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

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[Previously published as The Genius of Jane Austen]