Jane Austen in 41 Objects

More than 200 years after Jane Austen's death at the age of just forty-one, we are still looking for clues about this extraordinary writer's life. What might we learn if we take a glimpse inside the biographies of objects that crossed her path in life and afterwards things that she cherished or cast aside, or that furnished the world in which she moved, or that have themselves been inspired by her legacy? Among objects described in this book are a teenage notebook, a muslin shawl, a wallpaper fragment, a tea caddy, the theatrical poster for a play she attended and the dining-room grate at Chawton Cottage where she lived. Poignantly, the last manuscript page of her unfinished novel and a lock of hair kept by her devoted sister, Cassandra, are also featured. Objects contributing to Jane Austen's rich cultural legacy include a dinner plate decorated by Bloomsbury artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, Grayson Perry's commemorative pot from 2009 and Mr Darcy's wet shirt, worn by Colin Firth in the 1995 BBC adaptation. This is a different kind of biography, in which objects with their own histories offer shifting entry points into Jane Austen's life. Each object illustrated in colour invites us to meet Jane Austen at a particular moment when her life intersects with theirs, speaking eloquently of past lives and shedding new light on one of our best-loved authors.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgements A chronology of Jane Austen Introduction: A life in objects  Jane Austen: A life in objects 1 Portrait of Jane Austen, c. 1810 2 Mrs Austen to Mrs Walter, 20 August 1775 3 The Revd George Austen’s bookcase 4 ‘Volume the First’  5 Marianne Knight’s dancing slippers 6 Marriage register, St Nicholas Church, Steventon 7 Betsy Hancock/Eliza de Feuillide 8 ‘Juvenile Songs & Lessons’: Jane Austen’s music book 9 A muslin shawl 10 The trial of Mrs Leigh Perrot 11 Silhouette of Cassandra Elizabeth Austen 12 A flower spray 13 Frances Burney, Camilla, 1796 14 A letter, 26–27 May 1801 15 Portrait of Jane Austen, 1804 16 Wallpaper fragment 17 Martha Lloyd’s Household Book 18 Austen family quilt 19 Jane Austen’s writing table 20 Four Wedgwood serving dishes 21 Theatre bill for The Clandestine Marriage, Covent Garden, 1813 104 22 Front door, 50 Albemarle Street, London 23 Emma, the Windsor Castle copy 24 A life in banknotes 25 Jane Austen’s pelisse 26 The Octagon Room, Bath 27 The donkey carriage 28 A lock of hair 29 Dining-room grate 30 A sermon scrap 31 Caroline Austen, ‘My Aunt Jane Austen’, 1867 32 The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Dorset 33 Chris Hammond, illustration for Sense and Sensibility, 1899 34 Memorial window, Winchester Cathedral 35 Danish translation of Pride and Prejudice, 1904 36 Jane Austen plate, Charleston, 1932–34 37 Rex Whistler’s costume designs for Pride and Prejudice, 1936 38 Mr Darcy’s shirt 39 A tea caddy 40 Grayson Perry, ‘Jane Austen in e17’, 2009 41 Last words Notes Further reading Image credits Index

About the Author :
Kathryn Sutherland is Senior Research Fellow, St Anne's College, Oxford.

Review :
A stunning, sophisticated and thought-provoking journey through Austen's life, written by a world expert.  This book is small but so, so beautiful, and utterly perfectly formed. Objects are witnesses to our lives. It’s wonderful to see the dancing slippers belonging to one of Jane Austen’s nieces, a scrap of wallpaper, a recipe book from Chawton.  Taken all together they form a rich and lively picture of a life cut off too soon.  Yes, we have the legacy of her novels, but it’s fascinating to experience more of the wider context of her life.  Is there room in the world for another book about Jane Austen?  Definitely – this one! In this riveting, gorgeously illustrated book, Sutherland... has identified 42 objects - one for each year of Austen's life . . . the great advantage of Sutherland's pick and mix approach is that it allows us the buried stories, side angles and overlooked corners that get squeezed out in more conventional treatments of Austen's life. There is not a dull page. I can imagine book club members’ impassioned responses, with speculations inspired by objects so close to the life and the legends. What I cannot imagine is a better gift for a fan of Jane Austen, or for yourself. To really understand the life of one of England’s greatest novelists is to look through the personal possessions she left behind. In celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary, author Kathryn Sutherland looks at the 41 objects that depict her short life in a new kind of biography. In this book Kathryn Sutherland shows we can gain new insight into Austen by examining the everyday artefacts that fed into her work. We are lucky that so many survive, and in this lavishly illustrated tribute can see a diverse array of the objects and ephemera that surrounded her. As lovely to look at as it is to read, Kathryn Sutherland’s catalogue of ‘a life in objects’ is set to be one of the stand-out publications of 2025, Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary year. 'Jane Austen in 41 Objects' is likely to be among the most attractive of many publications brought out to mark the 250th anniversary year of Jane Austen’s birth. No mere keepsake (though well worth keeping), its chunky format and high production values are at the service of a thoughtful, original and deeply satisfying text.