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There has been a veritable explosion of interest in the works of Jane Austen during the lasttwo years. With five films based on Austen novels recently released via film andtelevision, her books are finding a new audience among both readers and booksellers.Thus Valerie Grosvenor Myer's recent biography, Jane Austen: Obstinate Heartproves most timely.In fact, Jane Austen is best read in conjunction with itssubject's novels, for so much of Jane's life went into her six books, although her heroinesgenerally fared better than their creator.Born the seventh of eight children into thegenteel but impoverished home of a clergyman, Jane Austen quickly learned what itmeant to be a woman without money--a situation most of her female protagonists shared,yet often overcame through marriage. Austen, however, refused to marry without love,and thus never married.

Jane Austen does a fine job of relaying the details of its subject's life--herrelationship with her family and friends, the indignities of her unfortunate financialcircumstances, and her pleasure in the success of those novels she lived to see published.But more than that, Myer delves into the mores and manners of Austen's times--theimportance placed on marriage, respectability, and financial security, all central to theauthor's novels. Most engaging is Myer's exploration of Jane Austen's prickly, imperfectpersonality, revealed through letters, diaries, and the recollections of her family. InJane Austen the reader discovers a fully-drawn woman, complete with flaws,strengths, and a burning talent that lives on today, 200 years after her death.Book Description
There has been a veritable explosion of interest in the works of Jane Austen during the lasttwo years. With five films based on Austen novels recently released via film andtelevision, her books are finding a new audience among both readers and booksellers.Thus Valerie Grosvenor Myer's recent biography, Jane Austen: Obstinate Heartproves most timely.In fact, Jane Austen is best read in conjunction with itssubject's novels, for so much of Jane's life went into her six books, although her heroinesgenerally fared better than their creator.Born the seventh of eight children into thegenteel but impoverished home of a clergyman, Jane Austen quickly learned what itmeant to be a woman without money--a situation most of her female protagonists shared,yet often overcame through marriage. Austen, however, refused to marry without love,and thus never married. Jane Austen does a fine job of relaying the details of its subject's life--herrelationship with her family and friends, the indignities of her unfortunate financialcircumstances, and her pleasure in the success of those novels she lived to see published.But more than that, Myer delves into the mores and manners of Austen's times--theimportance placed on marriage, respectability, and financial security, all central to theauthor's novels. Most engaging is Myer's exploration of Jane Austen's prickly, imperfectpersonality, revealed through letters, diaries, and the recollections of her family. InJane Austen the reader discovers a fully-drawn woman, complete with flaws,strengths, and a burning talent that lives on today, 200 years after her death. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Warning, this book is dreadful!
I must say that I am in shock after having read this "biography". The author clearly does not understand irony - so then why bothering reading Jane Austen at all? Writing about her and being so unappreciative of her qualities must be considered an abuse by any true Jane Austen fan. Why is V. G. Myer so eager to make Jane Austen look like a bitter spinster that never experienced love end therefore hated every women who did marry and have children? Is the author that kind of lady who becomes very frightened when she meets with an intelligent woman with a sharp tongue - because she clearly can't stand Jane Austen's sense of humor. And, on top of it all, she has not done a good work when it comes to the research. I strongly doubt that she has read James Edward Austen Leigh's "Memoirs", she misquotes him and misunderstands him on some very crucial points. She just one of these authors trying to make money out of Jane Austen without making any effort whatsoever.

A solid, focused biography flawed by lack of notes
This is a very good biography for readers who want a fairly straightforward, reliable, moderate length account of Austen's life. Among the seven biographies that I have read so far, I think that this is the best first choice for readers who want more than Carol Shield's well-done Jane Austen, part of Penquins short biography series, but who don't want to tackle a book as long as John Halperin's Life of Jane Austen, nearly twice the length of this.Halperin weaves a lot more quotes together to build his narrative,something that I found disconcerting when I was younger, although I like it now.I leave the reader to determine their own taste.(As a teenager, I regarded books made up largely of quotes as most people regard books with mathematical formula.)


Myers organizes her work both chronologically and thematically, discussing all of JA's romances and potential romances in one chapter, and then alluding back to them when she returns to chronological order. She recounts standard interpretations, but allows for some alternatives; she duly records that Mrs. Austen was regarded as a hypochondriac, but notes that her frequent pregnancies may have left her with problems of which we are unaware.

