Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius
‘I relished every page … This is the best book on Jane Austen I have ever read’Spectator
‘Compelling … a delightful and engrossing book … Byrne’s passion is nothing if not persuasive’Sunday Times
Was Jane Austen a woman of prim manners and genteel calm? Or someone who behaved outrageously, filled with sharp wit and wild comedy?
Looking afresh at adaptations of Austen’s work – from the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice to Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility and the wildly successful Clueless – bestselling biographer Paula Byrne presents a bold new portrait of Austen as you’ve never seen her before.
‘A definitive and pioneering study of a wholly neglected aspect of Austen’s art’ Michael Caines, TLS
‘Entertaining and engaging’Literary Review
.
.
[Previously published as The Genius of Jane Austen]
”'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