News about Sophie Reynolds

The missive (shown right being held by curator Rebecca Wood) - the author's oldest known surviving letter, sent to her sister Cassandra when she was 20 years old, a 'fun loving, youthful girl' - was sent.' It was written as her dalliance with Irishman Tom Lefroy (inset) came to an end, and just before she started writing the book that would become Pride and Prejudice, Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy in the BBC's classic 1995 adaptation, she was drafted. Some have speculated that Mr Lefroy - or at least parts of his story - inspired the celebrated novel's brooding hero, who was initially mocked but then charmed heroine Lizzy Bennet. The letter will be displayed for the first time at Austen's former home in Chawton, Hampshire, as part of a new exhibit that opens today.