A CAMPAIGN by Jane Austen's House Museum at Chawton to buy a rare letter written by the famed author's sister has been boosted to the tune of £5,000 thanks to the Friends of the National Libraries.

Written in 1817, in the grief-filled days following Jane Austen's early death, the letter sees Cassandra describing her sister as a "dear angel" and remembering their "happy hours of confidential intercourse".

For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.