0:00:02 > 0:00:03Here in rural Hampshire,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07some of the greatest literary works of our time were written.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10This week, we celebrate Jane Austen, a writer who,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13despite living a quiet, unassuming life here,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17went on to become one of the most recognised novelists in the world.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20200 years after her death, I'll be finding out more about her
0:00:20 > 0:00:24personal faith, visiting Jane's final resting place,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Winchester Cathedral, and discovering why
0:00:26 > 0:00:29this vicar's daughter didn't always portray the clergy
0:00:29 > 0:00:31in a flattering light.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Would you do me the great honour of walking with me into town?
0:00:37 > 0:00:39I'll be meeting the high-society girl who gave up
0:00:39 > 0:00:43a life of luxury to become a nun.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49And Josie's in Bristol to find out how this choir is helping to
0:00:49 > 0:00:52beat the effects of addiction through song.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02We have some great music for you,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05including a hymn from this magnificent cathedral in Winchester.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10And we begin with a joyous worship song written and led
0:01:10 > 0:01:12by Keith and Kristin Getty.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04In 1809, at the age of 33, Jane Austen moved here to the picturesque
0:04:04 > 0:04:08village of Chawton in Hampshire with her sister and their mother.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13It's exciting to think that it was here Jane Austen created some of
0:04:13 > 0:04:18her most dashing heroes, dastardly rogues, and memorable clergymen.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21And where she first became a published author.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28She wrote six novels, of which Pride And Prejudice is perhaps her
0:04:28 > 0:04:32most famous, and has inspired many film and television dramas.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Mr Darcy?
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Miss Bennett?
0:04:36 > 0:04:40The house is now a museum, and I'm here to meet Austen expert
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Helena Kelly and curator Mary Guyatt.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45We're standing in the drawing room.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48This is the room where Jane would have spent many hours with
0:04:48 > 0:04:50- her sister and her mother. - And writing?
0:04:50 > 0:04:51And writing, yes.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- In fact, we have her writing table. - Wow, that's tiny, isn't it?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57It's very small.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00It seems quite a grand house.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03What level of society were the Austens?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Well, Jane was born into a middle-class family.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08This was the gentry, the emerging middle classes.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Her father was a clergyman, and two of her brothers.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15So, she was surrounded in the family by clergymen.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And, in front of us here, we've got a few Bibles.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Are these family Bibles?
0:05:20 > 0:05:23This larger Bible belonged to the church,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27St Nicolas's Church in Steventon, where her father was a clergyman.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32- And what about this teeny-tiny one here?- Well, this is a family Bible.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34This was published in 1628.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37It's in Greek, it's the New Testament.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41And you can see that it has the Austen name, 1711.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45- So, passed down through the generations.- Precisely.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49What sort of Christian do you think she was?
0:05:49 > 0:05:52We know from her letters that she was an active person,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56that she visited the sick, and that she gave alms.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58So I think she took her responsibilities seriously
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and with a practical mind.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Despite religion being an integral part of Jane's upbringing,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06she didn't always portray the clergy in the best light.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11I believe I possess the happy knack, much to be desired in a clergyman,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15of adapting myself to every kind of society, whether high or low.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20The Reverend Mr Collins in Pride And Prejudice is really
0:06:20 > 0:06:23just bumbling, obsequious, and absurd.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27They don't all of them seem to spend very much time, sort of,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31looking after their parishioners, writing their sermons.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34So, there's a strange disconnect, I think, between the depiction
0:06:34 > 0:06:38in the books and perhaps how she felt about religion herself.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43In Emma, the clergyman, Mr Elton, is, at times, a flirty gossip.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44I hope that you, like myself,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47have been urging Miss Woodhouse not to go within half a mile
0:06:47 > 0:06:50of Goddard's when there is the chance of catching an infection.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53But he does have redeeming characteristics.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58Even he is shown being very active in parish work.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02All her characters are very nuanced, so they all have faults,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06and they all have journeys of learning that they need to make.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Did you think, because she was surrounded by clergymen,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13she was able to be candid about what she really thought?
