Name: Literary icon Jane Austen turns 250
Uploaded: 2025-12-17T00:27:55.704Z
Duration: 2 min 22 s
Description: Jane Austen’s legacy endures 250 years on – As readers worldwide celebrate her novels and cultural impact.

Jane Austen’s legacy endures 250 years on – As readers worldwide celebrate her novels and cultural impact.

Chawton

Jane Austen's 250th birthday was marked by celebrations at her historic home in Chawton, southern England, where visitors from around the world gathered, many dressed in Regency-era costumes. Austen's six major novels, written at a small table in her family's dining room, have sold about 30 million copies and inspired numerous film adaptations across cultures.

Austen's exploration of themes such as love, society, and class continues to resonate with readers, and her sharp observations are now even being used to help train artificial intelligence models. Nearly a third of visitors to her home come from overseas, reflecting her enduring global appeal, while her legacy as a literary icon remains strong 250 years after her birth.

Literary icon Jane Austen turns 250

In an unassuming cottage in a quiet village in southern England, one woman wrote stories that centuries later continue to captivate readers across cultures and continents. Jane Austen's house is more than a museum. It's a place of pilgrimage. They walked in silence along the gravel path that led to the cops. And on her 250th birthday, visitors, many in Regency costumes, have flocked to celebrate her. So this was the family's dining room, and it was in the corner, this tiny table, that Jane Austen penned the novels that went on to become global treasures. She was writing at a time when women's roles were very tightly constrained, but she used her wit and her irony to explore love, society and class, themes that still resonate with readers today. The characters are still so relatable, and you still get so angry at the antagonist, so you could be reading them a hundred years from now and they'd still have the same effect. So being able to escape into a world of where it's just love, romance, drama, of where it's incredible, and it's just, it allows us to have some joy in our life if we're struggling a little bit. Please let me say this, please allow me. From Pride and Prejudice to Emma, her six major novels have sold about 30 million copies worldwide and inspired dozens of screen adaptations from Hollywood to Bollywood. Austen's sharp observations about marriage, family and social expectations translate across languages and cultures. Even tech companies are studying her dialogue to help train generative artificial intelligence models. Nearly a third of our visitors have come from overseas and they all bring with them their own love, their own understanding, their own experiences of Austen. And that's been one of the great joys, that sense of community, that sense of love, of rereading, of rereading and embodying this work and how much it matters to people. From this room, Austen dreamt up her characters, but unlike her protagonists, the author never married. She died at 41. My dear Mr Bennett, said his lady to him one day. But 250 years on, her voice still echoes from this cottage to readers around the world, a reminder that humour and human truths don't age. Charlie Angela, Al Jazeera, Chawton, Southern England.

A man who allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, New South Wales Police said.

Council of the City of Sydney

Accused Bondi Beach gunman formally charged with 59 offences

The Trump administration has issued a full travel ban on five more countries as well as people traveling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. It also imposed new limits on 15 other countries.

Washington

Trump expands travel ban, restrictions to include 20 new countries

Australia mourns victims of the Bondi Beach shooting – As police prepare charges against the surviving gunman.

Bondi Beach shooting: Funerals begin as investigation continues

Four days into the manhunt, law enforcement officials in Providence, Rhode Island, are still unable to publicly identify a suspect, despite a $50,000 reward and pleas for help.

Providence

Police release new images of person of interest in Brown shooting

Nick Reiner will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for the killings of his parents, Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, who were found dead in their home over the weekend, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Los Angeles

Rob Reiner's son to be charged with first degree murder of parents

U.S. military actions in international waters near Venezuela are under scrutiny following a September 2nd strike on a boat the U.S. claimed was transporting drugs, though no evidence has been provided.

U.S. bombings in international waters face scrutiny over Venezuela

The U.S. military says it has conducted another series of deadly strikes on three alleged drug boats in the Eastern Pacific, killing eight people. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion reports on that and more from Capitol Hill.

U.S. hits three more alleged drug boats in the Pacific, killing eight

U.S. President Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to sue the BBC over a misleading video edit of a speech he made on January 6, 2021, and filed a lawsuit against the media corporation on December 15. He will be seeking 10 billion dollars in damages.