Some of the reviewers have complained that Myers does not contribute any new research, but frankly I think that there are probably few facts to add to what is already know and a readable biography is itself a great accomplishment, and preferable to inventing wild theories to gain a little publicity.Some other authors that have produced more research into the minutiae of Georgian-Regency life thereby scant JA's life or hare off on tangents that may try some readers' patience.While I personally adore all this somewhat extraneous detail, it is best preceded by reading a book like this that gives one a solid grounding regarding JA's life. Others make up for a lack of new information by posthumous psychoanalysis and mindreading, not something that I encourage.

The reader should be aware that the book is serious flawed by a lack of notes.I don't know if this was the author's or the publisher's choice.The book generally accords with what other biographers write, so I am fairly confident of the facts, but when Myers makes an unusual assertion, such as the claim that Cassandra Leigh didn't really want to marry George Austen, this is very irritating.

In all, I think this is a good choice for entering into a study of JA's life, one that can be enriched by reading other books later.

A nice try but better books on Austen exist
I think Valerie Grovesnor Myer has made a nice stab at trying to write to a biography of Austen and she succeeds relatively well. The only trouble biographies of Austen are all drawn from the same material - very little new material has been turned up in recent years and so biographers are forced to reinterpret the old sources to find a new angle. And that really is what this author has done - with only moderate success.

She has 24 chapters, mostly chronological although really the complaint that this is mostly about Austen's family than Austen herself bears through - especially in the first nine chapters.

To make her book differentagain Myer has attempted to find biographical incidents from Austen's own life to explain incidents in her novels. Not a bad thing to do - but I found it overpowering at times - as though she were just going from one incident to another - and sometimes I felt her examples used weren't good ones. For instance she likened Jane Austens' brother Edward's adoption by the Knights as being like Fanny Price's living with the Bertrams in her 'Mansfield Park'. Which is not at all the same situation. In the novel Fanny lived with the family but was never adopted by them. In real life, Edward adopted the new surname of Knight and eventually inherited a large estate and fortune from it. The whole situation in fact reminds one of Frank Churchill in 'Emma' - Frank Weston is adopted by his aunt, Mrs Churchill, adopts her name and becomes her heir. It seems that is a much better example - why did Myer use the much less satisfactory one?

Another point is that she shows that she has read various books on Austen (for instance Deidre Le Faye's collected letters of Austen) butdoesn't seem to have done much research outside of those on the history of the period. Myer cites a letter from Austen to her neice Fanny Knight in which she talks of the whole race of 'Pagets'. Myer has clearly used the footnote which is in Le Faye's edition of the letters to explain this remark about Austen's dislike of the Pagets - explaining about Lord Paget's (later Marquess of Anglesey) elopement with Lady Charlotte Wellesley. What both Le Faye and Myer miss is that the year before this elopement there was another High profile Paget elopement when Lord Paget's brother eloped with Lady Boringdon. A little extra research on Myer's part would have revealed this fact.

I found the book interesting though for Myer's interpretation, but I wouldn't pick it by choice. If you are looking for a really good biography of Jane - Park Honan's is much better - or Claire Tomalin's. There are other great books on the history of the time you can read - Maggie Lane is great - and Deidre Le Faye's collection of letters is fabulous. So there is a lot of much better material out there. But if this is all you can get hold of - well it would do in a pinch.

The suffering artist....
Just above her grave in Wincester Cathedral is written, "In the beginning was the word..."I am convinced that no one has ever written English prose narrative as well as Jane Austen. In her book, 'JaneAusten, Obstinate Heart' Valerie Grosvenor Myer takes the reader behind thescenes into the private life of this remarkable author.Usingcorrespondence, diaries, and the memoirs of Jane Austen and her family andfriends, Ms. Myer constructs a biography that helps the reader understandAusten's day-to-day existence 200 years ago--the environment that formedher and inspired her creative process.

