HANOVER — The Howe Library in Hanover is celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday with a series of events this week, including a marathon reading of her 1813 novel, “Pride and Prejudice.”

Miniature cupcakes adorned with quotes from Jane Austen’s works sit at the center of a group reading Pride and Prejudice to celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday at Still North Books in Hanover, N.H., on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. More than 30 readers participated in the reading held at over 12 hours and traveling from the Howe Library to the Literary Arts Bridge, to Still North. JAMES M. PATTERSON / Valley News

Beginning at the library at 9 a.m. Wednesday, readers tackled the book’s over 120,000 words in four-hour sessions.

In the afternoon, the Literary Arts Bridge in Hanover hosted a four-hour session, and in the evening the final chapters of the book were read at Still North Books, also in Hanover.

The festivities conclude on Friday with a Jane Austen Ball from 7 to 9 p.m. on the library’s main floor.

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