How did Jane Austen die? Researchers are still trying to unravel the author’s final chapter

For decades, people have paused outside of No. 8 College Street next to the campus of Winchester College in England.

The only detail of the painted brick building’s façade that belies its significance is an oval plaque above the doorway with the words, “In this house Jane Austen lived her last days and died 18th July 1817.” But for Janeites, devoted fans of the beloved author and her works, the spot represents what’s perhaps the most enigmatic chapter of Austen’s too-short life.

The novelist and her sister, Cassandra Austen, lived on the first floor of the building for eight weeks while Jane sought treatment for a nearly yearlong, unidentified illness. After appearing to improve in fits and starts, the author died at just 41 years old without ever having received a clear diagnosis that