Jane Austen would be annoyed women still do not have equality
Lucy Worsley was speaking at Austen's birthplace in Steventon, Hampshire, at a country fair to mark 250 years since the novelist was born.
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Austen's novels include Sense And Sensibility, Pride And Prejudice, and Emma.
Worsley said: 'It's such a special feeling to be on the spot where she herself walked and everybody here agrees with me, everybody here really loves Jane Austen.'
The historian said she thinks Austen 'changed the world', adding: 'Although she was a novelist, and she gives entertainment and her books are funny, I think they have a serious message that was very important then and now, which is that women shouldn't have to marry for money. In Jane Austen novels, that's always what happens.
'In the world of Pride And Prejudice, women and men were not equal. In the world of today, women and men are still not equal.
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'It's 250 years later but we're still not where we should be with our society. So if Jane Austen were to be here in the world today, I think that she'd say, 'hmm, I thought things would have been better than they are for women'.'
Actor Adrian Lukis, who played George Wickham in the BBC's 1995 adaptation of Pride And Prejudice, was also at the event.
Lukis said he was offered a different role originally, then Wickham became available, and he screen-tested and got that, which he called a 'wonderful part' in a 'fabulous book'.
He added: 'I've just done a Q&A for an hour to the audience, and having people say how much it means to their family that they all sit down at Christmas with their grandparents, and they've watched it for years, and it's just a wonderful series. And I'm very proud to have been a part of it.'
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Lukis said Austen's novels are 'wonderful stories driven by a compelling narrative' and praised the 'quality of her writing and her observation'.
Of Wickham, Lukis said: 'He's not a great guy, but what he is is charming and really good fun. And I always say, if at the end of the evening you spent with Wickham in a bar or a restaurant, you would have had a fantastic time, it's just at the end of the evening, he will say, 'I'm so sorry I forgot my money'. That's what you expect from Wickham.
'Darcy would sit there being all pompous and proud and serious and would pick up the bill, but you'd have a better time with Wickham.'
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