Andrea Leadsom says Austen is UK's greatest living author

Andrea Leadsom says Austen is UK's greatest living author

A Cabinet minister was today mocked by Waterstones after she described Jane Austen as one of Britain's 'greatest living authors' 200 years after the novelist died.

Andrea Leadsom made the slip up in the House of Commons as she was praising the decision to put the face of the much-loved author on the side of the new £10 notes. 

But her blunder was quickly seized upon by the chain of bookshops who joked that they are trying to book the author now they have been illuminated that she is alive.

In a post on Twitter, the shop wrote: 'We are currently moving all our Jane Austen stock from Classics into Greatest Living Authors. Thanks Andrea Leadsom for the heads up.'

Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, said Jane Austen is one of Britain's greatest living authors before realising her error as her fellow MPs set about laughing

Waterstones joined in the online mocking of Andrea Leadsom over the blunder. The bookshop chain joked that it is scrambling to move all its Austen books to their living author section

Twitter users joined in the mockery with one suggesting the Cabinet minister should have dinner with the Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare 

Another Twitter user  joked that they saw a 242 year-old Jane Austen in the supermarket

Another Twitter user joked that Pride and Prejudice has just hit the shelves and is actually about Brexit

In another post they added: 'Anyone know who Jane Austen's agent is? We'd love to book her for an event.'

The gentle jibe came after Mrs Leadsom made the embarrassing blunder during a question and answer session in Parliament.

Mrs Leadsom, leader of the Commons, was rattling through the achievements of women when she came to the Pride and Prejudice author.

She told MPs: ‘I would just add one other great lady to that lovely list who I am delighted to join in celebrating, and that’s that of Jane Austen, who will feature on the new £10 note which I think is one of our greatest living authors.’

But MPs were quick to spot her mistake and and burst out laughing at the blunder.  

Mrs Leadsom - who briefly stood to be Tory Party leader last year before pulling out of the race - quickly tried to backtrack.

She said: ‘One of our greatest ever authors, and I think it’s fantastic that at last we are starting to recognise. I think many of her probably wish she were still living.’ 

Austen became the new face of the tenner this month coinciding with the 200th anniversary since the author's death.

It followed a high-profile campaign to get her picked amid anger that no women other than the Queen graced  our legal tenure. 

Austen's books include Sense and Sensibility, Emma and Manfield Park, and have become hugely popular classics. 

Governor of the Bank of England mark Carney unveiled the new £10 note bearing jane Austen's face at an event outside Winchester Cathedral on Tuesday 

Jane Austen, who has penned many of Britain's most-loved novels including Pride and Prejudice and Emma, was made the new face of the tenner after a high profile campaign

But the new £10 note sparked a furore when it was launched earlier this week as it featured a quote about reading from a character in Pride and Prejudice detests books.

The words 'I declare after all there is no enjoyment but reading!' feature underneath a portrait of Austen, commissioned by her family. 

Fans of the famous novelist were quick to point out that they were spoken by  Caroline Bingley who has no real interest in reading. 

Mrs Leadsom had hoped to become Tory Party leader and prime Minister after David Cameron quit Number 10 in the wake of the Brexit vote.

But she dramatically quit the race after she gave a controversial newspaper interview in which she suggested she would be a better PM than Theresa May because she has children. 

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