0:07:13 > 0:07:14I think that's exactly it.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18She had the license of knowing a religious family,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and that gave her the permission to write critically.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Our next hymn comes from somewhere that Jane may well have
0:07:28 > 0:07:31visited here in Hampshire, Romsey Abbey.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35It was written by a female hymn writer, Caroline Noel,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and I'm certain Jane Austen would have approved of that.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07As we know, Jane Austen had a gift for conjuring up some
0:10:07 > 0:10:10memorable fictional figures in her books.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Now Claire McCollum introduces us to a real-life character,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17who has a remarkable story to tell.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19JAZZ MUSIC
0:10:21 > 0:10:24After the Second World War, high society was getting back into
0:10:24 > 0:10:29the swing of things, with debutants presented to the king.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34One of them was Shirley Leach, a young lady with a privileged life.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37We used to go around in what we'd call a gang.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40I was always getting ideas, "Let's go off to Switzerland,"
0:10:40 > 0:10:43which was quite dashing.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I had a wonderful young life.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49A very glamorous life.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52And I loved dancing.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Shirley was due to marry the love of her life, Jeremy.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59And even picked the names of ten children she planned.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Until she chose another path.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06I wrote to Jeremy, "I'm going to be a nun."
0:11:08 > 0:11:12And, in saying that, it was as if...
0:11:13 > 0:11:17..that had been in the mind of God for all eternity.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20And he said, "If it's between me and God,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23"it's obvious who's going to win."
0:11:24 > 0:11:30After taking her vows in 1952, Shirley became Sister Agatha,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32and, for over 40 years,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35has been an ever-present figure at Bar Convent in York.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40And there's now a book about her experiences, A Nun's Story.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41When Jeremy left you off,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46you were saying goodbye to that great love you had for him.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Was the love that you had for God stronger, would you say?
0:11:50 > 0:11:53No, it grew, I suppose, is the answer.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57It was a gradual losing of one life...
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and...
0:12:00 > 0:12:03learning another way of loving.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07- 'Having once lived the life of luxury...'- This is my bedroom.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10'..I was curious to see Sister Agatha's quarters at the convent.'
0:12:10 > 0:12:13This is what I always say, it's my office, too.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15I'm guessing it wasn't like this
0:12:15 > 0:12:18when you first became a nun, your room.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19Oh, Lord, no.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21It was called a cell in those days.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23I had a bed.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24Quite hard bed.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27And then there was a screen,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and there was a person on the other side of the screen.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34And then you went out, and you filled your jug,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36and when it was very cold,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39the water in one's basin was frozen in the morning.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43It was a totally, totally different way of life.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The sisters no longer wear a habit, and the convent,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50originally a girls' school dating back to 1686,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54has adapted to changing times, with an interactive exhibition.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59THEY SING QUE SERA
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Despite being in her 80s, Sister Agatha takes on the responsibility
0:13:03 > 0:13:07of looking after the elderly nuns, with the help of 30 volunteers.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Together, we all care for the sisters
0:13:11 > 0:13:14who need day and night nursing.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18I think I'm the only one who doesn't need day or all might nursing.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20You provide all that.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23THEY SAY THE LORD'S PRAYER
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Knowing what you have experienced throughout life,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31you're now 85, do you have any regrets about making that decision?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Oh, no. No time for regrets. No!
