<p>In <em>The Real Jane Austen</em>, acclaimed literary biographer Paula Byrne provides the most intimate and revealing portrait yet of a beloved but complex novelist.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p><em>The Real Jane Austen </em>is a fresh, compelling, and surprising biography of the author of some of our most enduring classic books – from <em>Pride and Prejudice </em>to <em>Sense and Sensibility, Emma </em>to <em>Persuasion</em> – and a vivid evocation of the world that shaped her.</p>