In The Real Jane Austen, acclaimed literary biographer Paula Byrne provides the most intimate and revealing portrait yet of a beloved but complex novelist. Just as letters and tokens in Jane Austen's novels often signal key turning points in the narrative, Byrne explores the small things - a scrap of paper, a gold chain, an ivory miniature - that held significance in Austen's personal and creative life. Byrne transports us to different worlds, from the East Indies to revolutionary Paris, and to different events, from a high society scandal to a case of petty shoplifting. In this ground-breaking biography, Austen is set on a wider stage than ever before, revealing a well-traveled and politically aware writer - important aspects of her artistic development that have long been overlooked. The Real Jane Austen is a fresh, compelling, and surprising biography of the author of some of our most enduring classic books - from Pride and Prejudice to Sense and Sensibility, Emma to Persuasion - and a vivid evocation of the world that shaped her.

Author Biography

Paula Byrne is the critically acclaimed author of five biographies, including Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice, The Real Jane Austen, and Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead. She lives in Oxford, England, with her husband, the academic and biographer Jonathan Bate.