Jane Austen auction features unique handwritten items from Hilary Mantel, Ian McEwan and Margaret Atwood

How did Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey influence Ian McEwan’s Atonement? And why does Margaret Atwood think her novels set a bad example?

An auction by the Royal Society of Literature to celebrate Austen’s bi-centenary features unique handwritten items where authors reveal what they really think of the much-loved novelist.

Online bidding for 12 items is now open until midnight tomorrow (June 27). Six further items will go under the hammer at an exclusive private fundraising event tomorrow night.

Other items include an unpublished, handwritten story based on Pride and Prejudice by Hilary Mantel, an Austen-inspired illustration by Quentin Blake, an original cartoon by Posy Simmonds, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s reflections on Mansfield Park.

There will also be an original doodle from Grayson Perry up for grabs, and handwritten pieces from Jacqueline Wilson, Sarah Waters, Ian Rankin and Tracy Chevalier. Deborah Moggach has donated an annotated script of his 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that starred Colin Firth, and Deborah Moggach has offered an annotated version of her screenplay for the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley.

The auction will raise money for the society, particularly their programme to support disadvantaged schools via their School Outreach Programme.

More information about the lots and how to bid can be found at rsl-austen-auction.com