In her later letters she complained of bilious attacks, facial aches and fever. Austen experts fingered several possible killers, including stomach cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma or an adrenal disorder known as Addison’s disease. The arsenic likely came from a tainted water supply or a medicinal mix-up, the library suggested; that is, of course, supposing the element caused Austen’s death. The spectacles themselves have just gone on display in the British Library’s free Treasures Gallery for all to see. In 1999, Joan Austen-Leigh, Jane Austen’s great-great-great-niece, very generously entrusted it to the care of the British Library. She later required a slightly stronger pair (tortoiseshell pair A) for reading, and used the strongest pair (tortoiseshell pair B) for extremely close work, such as fine embroidery, which would have been held closer to the face than a book. The tests revealed that the three pairs of spectacles are all convex or ‘plus’ lenses, so would have been used by someone longsighted. When Jane Austen died in 1817, aged 41, her portable writing desk was inherited by her sister Cassandra. “Could it be that she gradually needed stronger and stronger glasses for reading because of a more serious underlying health problem?” wrote Sandra Tuppen, a curator at the library, in the article. “The variations in the strength of the British Library’s three pairs of spectacles may indeed give further credence to the theory that Austen suffered from arsenic poisoning, albeit accidental.” 
 
 This was not the only evidence to suggest arsenic poisoning, the article noted. Crime writer Lindsay Ashford, one of the first proponents of the arsenic theory, told the Guardian in 2011 that, “I think it’s highly likely she was given a medicine containing arsenic. The British Library cited Simon Barnard, an optometrist based in London, who believed that if Austen’s eyesight worsened — indicating cataracts — heavy metal poisoning was a leading candidate. Other cataract causes, such as diabetes, would likely have killed Austen before her eyesight dimmed to the point of needing the strongest tortoiseshell glasses. Janine Barchas and Elizabeth Picherit of the University of Texas at Austin have taken a keen interest in the spectacles in the British Library, and have also been investigating Austen’s references to spectacles in her novels. New Zealand-based ophthalmologist Graham Wilson published a medical analysis of the author’s eye problems, which Wilson traced to a 23-year-old Austen. Several Austen biographers, including Deirdre Le Faye, author of “Jane Austen: A Family Record,” contend that Addison’s disease was the culprit. “We can’t be completely sure that she wore them at all,” Tuppen pointed out. “However, we are keen to publish these test results in the hope that other eye specialists will share their ideas and opinions with us.” 
 
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– The cause of Jane Austen's death at age 41 in 1817 has been an enduring mystery of the literary world. The legendary author's own letters complain of ill health, and experts have used them to suggest a number of possible culprits, from stomach cancer to Hodgkin's lymphoma, the Washington Post reports. Now, a trio of eyeglasses found in Austen's desk could hold a more intriguing answer. The spectacles of increasing strength indicate Austen suffered from progressive eye problems; indeed, the Pride and Prejudice author notes her "weak" eyes in her missives. Austen may have suffered from an underlying health problem that attacked her vision, writes British Library curator Sandra Tuppen, who theorizes slow-growing cataracts might have been caused by accidental arsenic poisoning. The toxic metal was common in 19th-century England, tainting medicine, water, and even wallpaper. Other causes such as diabetes would have killed Austen more quickly, says Tuppen. The debate over Austen's death dates back to 1964, when an English doctor argued the culprit was the adrenal disorder Addison's disease. Then crime writer Lindsay Ashford floated the arsenic theory in a 2011 novel, citing the skin discoloration that Austin notes late in her life. "I think it’s highly likely she was given a medicine containing arsenic," says Ashford. "When you look at her list of symptoms and compare them to the list of arsenic symptoms, there is an amazing correlation." But Austen scholar Janine Barchas, who has her own forthcoming report on the glasses, calls the arsenic theory "reckless," per the New York Times. "We look forward to further discussions and debate on this topic," writes Tuppen. (An unfinished Austen manuscript sold for $1.6 million.)