Jane Austen poisoned with arsenic? Not so fast, experts say

By Susan Scutti, CNN

Updated 1310 GMT (2110 HKT) March 13, 2017

Jane Austen, author "Emma" and "Pride and Prejudice," was born in 1775 and died in 1817. Sandra Tuppen, lead curator of Modern Archives & Manuscripts 1601-1850 at the British Library, suggested in a blog post that <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/11/health/jane-austen-eyeglasses-arsenic/">Austen was poisoned with arsenic</a>. Other experts said it's an unlikely theory. Past explanations for her early death include "cancer, tuberculosis and Addison's disease."<br />
Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
Jane Austen, author "Emma" and "Pride and Prejudice," was born in 1775 and died in 1817. Sandra Tuppen, lead curator of Modern Archives & Manuscripts 1601-1850 at the British Library, suggested in a blog post that Austen was poisoned with arsenic. Other experts said it's an unlikely theory. Past explanations for her early death include "cancer, tuberculosis and Addison's disease."
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Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-82), wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was forcibly committed to an asylum, but a contemporary doctor and scholar now believes she wasn't mentally ill at all. Instead, he believes, she had a condition called pernicious anemia.
Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-82), wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was forcibly committed to an asylum, but a contemporary doctor and scholar now believes she wasn't mentally ill at all. Instead, he believes, she had a condition called pernicious anemia.
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Looking at the historic record, contemporary doctor and scholar <a href="http://www.physical-lincoln.com/diagnosis.html" target="_blank">John Sotos</a> believes President Lincoln (1809-65), suffered from a rare genetic disease, MEN2B, in which nerve cells and long bones grow excessively.
Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
Looking at the historic record, contemporary doctor and scholar John Sotos believes President Lincoln (1809-65), suffered from a rare genetic disease, MEN2B, in which nerve cells and long bones grow excessively.
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President Ronald Reagan's (1911-2004) <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/14/reagans-son-father-showed-signs-of-alzheimers-in-white-house/">son wrote</a> that he believed his father showed early signs of Alzheimer's while still serving as president.
Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
President Ronald Reagan's (1911-2004) son wrote that he believed his father showed early signs of Alzheimer's while still serving as president.
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