A biographer of Jane Austen has accused the Bank of England of making the author look "dim-witted" in its choice of portrait for the new ?10 note.
"Jane Austen is the funniest writer to walk this planet, and she's been made to look dim-witted," said Paula Byrne author of The Real Jane Austen.
"I can't believe they have gone for such a saccharine picture. Jane Austen was a supreme social satirist, and some of her writing was quite dark, but they've chosen a picture that makes her look a really cosy, middle-class writer."
The Bank unveiled the new bank note in July, and its decision to portray Austen was welcomed by campaigners who had protested against the decision to remove Elizabeth Fry from the ?5 note, meaning there were no women represented on UK banknotes.
Byrne said: "I think it is brilliant that she's on the note, it's just that it would have been better to show her as much more spiky, rather than suggest that she was a saccharine writer."