Jane Austen, the infamous author behind the likes of Pride and Prejudice and Emma , will be featured on the next £10 note, the Bank Of England have confirmed.
Austen will replace Charles Darwin on the note, with the change set to occur in 2017. The chancellor of the United Kingdom, George Osborne, tweeted that the move showed “sense and sensibility.”
Mr Osborne’s full Tweet read, “[Incoming Bank Of England governor] Mark Carney’s choice of Jane Austen as face of £10 note is great. After understandable row over lack of women, shows sense and sensibility.”
In April, it was announced that Sir Winston Churchill will now be on the £5 note from 2016, replacing Elizabeth Fry, who worked as a social reformer.
The announcement that Austen will be on the £10 note came after the Bank of England started a campaign due to the lack of female characters on the English currency.
When it was announced that Elizabeth Fry was to be replaced on the £5 note, various protests were started due to the lack of female representation on the English currency. However, Jane Austen was thought to have been in the Bank’s plans for a while.
Mr Carney stated , “Jane Austen certainly merits a place in the select group of historical figures to appear on our banknotes. Her novels have an enduring and universal appeal and she is recognised as one of the greatest writers in English literature.”
Meanwhile, Caroline Criado-Perez, who led a campaign for more females on banknotes stated, “We warmly welcome this move from the Bank and thank them for listening to us and taking such positive and emphatic steps to address our concerns.”
She also called it “a brilliant day for women and a fantastic one for people power.” Caroline then concluded, “To hear Jane Austen confirmed is fantastic, but to hear the process will be comprehensively reviewed is even better.”
