9 December 2020
A moving short story called “A Bed of Roses” won Lower Sixth Former Sophie first prize in the age 11-17 fiction category in the Jane Austen’s House writing competition, which attracted entries from all across the globe. Jane Austen's House is a small museum in the 17th-century house which was Jane Austen's final home, and where she wrote all her novels. The theme of the competition was 'Little Matters and Universal Truths', inspired by Jane Austen's life, home and genius - and in response to lockdown and the small-scale way in which we've all been living our lives this year.
The competition received a huge amount of entries, testament to Jane Austen’s enduring popularity including with Sophie, who commented: “When I first saw the competition, I entered straight away because Jane Austen is my favourite author and I love creative writing. My plot was inspired slightly by my English GCSE coursework in terms of the themes involved so I loved having the opportunity to explore these further and challenge myself to translate them into a short story. It was an amazing experience to try to write something using my favourite author as an inspiration, and having my piece recognised as a winner just made it even more incredible!”
Sophie won an annual pass to Jane Austen’s House and a selection of Jane Austen goodies. Her story has been published on the Jane Austen’s House website and you can read it here.