Jane Austen: A Life

The six great novels of Jane Austen picture a world of civility and reassuring stability. Was this the world she lived in? Not quite,as this fascinating biography shows. From local archives Claire Tomalin has reconstructed the lives of her relatives and Hampshire neighbours. And there are many surprises too about the writer who deemed herself to be "formidable". Based on the original research for which Claire Tomalin is renowned, and including passages of literary criticism as well as intimate portraits of this remarkable writer, this will unquestionably be the definitive biography: a great biographer on a great writer.