Jane Austen stamps to go on sale

A special set of stamps go on sale featuring Jane Austen novels, including newly-commissioned artwork showing scenes from her books.

All six published novels are included in the new stamps, which mark the 200th anniversary of Pride And Prejudice.

The Royal Mail also announced that letters posted in Chawton in Hampshire, where Austen spent her last years, and Steventon, near Basingstoke, where she was born, will have a special postmark for a week, featuring the Pride And Prejudice quote "Do anything rather than marry without affection".

Two first-class stamps will have illustrations from Pride And Prejudice and Sense And Sensibility, with images from Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion making up the six-stamp set.

Royal Mail commissioned the artwork from illustrator Angela Barrett.

Royal Mail stamps spokesman Andrew Hammond said: "When you think of great British authors, Jane Austen inevitably comes to mind. Her novels have contributed immeasurably to British culture over the last two centuries.

"New generations continue to fall in love with her work through television and film adaptations, as well as, of course, the books themselves.

"It is therefore an honour for Royal Mail to commemorate her work with this special set of stamps and fitting that it falls during the 200th anniversary celebrations of Pride And Prejudice, her most famous masterpiece."