Things that may or may not have belonged to Jane Austen: a portable writing desk and three pairs of glasses. (Via British Library Board)
What killed Jane Austen? Over at Pictorial (via Jezebel), Kelly Faircloth investigates the untimely death of Jane Austen at the age of 41. There are a number of theories to choose from–among them Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Addison’s disease, and death by cow (er, that is, tuberculosis caught from cows)–but a new assertion from the New York Times suggests that arsenic poisoning may have played a role, and the proof lies in Jane Austen’s eyeglasses.
According to the British Library, the last three pairs of glasses reportedly belonging to the author “show evidence that her vision severely deteriorated in her final years,” pointing to a case of cataracts. Arsenic poisoning is a potential cause, says Dr. Sandra Tuppen, a curator at the British Library. Nonetheless, co-director of cataract and primary eye care at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Dr. Mark Blecher, shoots down Dr. Tuppen’s theory as “pure speculation,” citing genetics, eye trauma, and other causes as more likely in an interview with Live Science.
Moreover, the majority of cataracts dont cause prescription changes. When they do, they usually increase the need for minus prescription glasses (to see far away), Blecher said, but its unclear whether Austen went from a low prescription to a high prescription, or vice versa, he said.
In the New York Times article, British independent critic Deirdre Le Faye also expresses some skepticism.
The trouble is, Jane Austen lived such a quiet, placid life that there isn’t a great deal of drama in it. You just cant find it. So the trouble is, people start to invent drama.
Read more about the debate on Pictorial here.
