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Secondary sourcePainting1898

Portrait of Jane Austen, Winchester Edition

1898

A printed portrait of Jane Austen used as a frontispiece in a 1898 edition of her novels, created decades after her death.

This later portrait shows how Jane Austen was imagined and remembered by readers long after her lifetime.

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A printed portrait illustration of a woman, used as a frontispiece in a book of Jane Austen's novels.
Portrait frontispiece, The Novels of Jane Austen (Winchester edition), 1898. British Library.

About this source

What it is

This is a printed portrait of Jane Austen, used as the frontispiece in the Winchester edition of her collected novels, published in 1898. It is held by the British Library.

It was made long after Austen's lifetime, so it is not a direct likeness drawn from life.

Why it matters

This image shows how later generations imagined and remembered Jane Austen, long after her death in 1817. It reflects Victorian and early twentieth-century ideas about what a famous woman author should look like, rather than showing us exactly how she appeared.

Because so few authentic images of Austen exist, later portraits like this one shaped the public image of her for many readers.

Look closer

  • What impression of Jane Austen does this portrait try to create?
  • Why might publishers want a portrait of an author in a book, even decades after her death?
  • How might this image differ from an image made during Austen's own lifetime?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jane Austen on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1818 first edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, printed in London by John Murray, Albemarle-Street. Text reads 'Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. By the author of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield-Park, &c. With a biographical notice of the author. In four volumes. Vol. I.' Aged cream paper with foxing.Book

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