London

Trump sues BBC over misleading video editing of speech

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a proposal to end his country's nearly four-year war with Russia are "very workable" and could be finalized within days, but he warns key issues remain.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy says 'workable' peace plan could be presented to Russia soon

On December 16, the Paris labour court ruled on the long-running dispute between Kylian Mbappé and his former club, PSG. It ordered PSG to pay over 60 million euros to the player in unpaid wages and bonuses.

Paris

Mbappé to be awarded over 60 million euros by PSG, French court rules

Police say the alleged gunmen who opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach had traveled to Mindanao in the Philippines last month, as investigators probe ties to extremist networks.

Bondi Beach

Islamic State link eyed after Bondi Beach gunmen's Philippine visit

Zelenskyy hails progress with the US during Berlin talks about security guarantees. Europeans vow to protect Ukraine, including via military means, against Russia in the future. But disagreements over territories remain.

Berlin

EU vows to assist Ukraine against future Russia attack at Berlin talks

Australia's prime minister said a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach appears to have been motivated by ISIS ideology. Meanwhile, mourners flocked to the site to lay flowers and grieve for the people killed, including a 10-year-old child.

Bondi Beach shooting motivated by ISIS ideology: Australian PM

Four people have been arrested in California - charged with plotting a series of bombing attacks on multiple targets on New Year's Eve.

California

FBI arrests four over alleged New Year’s Eve bomb plot in California

Police in Rhode Island are searching for a new person of interest following Saturday’s deadly shooting at Brown University. Investigators say the case remains active as authorities work to determine a motive.

New person of interest sought in Brown University shooting

The son of filmmaker Rob Reiner was arrested on homicide charges after the director of beloved movies like "When Harry Met Sally ..." and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, a police official said on Monday.

Rob Reiner's son arrested after director and wife found dead

A jury found Brian Walshe guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Ana on New Year's Day in 2023 in their Massachusetts home. Legal analyst Jennifer Roman joins with more details.

Boston

Brian Walshe found guilty of first-degree murder in wife's death

Hong Kong's High Court on Monday (December 15) found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong court finds Jimmy Lai guilty in landmark security trial

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. negotiators are meeting in Berlin. As the U.S. grows increasingly pressed to end the four-year war, the peace negotiations continue, with territorial concessions to Russia remaining the "sticking point" for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy offers to drop NATO bid for security guarantees

Police have released a person of interest who was detained in a shooting at Brown University. Two students were killed and at least nine others were injured in the Saturday attack. Tom Hanson spoke with students about the shooting.

Police release person of interest in shooting at Brown University

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed abandoning NATO ambitions in exchange for Western security guarantees during peace talks in Berlin. The move marks a major shift as Kyiv seeks to end the war with Russia without ceding territory.

Ukraine offers to drop NATO bid at Berlin peace talks

Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead Sunday in their Los Angeles home, sources told CBS News, in what police called an apparent homicide. Rob Reiner was 78 and Michele Reiner was 68.

Brentwood

Director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead in their L.A. home

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile's presidential run-off, after defeating his leftist opponent.

Santiago

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile’s presidential election

The person of interest authorities took into custody in connection with the shooting at Brown University has been identified as Benjamin Erickson. He's a 24 year old, originally from Wisconsin.

Person of interest identified in Brown University shooting

Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia mourned victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. This video contains graphic images.

Father and son behind Bondi mass shooting, Australian police say

Israel has described a deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach as an attack on Jews, after gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event, killing at least 11 people.

Israel calls Bondi shooting attack on Jews, urges action on antisemitism

Two gunmen attacked a Hannukah celebration on a Sydney beach Sunday, killing at least 11 people in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitism and terrorism.

Gunmen kill several at Jewish gathering in Sydney's Bondi Beach

Providence police have detained a "person of interest" in connection with the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and another nine people wounded, as the Ivy League school said it had lifted a shelter-in-place order for its campus in Rhode Island.

Police hold person of interest after Brown University shooting

Belarus has freed more than 120 political prisoners in a major thaw in relations with the United States. The releases came in return for Washington lifting sanctions on potash, a key source of revenue for Belarus.

Minsk

Belarus releases 123 prisoners as U.S. lifts sanctions

Washington was still under a state of emergency on Saturday after torrential rains swamped communities. Plus, snow and dangerous cold are falling on some in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Nicole Valdes has more from Washington state.

Breakdown