The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things

(Hardback)

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Who was the real Jane Austen A spinster who sat in a vicarage confining her novels to the small canvas of village life Or a woman who knew the turbulent world around her and who took the bold decision to remain unmarried and fashion herself as a professional writer

In this new biography, bestselling author Paula Byrne (author of Perdita, Mad World) explores the forces that shaped the interior life of Britain's most beloved novelist: her father's religious faith, her mother's aristocratic pedigree, her eldest brother's adoption, her other brothers' naval and military experiences, her relatives in the East and West Indies, her cousin who lived through the trauma of the French Revolution, the family's amateur theatricals, the female novelists she admired, her residence in Bath, her love of the seaside, her travels around England and her long struggle to become a published author.

Byrne uses a highly innovative technique whereby each chapter begins from an object that conjures up a key moment or theme in Austen's life and worka silhouette, a vellum notebook, a topaz cross, a laptop writing box, a royalty cheque, a bathing machine, and many more.

The woman who emerges in this biography is far tougher, more socially and politically aware, and altogether more modern than the conventional picture of dear Aunt Jane' would allow. Published to coincide with the bicentenary of Pride and Prejudice, this lively and scholarly biography brings Austen dazzlingly into the twenty-first century.

Reviews

Brilliantly illuminating Its great merit is by focusing on one thread or another of Austen's experience, Byrne allow us to grasp the richness of Austen's inner life Guardian

Perceptive and energetic Sunday Telegraph

A neat approach to biography, allowing Byrne to burrow deep beneath the surface of Austens existence. The result is a delightful and engrossing portrait Sunday Times

Byrne's essays add up to a fine appraisal of the novelist's environment, truly Austenish in the way they burrow into a sequestered and often secretive private world Observer

A perceptive and energetic guide to Austen and her surroundings Byrnes critical study consists of a series of beautifully written, interrelated essays [her] style gives fresh charms to her subject matter. The Real Jane Austen is bold, fast-moving and accessible Daily Telegraph

Engaging, compelling, a delightful and engrossing book. Of course we all know that the "real" Jane Austen will forever be a mystery, but most 21st century Janeites will adore this one. Byrne's passion is nothing if not persuasive Sunday Times

What is fresh in Byrne's biographical approach is her use of a succession of contemporary objects that Austen owned, or that might be seen in intimate connection with her interests this adds an attractive immediacy to a well-known story Byrne's affectionate study paints a pleasingly lively picture of Austen's life Independent

Brilliantly illuminating riveting. By focusing, chapter by chapter, on one thread or another of Austen's experience, Byrne allows us to grasp the richness of her inner life Simon Callow, Guardian

The portrait of Austen that emerges is sparklingly multi-faceted, catching the light in intriguing ways her Jane is far less likely to go for a quiet walk in the garden than she is to be whisked into town in search of a velvet cushion, a necklace or a smart new dress Irish Mail on Sunday

Author Bio

Paula Byrne was born in Birkenhead and has a PhD from the University of Liverpool, where she is a Research Fellow in English Literature. Her first book, Jane Austen and the Theatre, was shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize. Her second book, Perdita: The Life of Mary Robinson , the tale of the scandalous star of the 18th-century stage, literature and high-society, was a Richard and Judy bookclub pick. Her most recent book is Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead. The story of Evelyn Waugh's friendship with the extraordinary aristocratic family who inspired Brideshead Revisited, it was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. A regular contributor to the 'Times Literary Supplement', she lives in Warwickshire with her two young children and her husband, the critic and biographer Jonathan Bate.