Jane Austen in 41 Objects
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bodleian Library
Published:13th Mar '25
Should be back in stock very soon
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.
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.
-- Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and authorObjects 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!
-- Kate Atkinson MBEIn 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.
-- Kathryn Hughes * Wet shirts and stolen lace *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.
-- Joceline Bury * Book Review *'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.
-- Maggie Lane * Book RevieISBN: 9781851246267
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
224 pages