This book is as lovely to hold as it is to read, a "picture of perfection" that would please even Jane Austen, with its box-stitched binding, turquoise cover, deep blue end papers, and beautiful paper. Inside are a treasure of 41 items, including letters, portraits, a pamphlet, dancing shoes, banknotes, a donkey carriage. Each item is appealingly photographed, and has its own history and relevance to Austen's life explained. Sutherland's moving introduction invites to think about the place objects hold for us as we try to know to the unknowable; as Paula Byrne said, "the real Jane Austen." Bodleian Library Publishing in association with Jane Austen's House.2025. Hb. NEW. $40.00