She lived a life of genteelpoverty--barely made genteel by the kindness of her brothers and friends.She worked hard--in an age when the mangle was just invented, irons wereheated on the fireplace, and woman's work was never done, she and hermother and sister could not always get the help they needed. She worriedabout money, reworked old clothes to make them last, lacked good food attimes, was cold at times, and wanted for many material comforts. And yet,she managed without the aid of a computer or even a typewriter, to producesix of the world's greatest novels.

This book will appeal to women moreso than men because it concerns issues that have affected women more. Mostwomen have faced some form of discrimination or deprivation, or know of thedeprivation of other women--lack of food, lack of clothing, fear,depression, an inability to control one's reproductive life, and poverty.Austen was aware of women's struggles--her own and those of family andfriends. She watched five sisters-in-law succomb to early deaths owing tochildbearing.

Austen's books center on the struggles of heroines to makelives for themselves in what is essentially a man's world. Although thisbook doesn't discuss Austen's books in any depth, it certainly illuminatesthe links between the life of the author and her characters.It's anexcellent book.It made me cry.

Great Bio if you are a new Janeite!
This was the 4th biography that I have read about Jane Austen.I loved it because it didn't dwell on Eliza the cousin or the shoplifting Aunt! It was about the day to day life of Jane Austen and the world she lived in.Ifyou have a little knowledge from other bios about Jane, this is a greatread.To the author - don't be discouraged by the other reviews!I wantto read your book on Charlotte Bronte if I can find it. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Jane Austen, arguably still the most popular novelist ever,spend much of her life between 1775 and 1817 shut away in the depths ofrural England. Her books evocatively inform our vision of the times, butthey are only the starting point for the much wider view of the worldcontained in these pages - one of stark contrasts between rich and poor,married and single, men and women.

Now these lives are revealed in all their detail through the eyewitnessaccounts of those who lived them as well as the words of Jane herself.

Marriage, Wealth and Breeding - and why a `good match' was so vital for anyself-respecting family.

Work and Social Rank - and how your job defined your social position, fromlanded gentlemen to country parson.

Education and Upbringing - how boys went to school and university, andgirls got the governesses.

Politics, War and Industry - the cries for change, the beginnings of socialreform and the privations of conflict.

Health and Illness - and how riding, walking and taking the waters kept theGeorians fit. ... Read more

Book Description
Recreating Jane Austenis a book for readers who know and love Austen's work. Stimulated by the recent crop of film and television versions of Austen's novels, John Wiltshire examines how her work has been "recreated" in another age and medium. Written in an engaging and readable style, this accessible study approaches the central question of the role Jane Austen plays in the contemporary cultural imagination.Download Description
Recreating Jane Austen is a book for readers who know and love Austen's work. Stimulated by the recent crop of film and television versions of Austen's novels, John Wiltshire examines how they have been transposed and 'recreated' in another age and medium. Wiltshire illuminates the process of 'recreation' through the work of the psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, and offers Jane Austen's own relation to Shakespeare as a suggestive parallel. Exploring the romantic impulse in Austenian biography, 'Jane Austen' as a commodity, and offering a re-interpretation of Pride and Prejudice, this book approaches the central question of the role Jane Austen plays in the contemporary cultural imagination. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Factual and Visual Guide to the World of Jane Austen
I bought this book after being pleased but not satisfied with Maggie Lane's "Jane Austen's World." This book is a much more indepth guide to the world of the Regency. It includes many pictures of the interior of Regency houses and much more on the fashion of the day, including pictures and terms that will be helpful if researching or just very curious about the costuming of the day. While "Jane Austen's World" had much much more on Jane Austen's life and family, this book takes a much more indepth look at the times of the author including entertainment, exterior and interior of the homes and the fashion. I recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about the Regency or interested in writing a story, play, etc. about the period. Visually and factually satisfying.

