Jane Austen in 41 Objects

by Kathryn Sutherland

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 224
Rating:

Synopsis:

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 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 even Mr Darcy's wet shirt, worn by Colin Firth in the 1995 BBC adaptation.

More than two hundred 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 afterward: things that she cherished or cast aside, that furnished the world in which she moved, or that have themselves been inspired by her legacy?

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 color, invites us to meet 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.

I’m not a huge Jane Austen fan — I’ve read some of the books and did enjoy them (sorry, Mum, I know you reaaally don’t like Austen), and I can appreciate their importance as literature, but I’m no Janeite. I think that’s probably the primary audience for this book, but for me, I was attracted by the “x in y objects” format, which I always enjoy.

This is a nicely presented variation on that theme, with full colour glossy images, short descriptions of the signifiance of each, and even the ability to just dip in and out if you want (there’s no overarching narrative). I might possibly prefer a slightly more organised and deliberate style, where each object leads to another, or there’s a stronger chronological theme (though the items are somewhat in time-order).

I did find that the introduction was a bit overly scholarly compared to the actual contents, so if you find that’s bogging you down, and you’re still interested in the contents, just skip it. It’s 22 pages long and took me 15 minutes to read, compared to the 50 minutes it took me to read the other 167 pages…

Rating: 4/5