AN EXHIBITION featuring Pride and Prejudice, which Jane Austen penned in north Hampshire, will travel around the country – thanks to a lottery boost.

Jane Austen spent the first 25 years of her life in Steventon, near North Waltham, and it was there that she wrote what is perhaps her most famous novel.

The Jane Austen House Museum, based in Chawton, near Alton, has received a £30,800 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a new exhibition in 2013 to mark the novel’s 200th anniversary.

The exhibition will introduce people to the museum, where Pride and Prejudice was published, and showcase how the novel has been presented on TV, radio and film.

Louise West, of the Jane Austen Memorial Trust, said: “We are thrilled that the Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting this exhibition, which we hope will bring Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen and the home of her writing to a whole new audience.”

Local volunteers will be trained to act as stewards for the exhibition. The trust said museums from around the UK and Jane Austen societies have expressed interest in hosting the exhibition.

It will also appear at houses used in TV versions of the novel, such as Laycock Abbey near Chippenham and Lyme Park at Stockport.

Stuart McLeod, head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East England, said: “Fans of Jane Austen from around the country will see a visit to this commemorative exhibition as an absolute must in 2013.”