Jane Austen's final illness, which led to her death at 41, remains debated, but modern medical analysis suggests she likely suffered from Addison's disease (adrenal insufficiency), though Hodgkin's lymphoma, lupus (SLE), or even tuberculosis (bovine TB or disseminated TB) are also proposed causes, based on her symptoms like fatigue, skin discoloration, fever, and severe joint pain described in her letters.
Current medical opinion, biographers, and encyclopaedic reference all lean towards a diagnosis of Addison's disease, which involves destruction of the adrenal glands, but other medical opinion surmises that Jane may have been suffering from Hodgkin's disease, a form of cancer.
Whilst it is impossible now to conclusively establish the cause of her death, the existing medical evidence tends to exclude Addison's disease, and suggests there is a high possibility that Jane Austen's fatal illness was Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphoma.
By reviewing all of Austen's available letters and extricating relevant medical information, he has put forward a case that Jane Austen did not die of Addison's or Hodgkin's disease, as is widely held, but that she died of lupus.
The real answer is, some of it. The majority of the characters are based on real life historical characters. Cassandra was Jane Austen's older sister and she really was engaged to a man named Tom Fowle, who is depicted in the series.
Who was Jane Austen? Her Life, Works & Who She WASN'T
What is your life expectancy with lupus?
Lupus life expectancy has improved dramatically, with most people now living a near-normal lifespan thanks to better treatments, with 80-90% living a typical lifespan and 10-year survival rates around 90%. While once considered terminal, modern medicine allows many to manage flares and complications, though heart disease, infections, and kidney issues remain leading causes of mortality, emphasizing the need for early diagnosis, treatment adherence, and managing comorbidities like cardiovascular disease.
After Jane's death, Cassandra selectively censored some letters that she judged to be otherwise worthy of preservation. She is thought to have destroyed many others to safeguard her late sister's privacy.
This condition of adrenal insufficiency, also known as Addison's disease, is rare, incurable and can be managed by routine doses of medication. Symptoms of children with adrenal insufficiency include slow weight gain, fatigue, weakness, low blood pressure, craving for salty foods, vomiting and more.
The nature of Austen's illness remains a mystery and scholars have speculated that she suffered from everything from Addison's disease to tuberculosis to Hodgkin's lymphoma to a recurrent form of typhus. Whatever wracked her body, by the spring of 1817, Austen was bedridden, and on July 18, 1817, she passed away.
In some cases — such as after an injury or severe illness or time of intense stress — symptoms can come on quickly and cause a life-threatening event called an addisonian crisis or acute adrenal failure. An addisonian crisis is a medical emergency. If it's not treated, it can lead to shock and death.
Like her other daughter before her, she thus specified: “I give and bequeath all my property of every kind to my sole surviving Daughter Cassandra Elizabeth and I make her my said daughter my sole Executrix of this my last Will and Testament”.
Kennedy, born 29 May 1917, was diagnosed with Addison's disease in 1947 aged 30 whilst in London. As the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States, JFK is one of the most well-known public figures with Addison's.
In 1817, Jane became ill and moved to a house in College Street, Winchester with her sister to be closer to her doctor. At the age of 41, she died with her sister, Cassandra, beside her at 4:30 in the morning of July 18th 817 at 8, College Street. Her last recorded words, the day before, were 'God grant me patience.
Whether Austen enjoyed sticking out like this is unclear, but it's worth bearing in mind that all those haughty lovers and puffed-up clergymen who stride through her novels were in real life about five feet, five inches tall. To put it another way, Miss Austen would have towered over Mr. Darcy.
Virtually all patients have visual symptoms. Loss of acuity, hemianopia, visual agnosia, optic atrophy, and strabismus are the most common features. Neuropathy may cause a decrease in corneal sensation. Gaze abnormalities due to ocular apraxia are sometimes seen.
We know of the early romance with Tom Lefroy, who would later become Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, which was called off not by Jane due to any burgeoning doubt about her own sexuality, but by his family due to the penniless status of the would-be lovers.
Lupus can attack many different parts of the body. Some call it the cruel mystery. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can strike any part of the body, but the wide range of symptoms can be easily mistaken for something else.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) represents a risk of malignancy. The mechanism of carcinogenesis is not fully elucidated. Lymphomas are the most reported cancers in lupus. Other hemopathies have been reported, such as leukemia but remain unusual.