Jane Austen: In Style
I bought this book because I was interested in Jane Austen. The book is divided up into sections such as country life, clothing, manners, food, etc. with a lot of details about this time and how it relates to Jane's life and situations. The book is lavishly illustrated with full page color photographs, and smaller pictures of Jane, Cassandra, and articles made or used by the Austen Family. It is well written and fun to read. It makes a good starting point for getting the feel of what life was like in Georgian England. ... Read more

Book Description
Few great writers can have cut so unglamorous a figure in the world as Jane Austen did. The fifth child of a Hampshire clergyman of modest means, Austen was more highly regarded among her family for her skill with the embroidery needle than for the sharpness of her wit. Yet, nearly two hundred years after she first put pen to paper, Austen's insights into human nature are as apt and accurate as when she originally wrote them. A witty and elegant collection of truths, ageless in their relevance. Michael Kerrigan is the author of Who Lies Where: A Guide to Famous Graves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Bravo!Jane Austen!
Michael Kerrigan had done a good job in extracting funny and witty quotes from Jane Austen novels and letters!I love the pictures illustrated in this pocketsized book!It had divided section and many good advices from Jane Austen point of view.Gosh,she might have been a modern feminist in her time!
It's quite a good guide especially for those who is taking English Literature in A Level.It sure helps me a lot!How about you? ... Read more

Book Description
Jane Austen’s novels have been widely read and discussed, but one topic that is rarely studied is her use of speech. In this volume, writers from around the world consider Austen’s sometimes playful, always witty and significant use of dialogue. Features contributions from Juliet McMaster, Isobel Grundy, Linda Bree, Gary Kelly, Jan Fergus, Jocelyn Harris, Kay Young and others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An invaluable contribution to Literary Studies
Collaboratively compiled and edited by Bruce Stovel (Department of English, University of Alberta) and highschool English teacher Lynn Weinlos Gregg (Edmonton, Alberta), The Talk In Jane Austen is an imposing collection of articulate and insightful essays contributed by a variety of learned contributors, each of whom examines Jane Austen's memorable and classic novels. Focusing in particular upon dialogue, from how Jane Austen's characters use conversation to further their aims, to Austen's delicate subtexts and ironies, The Talk In Jane Austen is thoughtful and thought-provoking in its analysis, as well as informed and informatively detailed in its detection of fine layers. The Talk In Jane Austen is an invaluable contribution to Literary Studies and very highly recommended reading for Jane Austen enthusiasts. ... Read more

Book Description
We celebrate Jane Austen as the mother of the English realist novel, but have you ever wondered why she insists on giving her mature heroines the "perfect happiness" that can only be realized in the romance? Romancing Jane Austen asks the reader to consider Austen's happy endings as a "prophetic" rather than merely "illusory" answer to the contradiction that feminine subjectivity represents for history. ... Read more

Book Description
The most perfect of Jane Austen’s perfect novels begins with twenty-one-year-old Emma Woodhouse comfortably dominating the social order in the village of Highbury, convinced that she has both the understanding and the right to manage other people’s lives—for their own good, of course. Her well-meant interfering centers on the aloof Jane Fairfax, the dangerously attractive Frank Churchill, the foolish if appealing Harriet Smith, and the ambitious young vicar Mr. Elton—and ends with her complacency shattered, her mind awakened to some of life’s more intractable dilemmas, and her happiness assured.

Austen’s comic imagination was so deft and beautifully fluent that she could use it to probe the deepest human ironies while setting before us a dazzling gallery of characters—some pretentious or ridiculous, some admirable and moving, all utterly true. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I love books
I love the time period in which Jane Austin writes-these books are very good and also very captivating ... Read more

Book Description
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." --Jane Austen, Pride and PrejudiceThere was never a more astute chronicler of the hits and near-misses of love than Jane Austen. Now, she helps readers discover their inner heroines and get the guy in this witty book of romance and dating strategies.Utilizing wisdom inspired by Jane Austen's novels, from Sense and Sensibility to Pride and Prejudice and beyond, author Lauren Henderson creates an indispensable guide for navigating the all-too-mystifying dating scene. Harnessing the triumphs and pitfalls of Austen's classic characters, Henderson shows how qualities like honesty, self-awareness, and forthrightness always win the right man -- and still let you respect yourself in the morning. A completely new and amusing approach to dating, Jane Austen's Guide to Dating includes insightful personality quizzes that reveal which Jane Austen character you -- and your mate -- most resemble. Armed with this knowledge, you can learn what to do if you're a Lizzie, but the object of your affection is a Bingley. You can even find out how to gain the clearheadedness and confidence that Anne Elliot had and almost lost in Persuasion.Full of wit and truly useful advice that has stood the test of time, Jane Austen's Guide to Dating will help readers overcome the nonsense and find the sense (and sensibility) to succeed in a lasting relationship. Fans of Jane Austen and newcomers alike will delight in this fun, fresh, and audacious guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Cute
A cute book if you are a fellow Jane Austen fan.I wouldn't follow any of her dating advice though...just something fun to read.

good premise that falls short
I am a big Jane Austen fan and that was the best part of this book: the examples from Austen's novels.The rest of the book read a lot like pop psychology and I have to agree with the other reviewer that commented on the "bar hopping, and sleeping around" aspect to many of the examples; a bit of a turn off for me.Some good analogies, and the woman can write.

