‘Pride and Prejudice’ author Jane Austen to grace British £10 note
Famed British author Jane Austen is replacing scientist Charles Darwin as the face of the country’s £10 note.
The Bank of England picked the writer of classics such as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park” to grace the soon-to-be redesigned note, soothing critics who have noted the paucity of women on British currency.
An uproar erupted earlier this year after the bank said it planned to put former Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the £5 note, displacing social reformer Elizabeth Fry.
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That change spurred an online petition that lobbied the bank to shine a light on women’s achievements on the country’s currency.
Many Brits complained that the almost all-male lineup sent the wrong message -- that no British female had done anything worthwhile enough to warrant appearing on its legal tender. Besides the Queen of England, only two women -- Fry and Florence Nightingale -- have appeared on British bank notes.
Mark Carney, the bank’s new governor, has hurried to remedy the situation.
In a statement this week, Carney said Austen “certainly merits a place in the select group of historical figures to appear on our banknotes.”
“Her novels have an enduring and universal appeal,” he said, “and she is recognized as one of the greatest writers in English literature.”
The Austen note is slated to appear in 2017, within a year of the new Churchill ones.
Since 1970, the Bank of England has put the mug of prominent Brits on the face of its currency. Previous luminaries have included writer Charles Dickens and scientist Michael Faraday.
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