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Jane Austen could grace £10 banknotes, Mervyn King says Jane Austen could grace £10 banknotes, Mervyn King says
(35 minutes later)
Jane Austen could be the face of the new £10 note, according to the retiring governor of the Bank of England.Jane Austen could be the face of the new £10 note, according to the retiring governor of the Bank of England.
The author is "quietly waiting in the wings", Sir Mervyn King told the Treasury select committee, although a final decision will be taken by his successor, Mark Carney, who takes up the post on 1 July.The author is "quietly waiting in the wings", Sir Mervyn King told the Treasury select committee, although a final decision will be taken by his successor, Mark Carney, who takes up the post on 1 July.
King provoked a storm of protest when he announced that the only woman to appear on an English banknote other than the Queen – the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry – would be replaced by Winston Churchill in 2015. Campaigners have threatened to take the Bank to court for discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act.King provoked a storm of protest when he announced that the only woman to appear on an English banknote other than the Queen – the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry – would be replaced by Winston Churchill in 2015. Campaigners have threatened to take the Bank to court for discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act.
Historical figures were first introduced on British banknotes in 1970, since when there have been only two women: Fry and Florence Nightingale. The others have all been men, from William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens to composer Sir Edward Elgar and scientist Michael Faraday.Historical figures were first introduced on British banknotes in 1970, since when there have been only two women: Fry and Florence Nightingale. The others have all been men, from William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens to composer Sir Edward Elgar and scientist Michael Faraday.
Caroline Criado-Perez, who is organising the legal action against the Bank, said she would not be "placated" by King's remarks. "He is still talking in conditionals and I am afraid that is just not good enough. It is not good enough in terms of the demands of the campaign and it is also not good enough according to the Equality Act … which, as we have been saying all along, is about needing to know that the decision-making process is fair and equitable."
Last week a group of 46 Labour MPs and peers, including former ministers Harriet Harman, Yvette Cooper and Labour leader of the Lords Baroness Royall, called on the Bank to review its decision to drop Fry. "The fact that Florence Nightingale is the only other woman who has ever been represented alongside Elizabeth Fry also suggests there is a need for the Bank to show stronger leadership in honouring the role of women in our nation's history," they wrote in a letter to the Bank's board of directors, which was copied to Prime Minister David Cameron.
More than 29,000 people, have signed a petition to keep women on English banknotes, damning Fry's relegation as "yet another example of how the establishment undervalues the contributions of women to history".
Churchill, who King has described as "a truly great British leader, orator and writer", will make his debut on the £5 note as planned from 2015. King added that once the Churchill notes are in circulation, Fry will continue to appear on the old £5 notes until they are phased out.Churchill, who King has described as "a truly great British leader, orator and writer", will make his debut on the £5 note as planned from 2015. King added that once the Churchill notes are in circulation, Fry will continue to appear on the old £5 notes until they are phased out.
"Let me assure that there is no imminent demise of Elizabeth Fry on our banknotes and I think it is extremely unlikely that we will ever find ourselves with no women on our banknotes," King said.
Members of the public put forward suggestions on who should appear on banknotes, although the Bank only considers figures who have made an "indisputable contribution to their particular field of work". It takes into account the list of public suggestions when choosing a new picture but the governor of the Bank has the final decision.Members of the public put forward suggestions on who should appear on banknotes, although the Bank only considers figures who have made an "indisputable contribution to their particular field of work". It takes into account the list of public suggestions when choosing a new picture but the governor of the Bank has the final decision.
But King's surprise announcement that the author of Pride and Prejudice is a candidate for the £10 note will put pressure on Carney to agree.
The Bank has no deadline to introduce the next £10 note, but Jane Austen would be a timely choice as the 200-year anniversary of her death falls in 2017.
John Mullan, professor of English at University College London, said the author must be a shoo-in for the new note. "It is not the question of whether she is a woman or not, but she seems to me the greatest English writer apart from Shakespeare."
The theme of money runs through Austen's novels, from Mr Darcy's fabulous wealth in Pride and Prejudice, to the crimped lifestyle of the Dashwood sisters in Sense and Sensibility.
"Nobody has put money to better uses in their novels than her," Mullan said. "There are plenty of novelists who think that money is important and make you aware of that when you are reading, but she makes her characters aware of it, which is a rather more brilliant thing.
"The animating thing in her novels is that everybody knows how much everyone is worth. "As soon as [Mr Darcy] appears it is whispered around that he is worth £10,000 a year. Mr Collins, when he proposes to Elizabeth, tells her how much her mother and father have. He knows what her parents income is exactly down to the last percent. That is what makes money pulse through all her novels, the fact that all the characters know about each other's money."
Although Criado-Perez's top choice for the banknote was scientist Rosalind Franklin, the biophysicist who played a pioneering role in the discovery of the structure of DNA, she said Jane Austen would be a "fantastic" choice.
"One of the things I really love about her is that she seems very conservative, but she is actually incredibly subversive if you read her books carefully," she said.