Great gift for that single English Major
Bought this for an English teacher friend and she loved it.Makes some good points and is humorous just like Jane Austen herself.

Swore I would never read a dating book...
Like a lot of the other reviewers, I swore I would never read a dating book, because I thought I knew how it worked. But I have a very keen interest in Jane Austen and so I read it for that angle. I was dating a couple of guys and I had one really good friend that I wasn't really interested in, but he liked me a great deal. And when I read the chapter on giving a guy a chance although you don't think he is your type, it totally struck a cord. We started dating a couple weeks later, and a short two weeks after I went over for dinner and stayed the night and never went back to my place. I'm not saying this book is responsible for us being together. Jane Austen would definitely not approve, but I do think that chapter struck a nerve and led me to one of the happiest periods in my life.

Does everyone meet in bars?
As a Jane Austen fan, I thought this would be a fun read. Even though I'm married, I wanted to share it with my daughter. While the book does a great job of using examples from the novels to make her points, the modern day examples repeatedly tell of people meeting in bars?! Is this really where folks hope to find the love of their life? Also, the book assumes people sleep around A LOT before settling down. Guess I've been married a little too long...otherwise it was cute. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Wonderful little accompaniment to Jane's novels.
This is a wonderful addition to the Jane Austen enthusiest's library. It explains the etiquette and lifestyle of the time, using scriptures from the novels themselves as examples. At the time I bought this, I had only just seen the Pride & Prejudice movie. I had yet to read the novel. I found myself wondering why Elizabeth Bennet was so upset by her sister's elopement. This small companion does such a good job of explaining this and much more. Now I can pick up on many more things in the movie that I missed before that give it more meaning- All the little manners and behaviors that have been forgotten over the years are concisely laid out here, in this tiny book.

Helping to explain some of the more obscure aspects of Jane Austen's works, with elegance and art
Being a fan of nearly everything Jane Austen, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I would buy this book. The Regency period of English history -- from about 1790 to 1820 -- has always interested me, and has been a lucrative trade for modern romance writers, but I was curious about something. How was the Regency period actually? And to solve that question, writer Josephine Ross goes right to the source: none other than the most famous author of the Regency period, Jane Austen, who wrote six novels, and a wide selection of letters, to find out what were the correct manners of the time.

The Regency period was a time when to know how to behave was important. Having the knowledge of when to speak, how to speak, dress, and even introduce yourself could make or break your social success. With a gentle tongue-in-cheek humor, Josephine Ross takes examples from Austen's heroes and heroines to show the right way to behave, in a series of chapters that run the gamut from conversation to marriage and children.

Beginning with an Introduction about the Authoress, Jane Austen herself, the reader is guided into the world of polite society, starting with Manners, Introductions, Conversation, Dining and Dancing, Dress and Taste, Matrimony, Family and finally, Servants. For each aspect, Ross draws on the observations made in the books and letters, and more importantly, shows why a blunder -- or save -- was made.

What I really liked about the book is that it suddenly opened up some of the more obtuse passages in the books that didn't make much sense to me when I had first read them. Of course, Jane Austen already knew that her audience were very familiar with the background that she was working with, and so naturally, didn't bother to explain anything. But for the modern reader, with our quick world of the internet, flashy clothing, and a rather casual attitude towards relationships, some of the behavior seems downright strange. Why would plain white clothing make a woman fashionable above all else; why would a gentlewoman never, but never, visit a man alone, and how being able to make an introduction could prove to be invaluable later?

And yes, many of these same ideas apply in our own world. Some might find them to be terribly old fashioned, but some basics still matter -- especially when a person finds themselves in a scenario where good manners do count, such as say, in a business setting or when meeting potential in-laws, and both skill and tact are called for.

