THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'It is good to meet the real Jane Austen at last' Independent on Sunday

'Brilliantly illuminating ... 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' Guardian

Who was the real Jane Austen? A retiring spinster content with quiet village life? Or a strong-minded woman who chose to remain unmarried and to fashion herself as a professional writer?

Bestselling biographer Paula Byrne uses objects that conjure up a key moment in Austen's life and work - a vellum notebook, a topaz cross, a writing box and a bathing machine - to reveal the true self of this most beloved author.

'Sparklingly multi-faceted, catching the light in intriguing ways ... Byrne's 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' Mail on Sunday