It would seem that not even Jane Austen can escape airbrushing, even 200 years after her death. Campaigners have questioned why the Bank of England have used a "prettied-up publicityportrait" of the author on the new £10 note rather than a more realistic image of her.

The polymer note, which was unveiled in July, features a portrait of a sweet-looking, plump-cheeked Austen wearing a lace bonnet, reports The Sunday Times. The image was created in 1817 after thewriter had died and was commissioned from a sketch by Austen's sister, Cassandra, in which the novelist looks shrew and cross.

"They presumably said to the artist, make it look prettier," said Austen biographer Paula Byrne. "It is like doctoring a selfie by a celebrity. It is such a shame because thatdemure image is just not Austen."

The decision to choose a "retouched" image of Austen has provoked anger.

"Jane Austen fans are pleased, obviously, that she's going to appear on the banknote, but it's deeply ironic that the image chosen by the Bank of England isn't really her,"said historian Lucy Worsley, who recently published a book about the novelist.

"It's an author publicity portrait painted after she died in which she's been given the Georgian equivalent of an airbrushing - she's been subtly 'improved'.

"Jane had a much sharper face - some might call it sour. And she was a sharp person. I think of her as being like a bracing martini."

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