I learned a lot about Jane Austen's family and her times. This does not go in chronological order. It uses "small things" as a jumping off point to expand on her life, family and times. ( )

Every scholar brings their own interpretations and insights to their subject. No matter how many books on Jane Austen I read, there is always something new to learn.

Byrne's book is entertaining and I enjoyed reading it. She considers Austen through the lens of physical objects that impacted her life. Yes, the famous amber cross gifted by her brother is one, and her writing desk gifted from her father. Also, the card of lace her aunt was accused of stealing and the bathing machines Austen would have used when staying at her beloved oceanside resorts. Each object is symbolic of an aspect of Austen's life discussed in the chapter.

Of particular interest are insights into Austen's novel Mansfield Park.

Jane had visited the estate of the real Lord Mansfield who adopted a niece to be their heir. She was raised with Dido, the illegitimate daughter of Mansfield's nephew and an enslaved black woman. Byrnes explores Jane's knowledge of slavery through Mansfield, close and distant relatives, and her naval brother Franks' interception of slave vessels and his abolitionist beliefs. The Norris family name also had associations, for it was the name of a notorious slave trader.

Byrnes dissects the background to the novel's plot as reflecting what was going on in Antigua, the reliance on slave labor, the depletion of the soil, and brewing unrest. She notes that Fanny is the only one who wished to ask Mr. Bertram about the slave trade.

After reading Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, I was the only one of my university classmates who liked Mansfield Park. The morally superior, powerless, and sensitive Fanny stood her ground, which impressed me. But I did not consider what Byrnes addresses: that the word 'home' was used 140 times in the novel. She asserts that the importance of home is a main theme. "Is it a place or is it a family?", she queries. One of the transformative events in my life was moving at age ten, leaving me homesick and forever wondering about true homes and the homes we make out of necessity.

We can only know Austen through her surviving letters, her novels, and one authenticated portrait--of her back. I appreciate Byrnes deep exploration of these sources which helps to further fill out our understanding of the 'real' Jane Austen. ( )

What a well-researched review of what Jane Austen's real life was like! The author has studied small mementos Jane left behind, which have been missed by other biographers and then researches and explains just how large Jane's window on life was. Paula Byrne even suggests—very cleverly-- that one of these mementos might actually be an informal portrait of Jane's face! ( )

Paula Byrne takes several items belonging to Jane Austen or of her era and talks about how they were an influence or a inspiration on her. How they reflect her life and the kind of person she was, there's colour illustrations of the sketches that are the theme of the book and now, dammit, I have to find my writing slope, get it recovered and use the damned thing. ( )

If you want a chronological, biographical sketch of Jane Austen's life, this book isn't it. However, if you want to get a feel for the kind of person Jane Austen was, then this book should satisfy you. I still would have liked more details on Austen's life rather than the lengthy extrapolations on her relatives, but I suppose it's difficult to flesh out Austen's life when our records of her are incomplete.

It's fascinating seeing how often Austen drew from the people and events in her own life to color her books, and I loved the way Byrne was able to shine light on this literary hero's personality. I'm going to have to add Jane Austen to my list of people, dead or alive, I would love to have a conversation with. I expect she'd be a wise, witty, and fun conversationalist, the kind of person I wouldn't have trouble staying friends with.

Jane Austen is a writer I appreciate more and more as I get older. It's such a shame that she died so young—just think of all the treasures the world didn't get to enjoy because her life was cut short. ( )