The 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen - whose connection to Ireland goes well beyond the generations who studied her work - will be celebrated at the Donegal County Museum.
Three nieces of Austen - Cassandra, Marianne and Louisa (who was also her goddaughter) - lived a life in Donegal worthy of a plot for one of her novels.
The women were often mentioned in the author’s letters and when they were young, she took them to the theatre and spent time reading and sewing with them.
Assistant Curator of the Donegal County Museum Caroline Carr says Cassandra and Louisa’s life stories show the path of true love does not always run smooth.
Cassandra was a daughter of Edward Knight, a brother of Jane Austen. He was born Edward Austen but changed his name as a condition of his inheritance of the Chawton Estate in Hampshire.
When Cassandra Knight was 20 years old, Lord George Hill proposed, but his mother, Lady Downshire, forbade marriage, stating that Cassandra was "no money, all charms".
Financially dependent on his mother, George then embarked on an army career and a political career, before proposing again to Cassandra some years later.
After a grand public wedding in London in 1834, Cassandra and George moved to Dublin where he was Comptroller of the Household to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
They later moved to Donegal where he purchased 23,000 acres around Gaoth Dobhair, following his mother’s death.
George and Cassandra lived in Gortlee House in Letterkenny. Cassandra gave birth to four children. She died of puerperal fever, aged 35, a few days after the birth of her fourth child, Cassandra on 14 March 1842.
Cassandra's sister Louisa cared for her late sister's children, spending time between England and Donegal, until George proposed in 1846.
The proposal was considered illegal and immoral among many; so, in 1847, the couple travelled to Denmark, and they married under a licence granted by the Danish king.
The legitimacy of the marriage between a widower and his deceased wife’s sister was the subject of parliamentary debate in the British House of Commons.
George and Louisa lived in Ballyarr House near Ramelton and had one child.
In later years, Louisa's sister Marianne came from England to live with them.
When George died in 1879; he was buried with his first wife, Cassandra at Conwal cemetery in Letterkenny.
Louisa, who died in 1889, and her sister Marianne, who died in 1896, are buried side by side in Tully graveyard near Ramelton.
Several years ago, Karen Levers purchased an old album on eBay, which appeared to contain photos of aristocrats from Ireland and England.
Upon inspection, she discovered the album dating from the mid-1800s contained the only known photographs of Louisa, second wife of Lord George Hill and Marianne, daughters of Edward Knight (brother of Jane Austen).
It also contained images of Elizabeth Bridges, along with many photos of the Downshire and Ward family relatives along with other members of the landed gentry.
It is estimated the photographs range from approximately 1850 to 1880, a period when photography was in its infancy.
The album was acquired by the Donegal County Archives, digitised and is available to view online.
It has gone on display in the Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny, alongside a miniature portrait of Cassandra Knight, who married Lord George Hill in 1834.
Also on display is a miniature portrait of Cassandra Knight - Lady Cassandra Hill, painted by Hugh Ross (1800–1873).
Not long before her death, Jane Austen wrote of her niece Cassandra Jane Knight: "I always loved Cassandra, for her fine dark eyes and the sweetness of her temperament".
Jane Austen completed six completed novels - Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
Her works have been translated into many languages, adapted for theatre, television and film.
She died aged 41. Some months after her death, her final novel was published.
The album and portrait display will remain open to the public at the Donegal County Museum until 22 December.