0:13:36 > 0:13:40For me, there was never any doubt.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36We love to bring you a variety of music on Songs Of Praise.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40And our next performance comes from a man with an incredible voice,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42opera singer Noah Stewart.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45And it's a song to lift the spirits.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50# Great day
0:16:50 > 0:16:53# Great day, the righteous marching
0:16:53 > 0:16:56# Great day
0:16:56 > 0:16:58# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:16:58 > 0:17:01# Oh, great day
0:17:01 > 0:17:04# Great day, the righteous marching
0:17:04 > 0:17:06# Great day
0:17:06 > 0:17:09# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:17:09 > 0:17:12# Chariot rode on the mountain top
0:17:12 > 0:17:14# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:17:14 > 0:17:17# God, he spoke, and the chariot stop
0:17:17 > 0:17:20# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:17:20 > 0:17:22# This is the day of jubilee
0:17:22 > 0:17:25# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:17:25 > 0:17:27# God has set His people free
0:17:27 > 0:17:30# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:17:30 > 0:17:32# Great day
0:17:32 > 0:17:35# Great day, the righteous marching
0:17:35 > 0:17:38# Great day
0:17:38 > 0:17:40# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:17:40 > 0:17:45# Take my breast-plate, sword and head
0:17:46 > 0:17:50# March out boldly through the land
0:17:50 > 0:17:55# Want no cowards in our band
0:17:55 > 0:18:00# Each must be a good, brave man
0:18:00 > 0:18:03# Great day
0:18:03 > 0:18:06# Great day, the righteous marching
0:18:06 > 0:18:08# Great day
0:18:08 > 0:18:11# God's going to build up Zion's walls
0:18:11 > 0:18:15# Great day
0:18:15 > 0:18:19# Great day, the righteous marching
0:18:19 > 0:18:25# Great day
0:18:26 > 0:18:29# God's going to build up
0:18:29 > 0:18:35# Zion's
0:18:35 > 0:18:41# Walls! #
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Well, not everyone's blessed with a voice like Noah Stewart,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49but that doesn't stop people of all faiths - and none - of experiencing
0:18:49 > 0:18:50the power of music.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Josie d'Arby went to meet one choir
0:18:52 > 0:18:55who think singing has completely changed their lives.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03People join choirs for all sorts of reasons,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06maybe to learn new music or perhaps to meet new people,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09but for this group of singers, it's an opportunity
0:19:09 > 0:19:12to support each other in an even more profound way.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19The members of Rising Voices are either recovering addicts
0:19:19 > 0:19:21or closely connected to someone who is.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24And they rehearse every week in a local church.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I set it up because I'd been working in drug treatment
0:19:29 > 0:19:30for five, six years,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32doing group work therapy -
0:19:32 > 0:19:35so talking to people about addiction, recovery -
0:19:35 > 0:19:37and I just really wanted to do something different.
0:19:37 > 0:19:38On your roller-coaster...
0:19:38 > 0:19:40ALL WHOOP
0:19:41 > 0:19:44You don't need to be musically experienced to join the choir.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48It's really about people coming together.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54So many people have the story of, like, "I was told I couldn't sing."
0:19:54 > 0:19:56It's almost like saying, "I can't walk."
0:19:56 > 0:19:58# Whoa, whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa
0:19:58 > 0:19:59- ALL:- # Whoa, whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa
0:19:59 > 0:20:03But if you start to walk again, metaphorically, with your voice,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05I think, again, it really instils a lot of hope
0:20:05 > 0:20:07that anything's possible.
0:20:08 > 0:20:09# Woo-ooh-oooh
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- ALL:- # Woo-ooh-oooh
0:20:11 > 0:20:13While the choir isn't faith-based,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15several members are Christians -
0:20:15 > 0:20:19like Tony, who, as a young man, fell away from church-going
0:20:19 > 0:20:21and into drug addiction.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23It was such a terrible thing, such a one-way street,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26that I thought I would never get out.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28And, um, I went into prison
0:20:28 > 0:20:33and it was there that I found faith in God
0:20:33 > 0:20:35by going to the church chaplain
0:20:35 > 0:20:38and talking about it and trying to find my way back into life.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42And Chris has been in the choir since it began.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45The rebellious attitude of the '80s,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49I went on the road and then ended up messed up on drink and drugs.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52And now I'm living in Bristol,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55found a higher power, which ended up as Christianity,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59and I joined the choir and am living in a Christian community.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Chris and Tony are telling me how the choir has helped them.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05THEY DO VOCAL EXERCISES
0:21:07 > 0:21:11When you've been in addiction a long time,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13you are very isolated, you know?
0:21:13 > 0:21:16You haven't got any true friends left, really.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20And then, so, it's good to build...
0:21:20 > 0:21:23I wouldn't say I'm a good singer, either, but I'm accepted.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Oh, I'll be the judge of that.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27# Never, never, never, never, never
0:21:27 > 0:21:30# Oh, never... #
0:21:30 > 0:21:33I feel secure in that environment, I'm comfortable with the people.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38We're just one family when we're together and that's so special.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40# Never give up... #
0:21:40 > 0:21:43I get a lot of feeling of recovery from the songs,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46even though they might not be written that way.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51It's a healing, when we get that. We get to let that out through song.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54# I'm gonna find heaven in my...
