Saturday 20 April, 12 noon, Ventnor Arts Club, £6.50

Mr Darcy, Emma, Mrs Bennett – Jane Austen's characters are like old friends. They come to life on the page and regularly captured in drama and film. But while we know her creations intimately, Jane Austen herself is more of a mystery.

Recognition came late to the author. Only four of her novels were published – anonymously – before she died at the early age of 41. The most famous, Pride and Prejudice, published in 28 January 1813, is still a best-seller 200 years later.

But what was the real Jane Austen like? Sharron McColl, Treasurer of the Scottish Branch of the Jane Austen Society, will be bringing Jane and her family to life in an illustrated talk.

As the youngest daughter in a family of eight children, Jane was never secure financially. Sharron McColl reveals that Jane was also less secure socially than many readers of her novels may assume. Jane belonged, not to the squirearchy, but to the upper end of the professional middle class and spent her entire life as a poor relation.

Find out more and immerse yourself in the intriguing world of Jane Austen.