Along with the humor and various aha! moments, the other pleasure of this book were the delicate watercolours painted by Henrietta Webb that illustrated the book throughout. They caught the mood perfectly, and with just a dash of irony as well.

For collectors and fans of Jane Austen's novels, and anyone who needs a good laugh or quiet chuckle, this slim volume -- it's under 150 pages in length -- would make a delightful little present. The layout and design is lovely, and easy on the eyes, presented in a small, hardback format. Josephine Ross has also written a more scholarly work on Jane Austen, which goes into more detail about life in the Regency period.

Happily recommended.

Jane Austen impressed me!
This is a graceful book. If you want be a elegant person, you must read this gorgeous book. I Love Jane Austen's stlye, life, everything. ... Read more

Book Description
`Can he be a sensible man, sir?'`No, my dear; I think not...'Thus Christopher Brooke prefaces his study of Jane Austen, whose sharp intelligence and wit have been the companions of his leisure for many years. In answer to the question as to whether there can be anything left to be said, Brooke returns rewardingly to her own writing, the novels and the letters, and with a historian's precision reveals new detail and fresh insights. What is the world Jane Austen describes, and how is it related to the world in which she lived? A close reading of each of the major novels leads into a detailed examination of a sheaf of themes - church and clergy, rank and status, marriage - to see how they are handled in their social and historical setting, what is revealed about Jane Austen's deepest convictions, and how these might be validly deduced from the text of her novels. The wisdom and insight he has brought to historical research are now rewardingly brought to bear on a novelist of endless fascination.CHRISTOPHER BROOKE has a wide reputation as a historian, primarily of the medieval church and other institutions (he is the author of The Medieval Idea of Marriage/I>), and of the 18th-century church portrayed so frequently, and so variously, in Jane Austen's novels. ... Read more

Product Description
Large Print. Jane Austen's shorter works, including "Jack & Alice," "Sandition," "The Visit," "The Three Sisters," "Ode to Pity," "Scraps," "The Watsons," "Love and Friendship." "History of England." and others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a grown-up's bath book
The madcap stories and parodies in this collection will have you sputtering with laughter. Any fan of Jane Austen will be guaranteed to adore this book.

But, there is a bonus benefit to this particular edition. When I received my copy in the mail, I was a little startled, because the book weighed a ton, and each of its pages was thick and nearly laminated. The cover looked like it was produced on a dot-matrix printer from clip art, and it had the overall appearance of being a pre-release edition. There was even an apologetic note from Amazon, saying that this was the best available edition, and if I didn't like it I could return it, etc. But, I soon realized that this 'bad' plastic edition had a wonderful advantage - I could take it in the bath with me, and it didn't even get damp. There's something very zen about laughing like a maniac while in a hot bathtub. I wholeheartedy recommend the experience to you. ... Read more

Book Description
What is it about Jane Austen's writing that brings such pleasure? There are good, even great novelists who are not good storytellers, and there are highly gifted storytellers who write thoroughly bad books. Jane Austen was both a very good storyteller and a great novelist. How did she do it? Richard Jenkyns's sparkling study delights in Austen's craft, wit, and pathos. His deep reading of the novels illuminates the subtlety, depth, and innovation that lie within them. He explores the development of her style, storytelling, and characterization, her technical prowess, and her place in comparison with her contemporaries, with a grace and wit worthy of the subject herself. All who read this book will come away with their admiration for Austen deepened, and their pleasure in her work enhanced. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Enjoyable and Challenging Read
It has been over a year since I read this book, but I thought I had to write something seeing the horrible single review it's received so far.Briefly, I enjoyed this book more than any other Austen criticism I've read.My background with Austen is that I did not read her in college, though I was an English major, but discovered P&P and then read the rest of her novels when I was about 25.
I found that reading this book was a bit like that experience, letting me revisit the characters and settings I had enjoyed so much.Moreover, the author's analysis lead me to consider all the novels in ways I hadn't before.These ways were not radically different, but I thought this book built wonderfully on a variety of the author's subtle observations (not unlike Austen's own style, eh?).I especially liked the bit on Pride and Prejudice, which is often thought of as Austen's simplest novel.The idea that Mr. Bennet is a sort of villain darkened the novel a bit, and made me think about how easily P&P could have been as brooding as Mansfield Park.The author's analysis of the character's interaction revealed how complicated and insightful Austen is even in her lightest and brightest work.

