Is the row about Jane Austen anything more than a storm in a teacup?

Is the row about Jane Austen anything more than a storm in a teacup?
Rebecca Nicholson
© Provided by The Guardian
Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
There is an old meme of a wonky coat hook, its “fists” raised, with the caption “drunk octopus wants to fight” and, increasingly, when I read yet another story in which historical institutions are attacked for talking about history, this is the image that comes to mind. Put ’em up, facts. Let’s take this outside.
After Richard Deverell, the head of Kew Gardens, had to fend off critics accusing him of “preposterous posturing” for acknowledging Kew’s roots in colonialism and changing display boards to give more information on the history of its collections, and after the head of the National Trust, Hilary McGrady, had to defend what she called “telling really interesting stories about our properties”, which includes information about how the slave trade funded the building of some of those properties, now Jane Austen’s House Museum in Hampshire has been forced to issue a statement explaining that its plans to “refresh the displays and decorations” did not amount to “woke madness” or even “revisionism”, of which it had been accused.

Related Keywords

Hollywood ,California ,United States ,Annie Mac ,Hilary Mcgrady ,Richard Deverell ,Clara Amfo ,Cher Horowitz ,Gemma Bell ,Tom Kerridge ,Marcus Rashford ,Jane Austen ,Guardian Marcus Rashford ,Carrie Cracknell ,Rebecca Nicholson ,Dakota Johnson ,Netflix ,Pictorial Press Ltd Alamy ,Jane Austen House Museum ,Pictorial Press ,Guardian Photograph ,Kew Gardens ,National Trust ,House Museum ,Sarah Snook ,Future Sounds ,ஹாலிவுட் ,கலிஃபோர்னியா ,ஒன்றுபட்டது மாநிலங்களில் ,அன்னயே மேக் ,ஹிலாரி மக்ரேடீ ,செர் ஹொரோவிட்ஸ் ,ஜெம மணி ,ஜேன் ஆஸ்டெந் ,ரிபேக்க நிக்கல்சன் ,டகோட்டா ஜான்சன் ,நெட்ஃபிக்ஸ் ,ஜேன் ஆஸ்டெந் வீடு அருங்காட்சியகம் ,பாதுகாவலர் புகைப்படம் ,கியூ தோட்டங்கள் ,தேசிய நம்பிக்கை ,வீடு அருங்காட்சியகம் ,சாரா ஸ்னூக் ,எதிர்கால ஒலிகள் ,