LONDON – Jane Austen’s House Museum says it has received a 100,000-pound ($160,000 CAD) donation to help it buy the Pride and Prejudice writer’s ring back from singer Kelly Clarkson.
Earlier this month the British government placed a temporary export ban on the gold-and-turquoise ring in the hope money could be found to keep it in Britain.
The museum said Monday it had raised 103,200 pounds ($165,000 CAD) of the 152,450 pound ($243,000 CAD) asking price, most of it from a single anonymous donation.
Clarkson, an Austen fan, bought the ring at auction last year but has been prevented from taking it home to the U.S.
Museum fundraiser Louise West said the situation is a shame for Clarkson, “but the ring should stay in this country because there is so little of Austen’s personal effects left.”
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