Illawarra scholar and author Jan Merriman is on a mission - to give a voice to the often unrecognised women who helped shape literary history.

It is a journey that started in the 1970s, when Jan was a young high school English teacher and Jane Austen’s novel Emma was set as the text for the HSC.

For the past five decades Jan has immersed herself in the world of Austen, spending countless hours in libraries across the globe – from Oxford and Cambridge to Albion Park and Shellharbour – researching the famous author and those close to her.

Later this month Merriman will host a talk at Kiama Library as part of the library’s six-month long celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.

While much is known about Austen’s life, thanks in part to three volumes of perfectly preserved writings from her teenage years housed in the Bodleian Library, little is known about the women who inspired the much-loved novelist who is held in the same literary esteem as Shakespeare.

“It’s wonderful to see so much interest in someone I have very much admired for so many years,” said Merriman, who is a member of the Australian, North American and UK Jane Austen societies.

Merriman has written countless academic papers on Austen, presenting them at conferences and running workshops around the world celebrating the author. But one of her proudest achievements was researching and writing a novel about Jane Austen’s aunt Philadelphia Hancock, who played a significant role in the novelist’s life.

The book, Jane Austen’s Remarkable Aunt Philadelphia Hancock, was an eight-year labour-of love for Merriman who pieced together the life of Philadelphia and her daughter Eliza (Jane’s first cousin and close confidante) through years of painstaking research.

Both women provided inspiration for characters in the young Jane’s novels. Merriman’s book details the connection between author and aunt, discovering the worlds that Philadelphia moved in across England, France and India, the people she met and the mystery of Eliza’s real father.

“Philadelphia brought another dimension to a young Jane Austen’s life,” says Merriman.

“But very little was written about her. So, I set about finding out as much as I could about Jane’s aunt and the impact she had on her life and her writing. Many influential women of the time didn’t get a mention in history. But we are now rectifying that by telling their stories and bringing them to life.”

Merriman spent thousands of hours trawling through history to piece together Philadelphia’s life as a milliner, mother, doctor’s wife and countess.

“I couldn’t have written this book without the internet or without libraries,” says Jan. “From Albion Park and Shellharbour Library to Oxford, Cambridge and the British Library, all of them have been wonderful sources of information.”

Jan discovered letters Philadelphia had written to her daughter and husband, a surgeon for the East India Company whom she met through an arranged marriage. When he died Philadelphia married a French count and lived in France with her new husband and daughter until the revolution forced them to return to England.

“Eliza remained central figures in Jane’s life and writing,” says Merriman, who is considered worldwide to be a Jane Austen expert.

After the publication of her novel late last year, Merriman was invited to speak to Jane Austen fans at Chawton Cottage the house where she wrote her famous novels, including Pride and Prejudice, which was adapted for television by the BBC five times - the first version in 1938 and the most famous in 1995.

It was a career highlight for the retired teacher and university lecturer who, all those years ago when she first picked up a copy of Emma, never dreamed she would be one day standing in Jane Austen’s home signing copies of her own book.

Merriman will share her wealth of knowledge about Jane Austen and her remarkable aunt at Kiama Library on June 20 from 6pm as the special guest of Friends of Kiama Library (FOKL). She will also sign copies of her book. Tickets are $25 for FOKL and $30 for guests, including drinks and finger food.

Merriman’s talk will kick off six months of Jane Austen celebrations with the library hosting a free Jane Austen Book Club each month. The first - Northanger Abbey - will be on June 24 and celebrations will culminate in a discussion of the much-loved Pride and Prejudice on November 25.