I try to read a graphic novel every once in awhile to expand my literary tastes. This year, I saw Patchwork (2025) by Kate Evans on NPR’s Books We Love List and knew that I needed to read it. I love Jane Austen, and Pride and Prejudice has been my favorite book since I first read it back in college. I’ve heard little tidbits about Austen’s life here and there, but I really don’t know much about her. I figured this book would be perfect for me.
Jane Austen and her sister sewed a patchwork quilt for their mother, which is the inspiration for the title. I thought Patchwork was very well done. The drawings are beautiful–especially the full-page drawings. They really allowed me to dive into Austen’s world and imagine what her life was like. In fact, I learned a lot about Austen, including her early years, her family, her connections, and how her writing was originally received. I had heard that Austen and her sister were close–much like Jane and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, but I saw how important they were to each other while reading this book.
Evans often uses text from Austen’s books in order to show what happened in Jane Austen’s life back in the day. This is a fascinating technique because I could imagine Austen using her own life as inspiration for her novels. I am not as familiar with all of Austen’s work as some, so I imagine the people that really know Austen’s work would get even more out of this technique. Of course, we don’t know what was actually said or thought back then, and apparently Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra, may have burnt the more interesting letters she exchanged with Jane.
In addition, Evans weaves in context of the time period. In one section of the book, Evans describes where all of the different layers of the quilt came from, including cotton from American slavery, linen from the Irish, and other textiles from the East India Company. The context was insightful, helpful, and well done.
The only frustrating thing about this book is that I occasionally found it a little hard to follow. I came in knowing so little about Austen that I sometimes wanted a little more context about her life and how we know what we know about her. In fact, this book has piqued my curiosity so strongly that I am now interested in reading a traditional biography of Austen in order to learn more.
This was a relatively quick read with beautiful pictures. There are also extensive notes in the back. I read a good portion of them, but it was a bit of a slog and I ran out of time to finish all of them. However, I would recommend this book to any Jane Austen fan.
You can read all my reviews on my blog.
