Mystery lady

I've always been a fan of Jane Austen and have read all of her books, my favourite three on many occasions. 

A few years ago I was left several dozen books by my great-aunt Emily, who died in 1990, many with her signature in the front and dated from the early years of the 20th century. Among the collection were a few belonging to her sister, my great-aunt Evelyn, and one of those was 'Parson Austen's Daughter', by Helen Ashton. Written in 'novel form' and published in 1949, it relies entirely on letters and other documentation, but what makes it different from many other biographies is the historical material added to the story, which certainly helps to set the scene. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I discovered only yesterday an interesting item of information. There is only one known picture of the lady, drawn by her sister Cassandra, but a few years ago a picture came to light, 'an imaginary picture of an authoress', which many authorities believe to be Jane, as the nose is almost identical to those of her father and brothers, all of whom had their portraits painted. Intriguing!