This is a different kind of biography, in which objects with their own histories offer shifting entry points into Jane Austen's life. Each object - illustrated in colour - invites us to meet Jane Austen at a particular moment when her life intersects with theirs, speaking eloquently of past lives and shedding new light on one of our best-loved authors. Among objects described in this book are a teenage notebook, a muslin shawl, a wallpaper fragment, a tea caddy, the theatrical poster for a play she attended and the dining-room grate at Chawton Cottage where she lived. Poignantly, the last manuscript page of her unfinished novel and a lock of hair kept by her devoted sister, Cassandra, are also featured.