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ffusions of ancy

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Effusions of fancy came about as a result of my frustration at the lack of images of Jane Austen and her world. In January 2001, I started to research and draw for the book. As an artist, Cassandra Austen's little sketch, now housed in the National Portrait Gallery, fascinated me. For those of you who have not seen the real thing, it really is a very beautiful little drawing and sadly does not seem to reproduce well in books, etc. In reality, it is a very delicate watercolour painting, executed in pale washes with very fine detail. Cassandra must have had wonderful eyesight and a very steady hand! The reproductions we see in books are often over large and heavily printed and have, I believe, contributed to the myth that Jane was a cross looking spinster who lived a quiet life in a rectory....

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