Off the Shelf: Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen – Kate Evans

Jane Austen made a patchwork quilt folding thousands of tiny scraps of fabric and painstakingly stitching them together. In this illustrated talk, cartoonist and historian Kate Evans uses these slivers of cloth to illustrate Jane Austen’s life. Taking a fresh and funny approach, she teases apart the threads that connect Austen’s beloved novels, the events of her life and the fabric of society in riotous Regency England. 

What did Austen look like? What is so special about her writing? Kate explores some of Austen’s anarchic early heroines, her hilarious later letters and her outrageous relatives. With an eye for historical detail – panes of glass, bits of lace, hedge laying styles, the cut of a coat or the architecture of a Hampshire cottage, Kate Evans creates a bold new vision of Jane Austen’s world.

Kate Evans is a graphic and comics artist, Regency specialist and author of Red Rosa and Threads.

‘Evans has a storyteller’s eye. Her images are full of cinematic character.’ – Times Literary Supplement

This event is part of Off the Shelf: Festival of Words from the University of Sheffield. The full festival programme is available here: https://offtheshelf.org.uk/events/ 

The event is organised by the Off the Shelf Festival. Views expressed at this event do not reflect those of Sheffield Museums.