Was Jane Austen’s aunt a shoplifter? This intriguing question will be asked and answered in a talk by David Pugsley, an entertaining and knowledgeable speaker on unusual court cases.

The shoplifting case concerns Mrs Leigh-Perrot, a local woman known for her manners, who was tried at Taunton Assizes accused of taking a piece of lace without paying. Somehow she avoided pre-trial confinement in Ilchester jail by lodging with the jail-keeper’s family.

The talk is tomorrow (Thursday, October 26) at 7.30pm in Wellington Prep School Hall in aid of Wellington Local History & Museum Society. Entry is £3 – £2 for society members.