Written by Paula Byrne.

Reader Emma Fielding

To mark this month's bicentenary of the first publication of Pride and Prejudice, this new biography examines the forces that shaped the interior life of Jane Austen. The woman who emerges is far tougher, more socially and politically aware, and altogether more modern than the conventional picture of 'dear Aunt Jane' would allow.

Today, a pair of topaz crosses - given as a gift to Jane and her sister Cassandra from their sailor brother Charles - find their way into her fiction, and the only known picture of Jane, a watercolour painted by her beloved sister, reveals the enduring intimacy of their relationship.

Abridged by Elizabeth Reeder.

Produced by Allegra McIlroy. Show less