Morrab Library, Morrab Gardens, Penzance, TR18 4DA. This festival has really cheap tickets for its events, and our event there costs just £3, and £1 for concessions! Tickets can be booked here.

We are also giving our “Why Jane Austen Loves a Sailor” at the huge English Heritage “History Live!” festival, which takes place on the weekend of 19th and 20th July at Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire. Over 2,000 re-enactors and performers will bring the story of England to life, including battles, talks, live music, a historic market and a real-ale bar. Our talk is at 10.30am on Saturday 19th July.The talk will look at Mansfield Park, naval history and Jane Austen, and we hope you will find it fascinating, even if you hate Jane Austen! For further information, see here – the talks are always popular, so you need to pick up a free ticket at the BBC History Magazine tent once you arrive. The English Heritage Events Guide gives the prices of the entrance to the event, and these range from £13 for a day pass for an English Heritage adult member (£23 for non-members) to £53 for a family weekend pass (£100 for non-members).