0:21:54 > 0:21:58- TONY:- The recovery choir is one of those good parts of my life which
0:21:58 > 0:21:59keeps my recovery going.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03This year is the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06At the age of 41, she'd published four novels
0:24:06 > 0:24:08and had written two more,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11but she had a debilitating illness and her health was failing,
0:24:11 > 0:24:17so, in 1817, her sister Cassandra brought Jane here, to Winchester,
0:24:17 > 0:24:18for medical help.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21They took lodgings in College Street.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24At the time, her books were growing in popularity,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28she was just beginning to be recognised as a great writer.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Her sister desperately hoped for Jane's recovery, but, sadly,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33it wasn't to be.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Her final words were, "God grant me patience,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40"pray for me, oh, pray for me."
0:24:40 > 0:24:44Three days later, she was laid to rest here in Winchester Cathedral.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Louise, wow, what an incredible place to be buried.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50- I know, it is amazing, isn't it? - Certainly is.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53How was Jane given permission to be buried here?
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Well, we think it was probably because of the clergy connection in the family.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Her father was a clergyman, her eldest brother was, and we think,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02you know, probably a favour was pulled in, really, for that.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06- And her funeral, was that a grand affair?- No, not at all. No.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08No, when you think about what a famous person she is,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10it was a very modest affair.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13She was attended by three of her brothers and one of her nephews.
0:25:13 > 0:25:14And her sister?
0:25:14 > 0:25:17No, Cassandra didn't attend the funeral because women weren't
0:25:17 > 0:25:21allowed to attend funerals in those days, so she said she just
0:25:21 > 0:25:24watched the sad, mournful procession as it entered the close.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29- Oh, no, that's terrible.- It is, it is, it's very touching, actually.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Yeah, and she's actually buried just over here.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38- And this is her grave. - Wow, it's big.- Yes, it is, yeah.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43So how well known was Jane Austen when she passed away?
0:25:43 > 0:25:46She was... She was beginning to be known,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48she was certainly known among the literati.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51She had actually dedicated Emma to the Prince Regent,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55on his request, so she was known among certain people, definitely.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00On her epitaph, there's no mention, really, of her being a writer.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04I know, but it does mention the extraordinary endowments of
0:26:04 > 0:26:07her mind but it's mainly talking about what a good Christian
0:26:07 > 0:26:10woman she was and how well loved she was by her family.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14But I think that Henry, her brother, who wrote this epitaph,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18he wanted to thank the cathedral for allowing her to be buried here
0:26:18 > 0:26:22and by saying what a very good Christian woman she was,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25it's almost saying she deserved to be here.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30In the early 1870s, her nephew commissioned
0:26:30 > 0:26:34a plaque commemorating Jane and acknowledging her as a writer.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Then in the early 1900s, this impressive stained glass window
0:26:38 > 0:26:41was installed, paid for by her many admirers.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48To this day, people still revere her.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50They have a great affection for her as a person,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54as well as the writer of these extraordinary books,
0:26:54 > 0:26:55which live to this day.
0:26:57 > 0:27:09# In paradisum
0:27:11 > 0:27:23# Deducant te angeli
0:27:23 > 0:27:31# In tuo adventu
0:27:31 > 0:27:41# Suscipiant te martyres
0:27:47 > 0:27:52# Et perducant te
0:27:52 > 0:27:59# In civitatem sanctam
0:27:59 > 0:28:05# Jerusalem
0:28:05 > 0:28:12# Jerusalem
0:28:12 > 0:28:21# Jerusalem
0:28:24 > 0:28:32# Jerusalem
0:28:35 > 0:28:45# Chorus angelorum
0:28:45 > 0:28:53# Te suscipiat
0:28:53 > 0:29:08# Et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
0:29:08 > 0:29:22# Et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
0:29:22 > 0:29:30# Aeternam habeas
0:29:30 > 0:29:41# Requiem
0:29:46 > 0:29:55# Aeternam
0:29:55 > 0:30:04# Habeas
0:30:06 > 0:30:21# Requiem. #
0:30:29 > 0:30:31BIRDSONG
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Well, that's almost it for today.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Next week, Aled is in Wales,
0:30:36 > 0:30:40following the footsteps of pilgrims both ancient and modern.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44We end today with a hymn from this beautiful cathedral,
0:30:44 > 0:30:46a place so admired by Jane Austen.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47Thanks for watching.