Disappointing
I was a little disappointed in this book. The reflections on Austen's work weren't as insightful or interesting as I was hoping. ... Read more

Book Description

Featuring a new preface by the author, this paperback edition of John Halperin's acclaimed and controversial biography moves beyond the usually vague account of Austen's life and away from the serene and untroubled image of Austen created by a protective family. In The Life ofJane Austen, Halperin reveals a robust, vigorous, and at times difficult woman with a large and diverse circle of family and acquaintances. He documents her troubled relationship with a hypochondriacal mother and her frank dislike of the sister-in-law who usurped her childhood home, sheds new light on the shadowy existence of a retarded older brother, and sets forth in greater detail than ever before the number and nature of Austen's relations to her suitors, the romantic passages of her life, and her attitude about childbearing.

Making fuller use of Austen's correspondence than previous biographers, Halperin shows us the costs exacted on a sensitive and critical personality by a society--and, frequently, a family--that paid too little attention to the predicament of unmarried women, especially those with inadequate financial means.

Customer Reviews (2)

Not to be missed in studying Jane Austen
There are many biographies of Jane Austen available, but I urge readers to include this one. One of the most noteworthy features of Halperin's work is that he does not feel the need to idealize Jane Austen. He therefore enriches his book with information carefully ignored by other biographers.

Austen accomplished the very rare feat of writing books that remain both commercial and popular successes after almost two centuries.I don't see what else she needs to do to be worthy of our attention, and I am exasperated by futile arguments trying to deny her position as a woman of her class and time. I am tired of her biographers "apologizing" or trying to explain away he failure to make direct comments on contemporary politics - her books are probably all the more universal and enduring because she didn't. Rather than making feeble attempts to tie the Elliot's financial misfortunes to general economic trends (instead of their own fecklessness, which is what I believe Austen intended), Halperin quotes very effectively from Austen's letters to show that she was aware of the political and social life around her.

Halperin also portrays her as a much less pleasant person that most authors care to see. His Jane is shown in her letters to be often petty and gratuitously mean, heartlessly witty. The question, which Halperin doesn't really explore, but which might explain some of the discrepancy between the Austens' recollections is, how different was her public persona from her letters to Cassandra?Were the letters an outlet that helped enable her to be pleasant and civil? I am personally think that sincerity and frankness can be much over-rated vis a vis civility and consideration, so I wouldn't fault JA as a hypocrite, if this is true.

Halperin also presents her as decidely less fond of children, or at least young children, than other works.He is ignoring some of the writings about her that are quoted by other authors, but his point of view is well-supported by quotations from her letters.Particularly in combinations with other writers, the reader is left with a much more complex and nuanced view of Jane.

Overall, the book is well written and readable, and unlike some other biographies I could mention, does not go haring off on tangential subjects. Halperin also restrains himself from "overinterpreting" his material, attempting posthumous psychoanalysis and the like.

I am not terribly fond of mixing too much literary analysis with biography, and I disagree with some of Halperin's analysis, but I thought that his review of Mansfield Park with reference to JA's life was very fine and plausible.

I fault this, and all other JA biographies for their treatment of Cassandra Leigh Austen's (Mrs. George Austen's) "hypochondria".I have been told in every biography that she was a hypochondriac, but no-one has made a convincing case for it.The glimpses that one gets of her seem to be of a steady, cheerful, practical woman, not the most likely candidate for hypochondria, although it doesn't rule it out.I am also quite aware that in previous decades, doctors were much more likely to attribute illnesses, particularly in women, to psychosomatic causes, so I would urge modern biographers to re-examine the evidence.The most common quote is Jane's statement that she has little sympathy for a head cold unaccompanied by a fever or sore throat, but I think that may say more about the daughter than the mother.At 52, from my own experience, that of my friends and our parents, I am very aware that there are any number of bodily ills, all the more likely as we reach and pass middle-age, that are not apparent to outside observers, crippling or rapidly fatal, which none the less can cause the sufferer considerable discomfort and inconvenience while draining humor, patience, energy and enthusiasm. Just to name a few: chronic fatique syndrome, arthritis, pruritis, irritable bowel syndrome, incontinence, hemmoroids, insomnia, digestive problems, etc.Mrs. Austen would, in addition, be vulnerable to the ills that result from many closely-spaced pregnanacies, including such joys a varicose veins, joint injuries and a variety of gynecological problems.I would not ordinally faultHalperin individually, but he does carry it to new depths, finding it unreasonable, perhaps even neurotic, for the 72-year old woman to decide that she was giving up travelling in the slow, jolting, dusty conditions that prevailed at the time.

