GENIUS OF JANE AUSTEN- NOT-_HB - Hardcover

Paula Byrne is the author the bestselling biographies `Perdita', `Mad World', `The Real Jane Austen', `Belle' and `Kick'. She is founder and chief executive of ReLit, the Bibliotherapy Foundation, a charity devoted to the mental health benefits of reading. She is married to Sir Jonathan Bate and lives in Oxford.

`I relished every page ... Byrne's knowledge of everything Austen wrote has an enviable thoroughness and perception which is rare among Austen scholars and which illuminates the whole of her text. I am tempted to say this is the best book on Jane Austen I have ever read.' Paul Johnson, The Spectator `A definitive and pioneering study of a wholly neglected aspect of Austen's art' Michael Caines, Times Literary Supplement `A fascinating analysis that marries meticulous historical research with critical imagination and flair' The Historical Journal Praise for `The Real Jane Austen': `A delightful and engrossing portrait' Sunday Times `A perceptive and energetic guide to Austen and her surroundings ... Byrne's critical study consists of a series of beautifully written, interrelated essays ... [her] style gives fresh charms to her subject matter. `The Real Jane Austen' is bold, fast-moving and accessible' Daily Telegraph `Brilliantly illuminating ... riveting. 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' Simon Callow, Guardian