Inside Jane Austen's death and tragic last days of Pride and Prejudice author

This twelvemonth marks the author's 250th birthday

Acclaimed writer Jane Austen volition beryllium turning 250 this twelvemonth with plentifulness of celebrations taking spot crossed Britain to people the beingness and works of the Pride and Prejudice writer.

Along with the celebrations, the BBC volition beryllium airing four-part play bid Miss Austen, based connected the 2020 caller of the aforesaid sanction by Gill Hornby and exploring wherefore her sister Cassandra Austen (played by Keeley Hawes) burnt Jane’s (Pasty Ferran) idiosyncratic letters aft the writer’s death.

The bid volition beryllium airing connected Sunday, February 2 astatine 9.05pm connected BBC One with fans getting the full boxset from 6am connected the aforesaid time for those hoping to binge it.

Many fans are already funny to cognize astir Jane and however the celebrated writer lived retired her past days earlier her demise, reported the Express.

Jane died connected July 18, 1817 astatine the young property of 41 astatine 8 College Street, Winchester astatine 4.30am with her beloved sister Cassandra beside her.

She perished from an unspecified illness, however, determination person been theories astir what caused her decease arsenic good arsenic her wellness issues.

The Emma and Persuasion writer is wide thought to person succumbed to either Addison’s oregon crab - Hodgkin’s disease.

Symptoms of Addison’s illness see tegument discolouration, debased mood, fatigue, musculus weakness, temperature, nausea and vomiting, among others.

Blood crab Hodgkin lymphoma tin pb to fatigue, fevers, itchy tegument and a feeling of breathlessness.

According to a 2021 interrogation connected Chawton House’s website, Michael D Sanders, Emeritus Consultant astatine St Thomas’ Hospital successful London hypothesised Jane died from the chronic autoimmune illness Lupus alternatively than Addison’s oregon Hodgkin’s illness arsenic galore judge was the case.

Sanders revisited Jane’s surviving correspondence, including the missive successful which she spoke astir her tegument changing colour to “black and achromatic and each incorrect colour”.

Lupus causes the immune strategy to mistakenly onslaught the body’s ain insubstantial with antibodies aft identifying them arsenic overseas entities, starring to inflammation.

According to the NHS, symptoms of Lupus see a tegument rash, fatigue, associated pain, a precocious temperate, slump and headaches, among different things.

He ruled retired Addison’s which had been suggested by British doc Zachary Cope backmost successful 1964. Sanders said Jane’s “multicoloured” and “transient” lesions connected her look weren’t “typical” of the disease.

Moreover, Jane recovered somewhat from her unwellness but Addison’s would person been progressive with nary comeback.

Instead, Sanders said she had the 2 main symptoms of Lupus, which were pigmentation to the look and recovery.

He went connected to accidental however Lupus inactive disproportionately affected women today.

Meanwhile, transgression writer Lindsay Ashford theorised backmost successful 2011 however Jane whitethorn person died from arsenic poisoning which besides causes patches of tegument to discolour.

Ashford said however Jane’s symptoms successful her letters corresponded to those of arsenic poisoning and described it arsenic an “amazing correlation”, the Guardian reported astatine the time.

The writer suggested Jane whitethorn person been fixed medicine containing arsenic.

Ashford explored her mentation successful her 2011 caller The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen and adjacent claimed determination could person been foul play involved, and suggested “there could person been a motive for murder”.

Interestingly, The British Library successful 2017 looked into whether Jane developed cataracts from accidental arsenic poisoning and analysed her spectacles for clues but exercised caution astir immoderate steadfast theories relating to this and her death.

Professor Janet Todd, the exertion for the Cambridge variation of Jane Austen, rejected Ashford’s mentation and said execution was intolerable and said she doubted whether Jane would person been “poisoned intentionally”.

Professor Todd did accidental it was “odd” Jane passed distant truthful young but asserted nary 1 knew what the writer had died of without digging up the remains.

Todd said disinterring Jane from her resting spot successful Winchester Cathedral for modern forensic investigation “would not beryllium appreciated”.

Miss Austen airs connected BBC One connected Sunday, February 2 astatine 9.05pm and volition beryllium disposable arsenic a boxset connected BBC iPlayer from 6am