Despite this last grumble, this is one of my favorites among the seven or so biographies that I have read, and the best of the long biographies.For those wanting shorter works, I recommend Carol Shields' Jane Austen (Penguin Lives) and Valerie Grosvenor Myer's Jane Austen, Obstinate Heart: A Biography.

Enlightening view of a Austen
Halperin really did his homework and debunks myths that Austen was all smiles and sweetness.Don't get me wrong, by no means does he speak badly of the author. He just portrays her as a human being with emotions,sarcasim and wit who had a not-so-perfect life or career.

In his introhe states that the author of such books as Sense and Sensibility could nothave been all manners and niceness. Anyone who reads her books has to feelthe same. Halperin suggests there is a little bit of autobiography inAusten's works and documents his opinions with letters from Jane to hersister.

Great read! ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Now in Penguin Classics—a treasure trove of Jane Austen’s novels

Few novelists have conveyed the subtleties and nuances of their own social milieu with the wit and insight of Jane Austen. Here in one volume are her seven great novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. Through her vivacious and spirited heroines and their circle, Austen vividly portrays English middle-class life as the eighteenth century came to a close and the nineteenth century began. Each of the novels is a love story and a story about marriage—marriage for love, for financial security, for social status. But they are not romances; ironic, comic, and wise, they are masterly evocations of the society Jane Austen observed. This beautiful volume covers the literary career of one of England’s finest prose stylists of any century.

“These modern editions are to be strongly recommended.”
—Brian Southam, The Jane Austen Society ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Practical
I love this copy of Jane Austen's stories. It's great to have all the novels together and it's not too heavy or bulky to sit and read. A good addition to any library.

Books Included
The books included weren't listed so I went to Penguin Classics and copied their information:

Here in one volume are her seven great novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan.
A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition with French flaps and luxurious packaging
Features the definitive Penguin Classics texts recommended by the Jane Austen Society
New introduction by bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club Karen Joy Fowler

Excellent Complete Edition -- Penguin Classics Deluxe
There are several complete editions on Amazon of Austen's novels, so I thought I would write a review recommending this one (the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). It lays open in your hand, has nice paper and high-quality paperback binding and cover, and it has perfectly sized type and wide inside margins. Other than the substantial size and weight (though it is not nearly as inconvenient as quarto-sized complete editions, such as the classic Sherlock Holmes), it is a perfect volume for those who are more interested in reading Austen than admiring how she looks on the shelf.

By contrast, the Modern Library hardcover edition (which I compared in person at the bookstore) has such a narrow inside margin that the reader must strain to read bent text or to force the binding to open more and the paper to lay flatter. Otherwise, it was a nice edition. For me, they ruined it by this simple mistake.

The leather bound edition from the Library of Literary Classics is a nice idea, and I have not seen it in person. I did notice, however, that the table of contents shows how little space they manage to squeeze Austen's novels into. It has far fewer pages than the Penquin Classics Deluxe Edition. When previewing the pages of text, this seems apparent in the very small type. As I said, I have not seen it in person, so I may be wrong, but it looks like it might be a strain to read, whereas the Penguin is quite comfortable. Hopefully Penguin will provide preview images soon so potential buyers can "Look Inside" and compare for themselves.

It is wonderful that there are so many editions of Austen to choose from. The choice is personal and subjective. I will spend many, many hours reading mine, so I chose the one that I thought would be the most comfortable. I do not want to fight the book -- I want it to disappear so that my imagination may wander unhindered with Jane's characters. I hope you enjoy the novels, whichever edition you choose. ... Read more